It is difficult to separate the myth from the reality with smugglers. Were
they free traders, organised crime, villans, pirates,local heroes?
Cornwall was suitable for smuggling in that it had a long expanse of rocky,
virtually uninhabited coast, with few revenue men to patrol it. The goods smuggled
included tea, brandy, gin, rum and tobacco. Following numerous increases in
tea tax, tea could be bought in Europe for 1/6th of the price in Britain, while
French brandy was only 1/5th of the price.
Initially, smuggling took place fairly openly with cargoes landed directly
on the shore. This was made possible by the involvement of all sections of the
community, from the local landowner downwards. The involvement of the gentry
would range from turning a blind eye, to full scale involvement. The Killigrew
family who established Falmouth,
was one family whose money and influence came from smuggling and piracy.
Smuggling boomed until the end of the 18th century. Some souces say 500,000
gallons of French brandy per year were sumggled into Cornwall. In addition ships
returning from the far east would heave to off shore and sell china, silk and
cotton goods free of tax to local boats. In 1763, three East Indiamen in Falmouth
harbour, are said to have sold £20,000 of goods in this way.
However from around 1800 the Revenue men became more organised and proactive.
Smuggled goods had to be dropped off in remote coves, and picked up again when
the coast was clear. Tunnels and passages were dug out of the rocks to expedite
movement.
The risks involved in smuggling were high. A minimum penalty of transportation
to colonies such as Australia, was common, and often the penalties were much
more severe. Robert Lang, a smuggler from Veryan, is recorded as being hung
at the crossroads of Ruanlanihorne and St. Mawes as an example to others.
Once landed, much of the contraband made its way up country. On the windswept
wastes of Bodmin Moor
Jamaica Inn
is perhaps the best known of all smuggling haunts, thanks to Daphne Du Maurier's
novel. It is surrounded by barren country and often hemmed in by chill winds
and thick mists, and the approach is perhaps more spectacular than the building
itself.
Smugglers
Perhaps most famous of the smugglers at this time was the
Carter
family of Prussia Cove, where John the eldest son, because it is
said, of his deep admiration for Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, named
the cove so. His activities were legendary, but he eventually "retired
in the early 1800s..
The brother and sister team,
Fyn and Joan, were notorious
smugglers, who used Looe Island as
their base. Black Joan, as she was known, was the more violent of the two and
is believed to have murdered a Negro whose ghost now haunts the island. Looe
Island has had various owners, it was an ecclesiastical centre, then it passed
to the Mayows in the 16th century and the Trelawneys from c 1600, and it was
tenants of Trelawney who ran the trade in smuggled goods from the Channel Islands
to Looe for over 80 years from the 18th to the 19th century. One story names
tthe pair as Hamram, and his daughter 'Tilda; another account makes them brother
and sister, Fyn and Black Joan. The pair stored contraband in a hidden and the
smugglerso paid a fee for each tub concealed.
Baring-Gould in "A Book of Cornwall" relates a story of a tavern
keeper, an evil faced man, who had been a smuggler in his day: He and his men
were rowing a cargo ashore they were pursued by a revenue boat.
Tristam
Davey,the smuggler, knew this bit of coast perfectly. There was a reef
of short slate rock that ran across the little bay, Tristam knew how to clear
the reef,but the revenue boat following did not. It hit the reef, and Tristam
shot the mate of the revenue boat, leaving the rest to fend for themselves in
the water.
Another legendary smuggler was "
Cruel
Coppinger",whose biography was written by Rev RS Hawker. reputed
to have coerced villagers through fear and intimidation, into smuggling, when
he came to live in Cornwall after shipwrecking on the safe houses, in villages
throughout the north coast. His son is said to have inherited his barbarous
ways and to have laughingly killed his playmate as a young child.
