Smuggling in Hampshire and Dorset: the New Forest, Bournemouth & Poole. Guide-Book: Southern England Contraband run all along this stretch of coast quickly found its way up to the New Forest. The wilds of the forest provided a haven for smugglers and in 1748... 'We hear from the New Forest in Hampshire that Smugglers have got to such a height in that part of the country that scarce a week passes but great quantities of goods are run between Lymington and Christchurch' During the same period '...every labourer was either a poacher or a smuggler, very often a combination of the two' The forest glades were also used for boat-building, and some spots far from the sea are still known locally as 'the Boatyard' — presumably to the puzzlement of visitors.
Burley Burley lies 4m SE of Ringwood at SU2103 (map 195). Here, sunken roads criss-cross the heath land — reputedly constructed so that smugglers could move contraband unobserved. Vereley Hill where Lovey Warne wore her red cloak as a warning signal is at SU1904 Ridley Wood, at SU2006 was a smugglers' market-place. E. Smuggling in Hampshire between Southampton Water and Milford. Guide-Book: Southern England Immediately to the west of Southampton Water the mainland forms a kind of peninsula, hemmed in on the west side by the Beaulieu river. This remote spit of land was ideal smuggling country: at its closest point, the Isle of Wight is less than two miles away, making the crossing quick and simple.
And over such short distances, a signal flashed from a lantern instantly warned of danger, so that a landing could be diverted to a safer spot. Policing this area on land was all but impossible: even within living memory the roads were little more than muddy tracks, and visits to the coastal hamlets were easier on water than by land. Fawley Fawley is now an oil refinery off the A326. Badminton Heath or Common is at SU4501 (map 196) Strategically situated on the west of Southampton Water, Fawley was once a den of smugglers: Ashlett Creek there was a favourite landing point. Eagleshurst Park at Calshot SU480014 and walk SW along the shore. Beaulieu and the River . . . . Smuggling on the north coast of Cornwall and Devon. Guide-Book: South-West England Smuggling boats landed goods from the continent on the south coast of the peninsula in all seasons, but the north coast was used for continental traffic principally during the summer, when the Atlantic storms had abated.
The coastline on the north is less favourable for landings: there are fewer gently-sloping sandy beaches, and many of the suitable coves are too exposed to the wind, making approach more hazardous. The heavy surf for which the area is now famous was another problem, breaking up the floating 'rafts' of roped-together tubs. The main advantage of a north coast landing to the smuggler was that it was inconspicuous: revenue vessels kept an eagle eye on the south coast, but were less vigilant on the north. Smuggling activity on the north coast focused on traffic with the West Indies, and with various off-shore depots, such as Ireland, the Scillies and Lundy Island. Sennen and St Just Sennen is at SW3526 8m W or Penzance. St Ives 12m W of Redruth. Smuggling on Anglesey & in north Wales. Moelfre is at SH5186 and Amlwch at SH4492 on the NE coast of Anglesey (map 114) Smuggling to Anglesey probably reached its zenith in the middle of the 18th century , and was largely unhampered by the efforts of the excise authorities.
One contemporary writer described the coast-waiters of Anglesey as 'Two fools, one Rogue, one Bully and one Numbskull' In 1763 the master of a revenue cutter outlined how the Anglesey smugglers worked: they travelled as passengers on the first available boat to the Isle of Man, often independently, then, after a rendezvous on the island, hired an Irish wherry to take the cargo back to Anglesey. The wherries had crews of 9 or 10, and the smugglers added a further 6-11 crew.
They scheduled a landfall in the early hours of the morning, and simply enlisted local help with unloading, which took an hour or less. They abandoned the small boats they had used to ply to and fro between Wales and the Isle of Man, and instead took to bigger boats with better arms. Conwy. Smuggling in Mounts Bay, Cornwall, and the Scilly Isles. Guide-Book: South-West England Beyond the Lizard from Falmouth is the golden curve of Mounts Bay, with St Michael's Mount set like a jewel on the western side.
It is the most westerly point in the country protected from the Atlantic storms, and the natural shelter made the area especially suitable as a fishing base, and, of course, for smuggling. The geographical situation lent itself to the free-trade in other ways, too. Mount's bay was well-placed for trips to France, to the Channel Islands, and the Scillies. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the whole region was extremely isolated, and this helped the cause of the free-trade. Overland communication was very difficult, because the roads were little more than cart tracks.
