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During the Tudor period the law was enforced by the Justice of the Peace and his sheriff who could call on the citizens of a town to be constables and night watchmen. At eight o'clock the curfew bell would ring and trading would have to stop. After this time you would have to have a very good excuse to be walking around the town. The nightwatchmen would patrol the streets with a lantern and would challenge anyone who was still out. They would also make sure there were no fires (a common danger in the towns where the houses were made of timber and were built very close together) and would call out each hour that all was well. At the end of the night they would ring the Angelus (morning church) bell at 4 or 5 o'clock which would call everyone to the first mass of the day and mark the end of their duties for the night. http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm |
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