Smugglers Beaches in Cornwall
In 1765 a beach 2 miles
west of Padstow was in use as a landing
point, and William Rawlings wrote in that year to the earl of Dartmouth that
his servants encountered 60 horses carrying a cargo from the beach some 3 miles
from St Columb...'having each three bags of tea on them of 56 or 58lbs weight'
When pepper was taxed heavily, it became a popular item for the Cornwall smugglers,
and tiny
Pepper Cove a little way north of Porthcothan takes
its name from the boatloads of spice that were landed there. 4 miles south of
Padstow. Walk across the beach, and South along the cliff path for about 600
yards. Pepper Cove is the 3rd inlet. It's an archetypical smugglers' cove: the
entrance from the sea is narrow, and fringed with jagged rocks; once inside,
a smuggler's vessel would be totally hidden by the high cliffs, so that unloading
could be a safe and leisurely activity. The beach is sandy and free of rocks,
and the gradient is sufficiently gentle that even a large boat could have been
beached quite easily. Nearby is Wills Rock where smugglers left a revenue man
on the rock to drown in the rising tide; but the officer lived to tell the tale.
On the coast north of
Hayle, the B3301 coast road to Portreath
passes several landing points: Hell's Mouth some 5 m from Hayle,was a landing
spot; and Ralph's Cupboard (named after a smuggler), a mile outside Portreath
at was used for storage. And there is a report
of James Bawden of Gwithian being tried in 1801 for smuggling.
Hayle was a landing place for smugglers, and in the garden
of a house that was formerly the local youth hostel there is a tunnel that was
probably used for smuggling. A sloping trench leads down from ground level to
the arched tunnel entrance, where the hinges for a gate or door can still be
seen. The tunnel is still open, and runs due north for hundreds of yards. It
is possible to walk along it. It seems authentic as any: it is the right shape;
it runs towards the coast; it even has a drainage gulley along its length to
keep the flat floor dry.
At
St Ives Bay, the collector of customs was a John Knill,
who dabbled in smuggling a little himself. When he was mayor (in 1767) he paid
for the fitting out of a privateer, which was used as a smuggler. One story
links Knill to a boat loaded with china that ran aground at the Hayle side of
Carrack Gladden. The crew escaped, and someone removed the ship's papers since
they implicated Knill and a squire from Trevetho. Roger Wearne, the customs
man of the time, helped himself to some of the cargo, but as he was climbing
down from the vessal , one of the locals noticed his bulging clothes, and a
few well-aimed blows ensured that the china was worthless.
The Blue Bell Inn at St Ives was once the haunt of a Dutch smuggler called
Hans Breton. It was said that he was in league with the devil, and that he paid
duty on only one keg of brandy. This, however, never seemed to empty, and lasted
him 22 years.
Also at St Ives in 1851, a notorious local smuggler called James 'Old Worm'
Williams landed smuggled Irish whisky close to the St Ives breakwater, and hid
the barrels in fishing boats and pig sties near the water. Later that night,
three carts collected the haul, a coastguard drinking in the George and Dragon
in the market place noticed them, but he was bound and gagged by locals. After
some time, though, he managed to free himself, but could not find the carts
full of contraband. T he case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
A St Ives in the 1870s a local boat called Old Duchy smuggled rum from Holland.
The trips ended when the excisemen put spies among the fishermen.
At Trencrom Hill,
Lelant, one of two granite cottages once
known as Newcastle was used as a 19th century kiddlewink — a beershop.
Smugglers excavated a cave alongside for the concealment of contraband. The
cottages still stand on the hill, but are private houses — there is no
public access to them. The church at Lelant was also used for the storage of
contraband spirits.
At
St Just, a short two smugglers - Oats and Permewan - were
active around 1818. They temployed a middle-man, who paid the merchants in France.
But the middle-man, Pridham, got greedy, kept the payments and threatened to
report the smugglers to the authorities. An eventual court case never got anywhere.
