Orginally, the Constable was responsible for keeping the militia and armaments of the king, and those of the individual villages, in a state of preparedness for the protection of the village communities throughout England. The office eventually became an integral arm of the military throughout Britain. During the reign of King Stephen, the office of Lord High Constable was established, and those who filled this position became the King's representatives in all matters dealing with the military affairs of the realm and the overseeing of the King's castle.
In 1285, the first written records establishing the position of Constable appeared in the Statutes of Winchester under the rule of Edward I. According to the Statutes "in every hundred and franchise two constables shall be chosen to make the view of the armour." But even earlier records exist which give evidence of the Constable's internal peace keeping responsibility and his closeness to the king himself:
Henry King of England and duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou son King Henry to William Velud greeting. I forbid you unjustly to molest or to have molested the monks of Horton concerning the land of Huntbourne....And unless you do it the keeper of the constablewick of saltwood shall have it done....
This reference to a "constablewick" (custos constablilie) indicates that the king had direct contact through his writs to the constables then operating in Britian.
The constable, then, seems to have been cloaked in a number of roles under the reigns of the early Norman kings. He was in charge of military affairs for the king throughout his realm and served as an enforceing agent of the king's writs. This combination of duties reflect the medieval charachter of the office when feudal government and its political institutions spread throughout Britain to assure that peace was maintained even in the remotest corners of the country far from the King's protection. During the Tudor period (Henry VIII to Elisabeth I) the constable still maintained his position as a military representative of the monarch. His duty was "to prepare the muster of his district which the constable of the Shire would embody in the array of the country to be in turn marshalled in the army of the realm by the high constable of England."
Local settlements in England depended on constables to assure the maintenance of the peace. Election of petty constable as established under the reign of Edward became the basis for local control of the
"king's peace.
In a manner similar to their English counterparts the new American constable had his roots in the military aspects of the community at least in New England. the constable of the early New England settlements bore many of the same duties and responsibilities of his counterparts in England. He was the keeper of the peace and a marshal of the early militias, established to protect the village in which he was administrator. By common law tradition, the constable was the primary official in the community and a community was not recognized as an established village or parish unless a constable was present in the community.
Constables in the newly forming colonies of America brought with them some of the trappings of the English constable. But the duties of the office were not consistent in all areas of the American colonies. In 1634 Joshua Pratt was chosen constable in Plymouth. Among his duties were the carring out of any punishments meted out by local tribunals, sealer of weights and measurements, surveyor of the land, responsibility for announcing any forthcoming marriages in the community, and delivery and execution of all warrants. While many duties were delegated to officials other than the constable, in general the constable was responsible for the "Watch and Ward", the Ward during the day, and the Watch at night in order to keep the community peaceful. The New England settlers went as far as to appoint Indian constables each holding office for a year and responsible for overseeing nine other Indians under his command, and was obligated to report to appropriate officials any acts of misconduct.