Smuggling in Devon by Gill Selley
There have been several books and articles written about smuggling in the West Country naming one or two famous smugglers (including Jack Rattenbury from Beer.
It was a constant fight by the authorities to catch the many men and women involved in bringing in contraband. When the offenders were caught they were taken before the Justices of the Peace at the Devon Quarter Sessions. There are countless records of these offences in the early 19th century which name the culprits, what they were smuggling and where they were caught. The punishment meted out was different for seafaring men and for those who organized or stored the contraband. Seamen were condemned to spend five years in the Royal Navy, and the other offenders were fined £100 (proximately £4,500 in modern money) with a lengthy time spent in gaol until the money was paid. It is easy to see how difficult it was for the excise officers to contain the large amount of smuggling that was going on in East and South Devon when one sees the numbers of small coves along the coast.
So where were these men captured? The Court records name the capture of boats in the Bristol Channel (used to describe the sea off the North Devon coast) or the British (English) Channel. Men and women were also convicted of storing contraband or moving it across the land. In 1825 a woman from Branscombe, the wife of a labourer was fined £100 for having a gallon of smuggled foreign brandy seized from her at Salcombe Regis. The punishment was the same for smuggling large amounts of contraband at sea or for storing small ones on land – in both cases the goods were seized. Men were also prosecuted for lighting a bonfire in Beer as a signal to smugglers.
What were these men smuggling? All cases recorded name the goods as brandy and Geneva, which was a type of gin. The excise duty on these drinks brought over from the Continent was an important tax for the Government, and for the smugglers a secret source of income. In 1796 an annual licence to sell beer and other drinks, except brandy, rum and Geneva, cost £1 17s 6d; a further charge of £2 4s was made for a licence to sell ‘foreign wine’; and to sell distilled liquors the licence cost £6 6s. A sloop in the English Channel off the coast of Dorset was captured carrying 387 gallons of brandy and 312 gallons of Geneva. Six men were caught off the Exmouth coast smuggling 90 gallons of brandy and 60 gallons of Geneva. Four seamen were sentenced to serve in the Royal Navy for carrying 100 gallons each of brandy and Geneva. John Rattenbury’s boat was caught carrying 70 gallons of brandy and 69 gallons of Geneva off the Devon coast. Rattenbury was fined £100! In 1827 a boat was found to contain 335 gallons of brandy and 82 gallons of Geneva (152 casks). The perpetrators were three seamen (condemned to serve in the Royal Navy), and two Frenchmen who were fined £100 each. According to the size of the ship and the numbers involved the hoard of contraband ranged from small quantities on a small boat to the larger amounts listed above.
A man from East Budleigh was fined for ‘harbouring’ 3 pints of brandy, and another from the same parish for holding 2 quarts of brandy and seven pints of Geneva. Possibly these men were innkeepers of the parish or were selling the drink on to the licensed trade. At the same time another man from Budleigh Salterton, was fined for having in his possession three ½ pints of brandy and five ½ pints of Geneva. All the men were fined £100. Some of those convicted were caught carrying their contraband to another parish: A Sidbury man was convicted of taking one four-gallon cask of brandy and Geneva to Otterton, and a man from Lympstone was convicted of carrying away 3 gallons of brandy and three of Geneva.
An early case of smuggling was recorded at the Devon Quarter Sessions in 1684, not of brandy or Geneva, but of tobacco. In 1604 King James I imposed a duty to be paid on tobacco and as smoking and snuff-taking became very popular the duty raised was large, and the incentive to smuggle tobacco a great temptation. This case was about several men from the parishes of East Budleigh and Otterton.
The evidence was given that a small farmer called Richard Lee, who had two orchards at Ladderam [sic], found in a place called Ladderam Splatt about 30 bags of tobacco. With another farmer, Richard Dolling, the bags were put onto three horses and taken to the house of a man called Richard Warry in Otterton. One witness declared that the tobacco was brought into Otterton parish by a boat from Teignmouth or Brixham, and that the fisher-men kept ten bags of the tobacco. At this time the river Otter was much wider and boats could land at Otterton as well as in the bay at Ladram. A customs officer from Exmouth gave evidence that 35 bags of tobacco had been seized by Mr. Ralph Merson and were put into were put into the barn of John Rise in Otterton. Mysteriously the barn door was broken open and the tobacco disappeared! It was later found in the house of Richard Dolling and seized by the officers. Dolling declared that there was no key to the room where the tobacco was found and he had no idea how it got there. Unfortunately the documents do not record who was eventually convicted or what the punishment was.