Sennen was a centre of the free-trade. The inn was owned by
the farmer who ran local smuggling operations, with the help of the landlady
of the inn, Ann George, and her husband. The Georges fell out with their landlord,
and later trestified against smugglers in a court case. In 1805 when the excise
men impounded a large cargo — 1000 gallons each of brandy, rum and gin,
and a quarter of a ton of tobacco. The owner of the cargo eventually appeared
in court. The main witness for the prosecution was Ann George, but she was regarded
as such a malicious gossip that the case was dismissed.
The
Penzance revenue men were ineffective in early years.
In 1767 nine smugglers' vessels, including armed sloops, sailed from Penzance
harbour in broad daylight; a man of war looked on, powerless to stop them. Five
years later a customs boat from Penzance was plundered and sunk by smugglers,
and in the same year, another smugglers' boat captured the revenue cutter Brilliant,
which was lying in Penzance harbour with seized goods on board. The excisemen
were weak, and the smugglers had strong local support. In 1770 the Mayor of
Penzance was bound over with a large financial surety, to cease smuggling.
At Ludgvan, two miles north east of Penzance, the customs officers could not
sell seized liquor in 1748, because of the vast quantity smuggled in. Smugglers
were asking 3/3 a gallon for the illegally imported liquor: the reserve price
on the seized goods was 5/6.
Mousehole is the most westerly of the Mount's Bay smuggling
villages. Contraband was carried around openly during the day — when asked
why he had not apprehended the villains, the preventive assigned to the town
said he had been pelted with stones, and lay in his bed recovering. Around 1780
charges were brought against the Mousehole officials for accepting bribes and
cooperating with the smugglers. Richard 'Doga' Pentreath of Mousehole was described
by the Penzance Collector of Customs as 'an honest man in all his dealings though
a notorious smuggler'. Another smuggler, Thomas Mann, was also described as
honest.
Buildings at
Helston were frequently pressed into service
to house smuggled goods in transit from the coast. George Michell drove a cart
load of silk up to the Angel In pub, but the landlady warned him of a party
of searchers, awaiting his arrival. Michell sent his son round to the yard with
the cart, walking brazenly into the bar, and bought the crowd of searchers a
drink. Michell spun out the conversation for a good while, eventually, they
heard a rumble of cart wheels, and, rushing to the window, the searchers saw
an old horse-drawn hearse driving off which they dismissed as a pauper's funeral.
Not surprisingly when the officers eventually got round to searching Michell's
cart, they found only innocent provisions.
Mullion Cove at the east of Mounts Bay was a favourite landing
place for contraband. On one occasion, Billy of Praow was bringing brandy ashore,
when the cargo was captured by a government brig. News of this spread, and the
local people raided an armoury at Trenance, and opened fire on the brig in the
bay until the cargo was returned.
The Spotsman, a prominent local smuggler was returning from France with a cargo
of brandy, and landed the goods between Predannack Head and Mullion Cove, at
a spot called locally 'the Chair'. On discovering that the excisemen were planning
to raid his beach, he hid the casks in a mineshaft. On another occasion the
Spotsman was slow to reply to a challenge by another smuggler, and was mistaken
for a revenue man and shot. Fortunately he lost only his thumb in the encounter.
There is further background
on this smuggler in this information.
Lieut Drew, the chief Coastguard for the Mullion area, is credited with smashing
the smuggling ring in the district. Drew and a fellow coastguard interrupted
a run, and hauled in 100 tubs that had been hidden at sea. Later Drew interrupted
another attempt to run goods in at Angrowse Cliffs and recovered nearly 100
tubs that had been sunken by the ship. By 1840 the game was effectively up.
At
Gunwalloe a little way to the north, caves on the beach
were said to be linked by a tunnel to the belfry of a nearby church, and another
passage joined the Halzephron inn to Fishing Cove, the home of a local smuggler
called Henry Cuttance.
Porthleven. Local legend tells that tunnels connect caves
in the cliffs to Methleigh Manor a mile or so away. The Ship Inn at Porthleven
was rumoured to have numerous escape routes; these must be very cunningly concealed,
because a search by the present landlord revealed no trace.