Prevention therefore centred on the sea, and Penzance, which looks out over the west side of the bay, was furnished with a revenue cutter at an early stage in the game. Penzance (map 203) The Carters of Prussia Cove 7m W of Helston (map 203). ...' Mullion Cove Porthleven. Smuggling on the south coast of Devon. Guide-Book: South-West England Beer & Jack Rattenbury Beer is at SY2289 1m W of Seaton (Map 192). Bovey House is now a delightful hotel on the road from Beer to Branscombe.
This village of Beer at the extreme east of Devon was the headquarters of a gang of smugglers led by Jack Rattenbury, who was once dubbed 'The Rob Roy of the West'. 'Instead of returning to our native country laden with riches and adorned with trophies, we were become...unwilling sojourners in a strange land'. Rattenbury became a trusty inmate, though, and eventually managed to sneak away. 'I began to conceive a hope not only of escaping, but also of being revenged on the enemy.
Rattenbury steered for the English coast, and when they came in sight of Portland Bill, he convinced the crew that this was Alderney; similarly, St Albans became Cape La Hogue. Amazing adventures Rattenbury followed this with a series of daring escapes — from the navy, the press-gang, from privateers, from customs men. Jack’s modus operandi. Smuggling in Dorset from Purbeck to Weymouth. Guide-Book: Southern England To the west of Poole harbour lies the Isle of Purbeck, famous for its marble workings. The Purbeck marble quarries were a gift for the local free-trading population: much of the marble was extracted by sea, so there was constant activity all along the coast, and an extra ship or two berthing alongside the stone ships passed almost unnoticed.
The workings themselves formed a maze of passages and trenches, and a smuggler pursued could dart down a tunnel and soon be hidden behind a pile of rubble, or a slab waiting to be dressed. The quarrymen were doubtless amply rewarded for assisting the smugglers and co-operation was the rule on the island. Locally contraband was landed from large fishing boats, and from luggers of 20-40 tons: the main imports in the early 18th century were tobacco and spirits, though tea became more popular in the later part of the century.
Swanage 8m S of Poole at SZ0379 (map 195) Durlstone Bay 1m SE of Swanage centre (map 195). Open landings. The expansion and final suppression of smuggling in Britain. Britain’s Smuggling History In the absence of really effective opposition, it was inevitable that wholesale evasion of duty would expand. The process was accelerated in the early years of the 18th century by widespread support for the Jacobite cause. Smuggling was seen not just as a business transaction, but also as an act of rebellion and support for the Old Pretender. Some of the smuggling gangs openly supported the Jacobites and drank their health. Jacobite sympathies manifested themselves in more tangible ways, too.
Jacobites travelled secretly between France and England on smuggling boats, and some smugglers are known to have acted as spies and double agents for the cause. Smugglers clampdown The government responded to the widespread evasion with a rash of legislation, clamping down on smuggling in every imaginable way. The act of indemnity Tax cuts fail to quell smuggling The core of the 1746 act was the publication of the names of known smugglers in the London Gazette. Introduction to Britain's smuggling history. Britain’s Smuggling History Ask anyone to describe an 18th-century smuggler, and they will probably tell you about a Cornishman called Tom dressed in long boots and a striped jersey.
He rolls a couple of kegs up a moonlit beach, hides them in a cave, then hawks the brandy round the village. Everybody knows him as Tom the Smuggler, and his neighbours take it in turns to distract the revenue man at the front door while Tom rolls his barrels out the back. How accurate is this traditional picture of the smuggler? On the one hand it is a romantic impression that doesn't accurately reflect the historical facts about smuggling at any one place or time. Smuggling explodes In the 18th century illegal trade across England's coast grew at a prodigious rate. Even by modern standards, the quantities of imported goods are extraordinary. Statistics like this are even more extraordinary when seen in the light of the time.
Whole communities connived in the trade, and profited from it. Next. Who were Britain's smugglers? Britain’s Smuggling History If you've ever spent time delving into the local history of a coastal area, you'll sooner or later have come across notes to the effect that 'everybody in these parts is a smuggler' or 'every house is a smuggler's', and while many such reports were wildly exaggerated, it's probably true that, at certain times and in certain areas, everybody really was involved in smuggling in one way or another, or at least stood to benefit by its continuation.
The menial farm labourer helped carry goods inland; the parson bought cheap tea and wine; the local squire lent his horses for transport; the wealthy merchant obtained cut-price supplies of silks and lace; and at the very pinnacle of society, members of the gentry conducted foreign business through intermediaries involved in smuggling. Sea smugglers If we confine the question to the men who actually made the trips abroad, identification becomes much simpler. The stereotyped sea smuggler, of course, is easy to picture. How Britain's smugglers financed a smuggling venture.
