Andover Events

It’s a fair cop! Coming to Andover – The story of policing, crime and punishment in the 19th century

A new exhibition from Hampshire Cultural Trust arrives in Andover this week. From Saturday 5 March to Sunday 1 May 2022, Andover Museum will host It’s a Fair Cop, telling the story of crime, policing and punishment in the 19th century.

From the night-watchmen of the 1800s to the bobby on the beat in 1900, the exhibition describes a century that saw a revolution in the detection and prosecution of criminal activity, a period of growing public fascination with crime and the emergence of a new hero in the battle to protect the law-abiding Victorian from the nefarious activities of the criminal classes – the detective.

During this time, Britain was gradually transformed from an almost medieval system of watchmen and thief-takers to, by the end of the century, a trained, professional, national police force making use of the latest advances in forensic technology in their ongoing battle to bring law breakers to book.

A whole range of period objects and photographs from the collection cared for by Hampshire Cultural Trust will help tell the transformative story of policing over these 100 years.

Andover Museum is operated by Hampshire Cultural Trust, an independent charity set up in 2014 to promote Hampshire as a county that offers outstanding cultural experiences to both its residents and visitors.   

For more information about the exhibition please visit – www.hampshireculture.org.uk/event/its-fair-cop.