Introduction

Enfield (Middlesex) police station, c. 1850. Catalogue reference: MEPO 13/88

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The Metropolitan Police(1) was established in 1829 under the direct control of the Home Secretary. The material, most of which we hold, includes much administrative information and individual service records. However, a significant amount of the records will be useful for those local historians interested in London and the metropolitan areas of those counties surrounding the city.

When it was established in 1829 the Metropolitan Police was responsible for seven mile radius from Charring Cross. This excluded the City of London, which still retains its own police force. We have individual service records and a wealth of administrative information about all London's localities: from Edmonton to Vauxhall and Richmond to Bethnal Green.

For the record:

Metropolitan Police officers with the suffragette Ada Wright, who collapsed outside the houses of parliament having tried to gain entry on 18 November 1910. Catalogue reference: COPY 1/551

Almost by definition the records of the Metropolitan Police are primarily 'local' records. The correspondence, and miscellaneous papers of the Commissioners Office in MEPO 2, MEPO 3 and MEPO 4 are relatively well indexed and can provide excellent background material to anyone making a local study of law, order and policing in London. You can find out about:

Outside of the main series of correspondence and miscellaneous papers there is much detailed material concerning individual prisoners and their backgrounds and police stations and other buildings:

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Useful links

Footnotes

1. For records of other police forces see I. Bridgeman, and C. Emsley, A Guide to the Archives of the Police Forces of England and Wales Police History Society, Monograph No. 2, 1989 and the indexes of the National Register of Archives.

Equity courts (Chancery and Exchequer)