The history of truncheons by E.R.H. Dicken refers to the round-bodied, baluster truncheon as being typical of the Manchester area, borne out by the illustrations of Lancashire truncheons and tipstaves in Truncheons: their romance and reality by Erland Fenn Clark. Mervyn Mitten also refers to this shape as being a Manchester truncheon.

Foulk Stapleford ('Foulkstaplford' on the tipstaff) in Cheshire had a population of 212 in 1801. This painted wooden tipstaff would have been carried as a symbol of office by the constable or, almost certainly in this case, the official appointed by the parish church to keep order in the village. The painted coat of arms is that of George III.