Britain’s Smuggling History Smugglers' cutomers paid for their illegally imported goods on delivery, so clearly any would-be smuggler had to find money to buy the goods abroad. There were so many ways of financing a smuggling trip that it's difficult to make any accurate generalisations about how the capital was raised. Every possible form of transaction short of credit cards was pressed into use at one time or another, but the earliest method of funding was probably simple barter.
The Kentish and east-coast smugglers would ship out bales of wool to a destination in Normandy, and return packed to the gunwales with tubs of wine or bales of silks and lace. No money changed hands — it was a simple and direct arrangement. The smugglers might themselves have bought the wool in England, but this would obviously have itself involved a considerable capital investment, beyond the means of a rough-and-ready fisherman/smuggler. Finance in the south-east Big business and petty smuggling.
How Britain's smugglers bought contraband abroad. Britain’s Smuggling History Once finance for a smuggling trip had been arranged, a representative appointed by the entrepreneur of the smuggling trip often travelled with the outgoing ship to the continent to purchase the contraband. However, this was not always considered necessary, and the purchase might have been entrusted to the ship's master. A common arrangement was to have agents abroad, who could strike a bargain with the suppliers, and have a cargo stacked ready for loading on the quayside when the tide brought the vessel into port.
Another option was for a representative to cross the channel alone by some legitimate vessel such as a postal packet, and then on arrival to charter a French or Dutch boat and crew. It's no coincidence that some of these are now familiar destinations for cross-channel travellers — then as now, the ports were conveniently situated for a short crossing, and had fine harbours. Man-size packaging Tubs of spirits Clever concealment High profits. Smuggling on Solway Firth and Galloway coasts, Scotland. Guide-Book: Scotland Annan is on the A75 8m W of Gretna; Waterfoot and Kenziels are just S of the town at NY1965 Ruthwell is 8m farther W (map 85). There is a wealth of stories and legends about smuggling on the north coast of the Solway, and it seems clear that the enormous majority of goods smuggled into Scotland were landed here.
The proximity of the wicked Isle of Man gave the local smugglers a considerable advantage over their competitors elsewhere on the coast. Walter Scott wrote of the area that 'Few people take more enthusiastically to the 'free-trade' than the men of the Solway Coast'. 'Every little village along the Wigtownshire coast has its local tradition of some episode connected with the daring deeds of the smuggling fraternity...' Some of these villages would also have been familiar to Scotland's most famous revenue man, Robbie Burns.
Burns took the surrender of the ship when the dragoons arrived, and his biographer describes the incident in euphoric terms. Dumfries NX97. Smuggling around Chichester, West Sussex. Guide-Book: South-East England The far west of Sussex has a particularly black reputation in the history of smuggling, on account of a number of particularly brutal murders that took place here. (see Barbarous Usage below). However, these notorious incidents were in some respects the doing of strangers to the area, and by contrast, the local people kept a characteristically low profile in their smuggling activities. They were aided in this by the nature of the coastline, which changes progressively west of Bognor, from straight flat beaches to a fretwork of sandy inlets and natural harbours. The proximity of the Isle of Wight, a smuggling entrepôt, was an added bonus.
Pagham Harbour For Pagham (SZ8897, map 197) leave the B2166 at Lagness along a minor road. Pagham Harbour, the most easterly of the inlets in the Chichester area, is today choked with mud and weeds, but in the 18th century it was still a working port, with channels to the quayside both at Sidlesham and Pagham. Selsey Bill. How smuggling developed in Britain from the 13th to 19th century. Britain’s Smuggling History A description of a smuggling run draws together elements that might have been separated in time or geography, and gives no sense of how smuggling methods evolved in the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
So it's worth now turning briefly to look at how changing patterns of taxation and prevention shaped smuggling practice. Obviously, smuggling as a business proposition requires something to smuggle — contraband that on crossing a border, is taxed, or levied, subject to a duty — or even banned and impounded. Broadly speaking, then, smuggling is the evasion of a levy imposed, or the movement of prohibited goods. English society prior to the 12th century was substantially self-supporting, and cross-border trade so insignificant that it did not attract the attention of the administrators of the day. The growth of trade with Europe brought an end to this import/export idyll, and provided the smuggler with his first opportunity. Labour shortage. How smugglers carried contraband back to Britain. How smugglers landed their contraband on Britain's coasts. Hiding places where smugglers concealed contraband. Smuggling gangs of East Sussex and their inland bases.
Smuggling in east Kent: Deal, Dover and Folkestone. Smuggling in Suffolk. Smuggling on Thanet and northeast Kent. How British smugglers transported contraband inland.