ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a study of the surviving records of 213 associations, or agreements to prosecute, from 26 counties of England, in the period 1760-1860. In the 1770s, associations were established all over England, and there was a marked acceleration in the pace of new foundations in the 1780s. The formation of so many associations certainly shows that the people who founded and joined them were not satisfied with the protection offered to their property by the existing system. The membership of most associations can be summed up in a phrase which is used in the articles and posters of many of them: they were composed of the 'Gentlemen, Farmers and Tradesmen' of the local district. The relationship of associations and their members to the whole question of policing is an important issue. With rural or semi-rural associations, the situation was rather different.
