RARE WINDSOR TIPSTAFF

[Mervyn Mitton]

Under Special Constabulary, mention has been made of the Royal Town of Windsor - this is in Berkshire and about 30 miles ( 45 Kms.) West of London. The two main areas of interest are - of course - Windsor Castle, and to a much lesser degree Eton College.

Windsor Castle's origins are from the Norman invasion of the 11th. Century - when the central Keep was first built to control the newly conquered Saxons. The Castle is now one of the official homes of H.M. The Queen.

The lovely Tipstaff that I am showing here is - in my opinion - one of the rarest. I have kept a small ' inner ' corps of particularly rare regalia and this forms part of that collection - which I will probably not part with. Slightly larger than the usual tipstaffs , it is about 8 inches overall (20cm). The Crown has been beautifully cast in the form of a William 1Vth ( 1830-37) - however, it was probably made just after 1838 when the Permissory Police Act of that year, allowed Towns to create a Force - using the Metropolitan Police as their guideline.

I cannot recall the exact wording - however, you can clearly see that it has the initials W.H.G. and SUPt. N.W.P.

WHG was the commanding Superintendent of the New Windsor Police - which as I have explained was set-up after 1838. The whole tipstaff has been hand crafted and is very heavily gilded. Why ? Quite simply, with Windsor Castle being an official residence, the Superintendent,

as head of the Town Constabulary, would have been in constant attendance on the Queen at all State functions. This makes it incredibly important - just think of the ceremonies and people in whose lives this staff has been present.

I have a number of these special pieces and will gradually post them.

(THE COPYRIGHT FOR THIS WINDSOR TIPSTAFF REMAINS AT ALL TIMES THE PROPERTY OF M.A.MITTON)

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Chris Boonzaier]

Nice looking piece indeed...

Since you introduced us to tipstaffs some time ago,I have always thought of them as Victorian Kubotans....

[NickLangley]

That's a superb tipstaff.

the Superintendent, as head of the Town Constabulary, would have been in constant attendance on the Queen at all State functions.

The precincts of Windsor Castle are, and since the force's establishment, have always come under the Metropolitan Police's jurisdiction.

Edited February 19, 2010 by NickLangley

[Peter Mc]

A superb item Mervyn.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Chris - what is a 'kubotan' ? You would be shocked if you knew the value of this small piece.

Nick - the Metropolitan Police have always been responsible for the Monarch's safety - and as you say a special detachment from ' A ' Division still guards the Queen when She is in residence. However, the Supt. of the New Windsor Police would have always been present in the heirarchy and would have had precedence over the Inspector or, Supt. of the accompanying Met. guards. The quality of this tipstaff shows his importance.

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Mervyn,

You just keep amazing me! What a great tipstaff. I'm also glad to see that I'm not alone in wondering about the history and the people a item may have seen or come in contact with. I can see why you are not interested in parting with this historic artifact.

Thanks for giving the membership a chance to see it.

Regards

Brian