130:, in the service of the Senhouse family, where he was 'considered a slave'. He was later given his freedom and went to sea. It is unknown the true origin of the Kent name, in John Kent's eulogy the father was said to have taken his surname from the region of England where his ship may firstly have docked. Thomas Kent married Mary Wilson in 1787 and the couple had nine children, some dying in childhood; John was the eighth born.
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has become interested in the story of John Kent, researching original documents at the
Carlisle branch of Cumbria Archives and featuring in an item presented by Philippa Gregory on the BBC North East edition of 'Inside Out' on 27 February 2017 and the BBC North West edition of the same programme on 6
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Police officers being drunk on duty was a common occurrence in the 19th century, as clean drinking water in the city was a rarity. On 6 December 1844, Kent arrived for duty while intoxicated. Owing to new policy, introduced by a new Chief
Constable, to severely punish officers drunk on duty, Kent was
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In 1841, he was policing an election crowd in the city centre when it became violent. As the crowd became more unruly, a police officer was struck on the head by one of the crowd and died. The matter was recorded as a murder and Kent provided evidence of the general riot at
Carlisle
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force as a supernumerary
Constable on 17 August 1837, later being made a substantive Constable 26 October 1837. He was known among city residents as "Black Kent" during his service, and this nickname was used by adults to scare unruly children.
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police officer in
Britain. He served seven years in the office of constable at Carlisle before being dismissed from his role in 1844. He then became a court bailiff, then a Parish Constable at Longtown. Until 2006, when a former officer of
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March 2017. In the programme Henry revealed that he would like to create a television programme telling Kent's story with himself playing the part of Kent but was having difficulty interesting television companies in backing the project.
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Kent was the son of Thomas Kent, a seaman who worked on the estate of a
Cumberland colonial civil service worker in the West Indies. Kent's father is believed to have originally arrived at
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Kent returned to work in
Carlisle after leaving the police force. At the age of 78, he was recorded as being employed as an attendant in the service of the
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starting in 1966 (however Astley Lloyd Blair joined
Gloucestershire Constabulary as a Special Constable in 1964). The discovery has been heralded by the UK
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Kent died on 20 July 1886 at his home in Henry Street, Carlisle, and was buried in
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Kent was credited with several arrests. He provided several accounts in his later years, one of arresting two "
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discovered Kent's employment records, it was thought that
Britain's first black police officer was
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266:"Britain's First Black Policeman. The Life of John Kent a Policeman in Cumberland 1835-1846"
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Watching Over Carlisle: 140 Years of the Carlisle City Police Force 1827–1967
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379:"Sir Lenny Henry's study of Carlisle's police pioneer | News & Star"
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as having "huge significance" as well as being "totally unexpected".
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described the passing of Kent as "The Death of a Carlisle Notable".
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Kent was originally at Maryport as a parish constable then joined
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316:"First Black Policeman in UK lived-in Carlisle"
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264:Greenhow, Raymond (8 June 2018).
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169:instructed to attend a
73:Britain's first black
118:Family and early life
147:Carlisle City Police
100:Cumbria Constabulary
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357:. P3 Publications.
213:Actor and comedian
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228:Fay Allen
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222:See also
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