Falmouth area. The smugglers of Falmouth operated on an extraordinary
scale. In 1762 three East Indiamen returning to Britain from China anchored
in the bay, and for a fortnight held a regular on-board bazaar, selling silk,
muslin, dimityes, china, tea, arrack, handkerchiefs and other goods. The Falmouth
postal packet ships were also heavily implicated in smuggling. War led to
larger crews on the packet boats, and this in itself was good for trade in Falmouth.
In 1739 one commentator could scarcely conceal his glee at the prospect of imminent
war with Spain...
'There is something to be hoped, past experience teaching us that the Town will
flourish in a French war'
1743, though, brought an unexpected crack-down which strangled Falmouth trade.
A Times report of 1786 tells of a skirmish between the "Happy Go Lucky",
a smugglers boat from Falmouth, and the revenue cutters.
Newspaper reports for 24 May 1839 tell of a schooner loaded with coal docking
in the harbour. The coals were gradually unloaded. But a suspicious customs
officer bored holes in the hull with a gimlet. Withdrawing the gimlet, the customs
officer received a face-full of brandy, from a tub stowed in a cavity between
the false interior of the hull and the outside. Altogether there 276 barrels
of brandy and gin in the space. The ship had been operating for 3 years without
detection.
The creeks south of Falmouth, notably at
Gweek and
Helford,
also proved useful to smugglers seeking privacy for their activities, as did
the beaches and small fishing ports at
Porthallow, Porthoustock, Godrevy
Cove, Coverack, Black Head and Kennack Sands. Smugglers. In September
1840 a 30-strong gang of smugglers using several carts broke open the custom-house
at Helford, and removed 126 half ankers of Brandy, which had been confiscated
a few days before at Coverack. They worked from 1 to 1.30, but generously left
3 barrels for the excisemen. The customs-man on station heard the doors being
forced, but was powerless to do anything. The tubs had been seized from the
Teignmouth — they were lashed to the outside of the boat (although this
technique was common in Kent, it was less convenient for the long crossing to
Cornwall). When the vessel reached the beach at Gweek, the crew hailed two men
on the beach for help — they proved to be customs officers, who drew their
pistols and arrested crew, ship and cargo.
Just to the south of Mylor, at
Penrhyn, local legend tells
of a tunnel linking the shore to St Gluvias' Vicarage, and farther down the
creek on the south side, there are two caves used for storage. A tunnel on the
same site has now been blocked. Near to one of these creeks in 1801 a mounted
smuggler carrying two ankers of spirits was surprised by a customs man. The
smuggler rode off at speed and eventually plunged into the water to escape.
The smuggler escaped, but his horse drowned and with the help of the ferry-man
the preventive rescued the barrels.
Close to Truro,
Sunset Creek, opposite Malpas, was the site
of Penpol Farm, which featured a sunken road, and hiding places in caves and
woodland.
Tresillian Creek to the east and Mylor creek to the
south were also popular landing places: at Mylor can still be seen a memorial
dated 1814 to a fishermen who had the misfortune to be shot in error by revenue
men.
Smuggling stories here centre around the
St Anthony's Head,
and the peninsula of land leading to it. One story tells of a St Mawes customs
officer who realized that the Porthscatho smugglers operating in Gerrans Bay
kept watch on hills overlooking St Mawes harbour, so that they had time to disperse
if a revenue boat approached around the headland. By carrying a small boat across
the isthmus, he mounted a surprise attack.
St Mawes was the base for Robert Long, a seventeenth century
smuggler who met an untimely end — he was executed, and his body was hung
in chains on the road from the town to Ruan Lanihorne.
Like Cawsand,
Mevagissey was a town renowned for its boat
builders. The large vessels built here in the 18th century when smuggling still
took place relatively openly were capable of tremendous speeds, and could make
the crossing from Roscoff in France in a day or less.
