PC Kent

John Kent was born in 1805 in Carlisle. His father, Thomas Kent, was a former slave of the Senhouse family at Calder Abbey, West Cumberland. John began his policing career in 1835 where he was a constable in Maryport. It is thought that he resided with his brothers Joseph and Thomas on Furnace Street and Kirkby Street in Maryport. Two years later he transferred to Carlisle City Police as a “supernumerary constable” – or probationer - before being made permanent on 26 October 1837. In Victorian Britain, the general elections were met with rioting due to the electors’ disapproval of the candidates. There were serious election riots in Carlisle in 1869, when John Kent and others were stoned. John’s other brave acts included the moment when he was threatened by a man with a knife. He single-handedly disarmed the man and made an arrest. John died on 20 July 1886 at the age of 81 and was buried in Carlisle Cemetery.