'Nandie' Keast

Born at Forder in 1803, Nandie was a tailor by trade, but on the 21st of September 1846 he was enrolled as town sergeant, a post whose many duties included the offices of verger to St Nicholas Church, town crier, and official bill poster. He became senior sergeant, responsible for keeping order and for the town gaol, at a time when the Borough held jurisdiction over not only Saltash but also the Tamar, Tavy, and Lynher Estuaries, Plymouth Sound, Cattewater, and the Hamoaze.

A picturesque figure, with his shovel hat and official cloak, carrying a pocket-sized silver oar mace belonging to the Borough as proof of his authority, and armed with a substantial oak truncheon to support it, Nandie was often called upon to collect various dues or to arrest fugitives and criminals on board vessels, a duty which he performed with tact and courage. It is recorded that on one occasion he single-handedly took five mutineers from a ship in the Sound, and marched them all the way to the Saltash lock-up. The men had been confined in irons on the vessel, as the captain was afraid of them, but Nandie's confidence cowed them.

On one memorable occasion, he boarded a vessel in Plymouth Sound to collect the Port Dues, but the captain was in an argumentative mood and took Nandie down to his cabin to discuss matters over a bottle. Two pennyworth of rum was Nandie's preferred drink and he always declared that if he ventured three pennyworth intoxication resulted; on this occasion his assertion was proved correct! After a few glasses of strong drink and a short nap, Nandie came on deck to find that the crew had weighed anchor and set sail for the Channel Islands. Nandie, instead of getting a shilling, got an involuntary voyage to Jersey, where the vessel discharged and was re-laden. Returning to England, the captain dropped Nandie, none the worse for his unpremeditated trip, at another port to find his own way home.

Nandie firmly believed that his head was harder than any other person's and he was in the habit of proving this by using it to crack Brazil nuts against a doorframe. (He even attempted to bequeath his skull to a local doctor, but 19th century sentiment and regulations did not permit such a bequest to be acted upon.) During the course of his duties, in the event of opposition or attack, he would follow up a rap with his truncheon by head-butting the delinquent, which was generally conclusive!

In 1887 Nandie was tipped out of a cart during the local celebration of Queen Victoria's jubilee. Just able to remember the jubilee of King George III in 1810, he remarked that at that celebration also he had met with an accident, having been hit during some stone throwing. Nandie was also present at the Armada Tercentenary in 1888, and at the unveiling of the Armada Memorial in 1890. The latter was his last official appearance, although in November 1890 he fulfilled his role in the election and installation of the new Mayor of Saltash.

Nandie outlived three wives, and died at home on New Year's Day 1891.

Since 1851 he had lived in the old and abandoned Town Hall over the lock-up, or 'Black Hole'. On the site in Lower Fore Street now occupied by the Essa Club, and unused for many years by anybody except Nandie and his prisoners, the building was demolished after Nandie's death. During his lifetime, however, potential miscreants were well-aware of Nandie's oft-repeated saying:
"For if you're naughty
T'was well to know
The Black Hole 'ud open
And in you'd go!"

On the 3rd of January 1891, the Western Morning News reported: "Ferdinand Keast, who for the past 44 years, has been Town Sergeant, of Saltsh, died at his house, the Old Town Hall, in Fore Street, on Thursday, at the advanced age of 87 years. The old gentleman who was well known to every inhabitant of the borough and the vicinity was greatly respected. In every ceremony in which the Town Council or the old Corporation took part, Sergeant Keast was a prominent feature. As late as the unveiling of the Armada memorial on the Hoe the old man was present bearing his mace. He had a capital memory, and could throw much light on the doings of the old Corporation. As a mark of respect the Mayor (Alderman W. Dusting) has invited the Town Council to attend the funeral on Sunday afternoon."

His funeral was attended by a large crowd, and members of the Corporation acted as bearers from the church to the grave. Unfortunately, the grave was a little too small, and the coffin could not at once be lowered. Irreverent youths promptly spread the report that Nandie, always of a dogged nature, would not "go down" but kept bobbing up and asking for his favourite two pennyworth of rum!

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