Fowey. The story of an abortive 1835 landing close to Fowey
and its court sequel is interesting. Two coastguards from Fowey went to Lantick
Hill, and hid in bushes near Pencannon Point. After a wait, at least 100 men
arrived on the beach — 20 of them batsmen. One of the coastguards went
to get help, and when reinforcements arrived the party of six preventives challenged
the smugglers, and there was a fierce battle; one of the coastguards was knocked
unconscious, but 5 smugglers were eventually arrested. A party from the revenue
cutter Fox eventually met up with the six coastguards, and captured 484 gallons
of Brandy. When the case came to court, the defense argued that the clubs were
just walking sticks, the local vicar was called as a character witness for one
of the accused, and local farmers vouched for the good name of the others. The
jury acquitted, adding that they did not consider the clubs to be offensive
weapons. Contraband from this abortive landing may have been headed the Crown
and Anchor Inn on the quayside at Fowey, since the smuggler Richard Kingcup
was at one time the landlord there.
Polperro The Polperro smuggling museum houses a small collection
of pictures and other items associated with the free-trade.
A colourful Polperro legend involves 'Battling Billy', who ran the Halfway
House Inn. Billy used a herarse to carry his contraband inland. One day while
brandy was being loaded by daylight, the revenue arrived, Billy was shot in
the neck and he was killed instantly, but his whip-hand continued to urge the
horses on. When they reached Polperro, the dead man drove straight down the
main street, off the quayside and into the harbour. Battling Billy's ghost still
haunts the narrow cobbled streets. Another tale involves the Lottery, a Polperro
smuggling vessel wanted by the customs authorities. When the Cawsand customs
men saw the ship becalmed half a mile from Penlee Point, they put to sea several
rowing boats. The crew of the Lottery, opened fire when they were still some
distance away. One of the crew in the King's boat died of his wounds. The crew
of the Lottery became outlaws in their home town. Eventually the prime suspect,
Tom Potter was arrested and executed.
The village of
Talland was at one time a thriving community,
and the bay was a favourite landfall for smuggling boats from the continent.
All that now remains of the village is the church high on the steep hill above
Talland Bay.
Near the door of the church in the south west corner there is an interesting
tombstone commemorating Robert Mark. Local legends differ about Mark's identity.
One story has it that while on a smuggling trip he died from wounds inflicted
by a revenue man's pistol ball. A smuggler of the same name was sentenced in
May 1799 for resisting arrest when the smuggling vessel Lottery was captured.
However, another account makes him not a free-trader but a revenue man who was
shot in a cellar on dry land; Jonah Puckey, the ringleader of a smuggling gang,
reputedly fired the shot that killed him.
The open beaches of
Whitsand Bay made a fine landing when
the coast was sufficiently clear for covert runs, but smugglers seeking a more
discreet approach headed for Looe, and brought the goods ashore on Looe Island.
In West Looe Ye Olde Jolly Sailor was a smuggler's haunt, and here too the story
is told of how the quick-thinking landlady once concealed an illicit keg beneath
her petticoats during an unexpected search. While the preventives searched,
she calmly knitted.
Cawsand and Kingsand. The vast natural harbour of Plymouth
had a naval presence throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The city itself
formed the largest market for contraband in Cornwall, so it's not surprising
to find some notorious villages nearby. Goods brought in to the twin villages
of Cawsand and Kingsand there could be easily ferried across the harbour to
Plymouth. A Times report of 1785
tells of a naval officer killed by smugglers. Both towns were hotbeds of smuggling
— in 1804 the revenue services estimated that 17,000 kegs of spirits had
been landed here in just one year. Harry
Carter, a famous Cornwall smuggler, often used Cawsand for his smuggling
activities, and on one of these trips his boat was boarded by sailors from a
man-of-war anchored nearby. In the hand-to-hand fighting that ensued, he sustained
a cutlass wound that almost killed him.