This was not the only type of smuggling done at this time. In 1817 an account was given in the Exeter Flying Post of a person residing in Guernsey who had made several trips across the channel in a vessel from that island, and always carried his bedstead ashore on his arrival, until suspicion was aroused that this piece of furniture was not a mere ‘sleeping partner’. On its way to the ship from Stonehouse (Plymouth) it was seized, and upon examination, found to contain lace, stockings, shawls etc. to the amount of £300, the post and legs being hollowed out for their reception. On the following day the ship also was seized. This bedstead, it is said, had often been landed at Portsmouth, Weymouth, Torbay, Plymouth etc. the owner pretending to "travel for his health".
Ladram Bay, Otterton.
There have been several books and articles written about smuggling in the West Country naming one or two famous smugglers (including Jack Rattenbury from Beer.
It was a constant fight by the authorities to catch the many men and women involved in bringing in contraband. When the offenders were caught they were taken before the Justices of the Peace at the Devon Quarter Sessions. There are countless records of these offences in the early 19th century which name the culprits, what they were smuggling and where they were caught. The punishment meted out was different for seafaring men and for those who organized or stored the contraband. Seamen were condemned to spend five years in the Royal Navy, and the other offenders were fined £100 (proximately £4,500 in modern money) with a lengthy time spent in gaol until the money was paid. It is easy to see how difficult it was for the excise officers to contain the large amount of smuggling that was going on in East and South Devon when one sees the numbers of small coves along the coast.
So where were these men captured? The Court records name the capture of boats in the Bristol Channel (used to describe the sea off the North Devon coast) or the British (English) Channel. Men and women were also convicted of storing contraband or moving it across the land. In 1825 a woman from Branscombe, the wife of a labourer was fined £100 for having a gallon of smuggled foreign brandy seized from her at Salcombe Regis. The punishment was the same for smuggling large amounts of contraband at sea or for storing small ones on land – in both cases the goods were seized. Men were also prosecuted for lighting a bonfire in Beer as a signal to smugglers.
What were these men smuggling? All cases recorded name the goods as brandy and Geneva, which was a type of gin. The excise duty on these drinks brought over from the Continent was an important tax for the Government, and for the smugglers a secret source of income. In 1796 an annual licence to sell beer and other drinks, except brandy, rum and Geneva, cost £1 17s 6d; a further charge of £2 4s was made for a licence to sell ‘foreign wine’; and to sell distilled liquors the licence cost £6 6s. A sloop in the English Channel off the coast of Dorset was captured carrying 387 gallons of brandy and 312 gallons of Geneva. Six men were caught off the Exmouth coast smuggling 90 gallons of brandy and 60 gallons of Geneva. Four seamen were sentenced to serve in the Royal Navy for carrying 100 gallons each of brandy and Geneva. John Rattenbury’s boat was caught carrying 70 gallons of brandy and 69 gallons of Geneva off the Devon coast. Rattenbury was fined £100! In 1827 a boat was found to contain 335 gallons of brandy and 82 gallons of Geneva (152 casks). The perpetrators were three seamen (condemned to serve in the Royal Navy), and two Frenchmen who were fined £100 each. According to the size of the ship and the numbers involved the hoard of contraband ranged from small quantities on a small boat to the larger amounts listed above.
A man from East Budleigh was fined for ‘harbouring’ 3 pints of brandy, and another from the same parish for holding 2 quarts of brandy and seven pints of Geneva. Possibly these men were innkeepers of the parish or were selling the drink on to the licensed trade. At the same time another man from Budleigh Salterton, was fined for having in his possession three ½ pints of brandy and five ½ pints of Geneva. All the men were fined £100. Some of those convicted were caught carrying their contraband to another parish: A Sidbury man was convicted of taking one four-gallon cask of brandy and Geneva to Otterton, and a man from Lympstone was convicted of carrying away 3 gallons of brandy and three of Geneva.
An early case of smuggling was recorded at the Devon Quarter Sessions in 1684, not of brandy or Geneva, but of tobacco. In 1604 King James I imposed a duty to be paid on tobacco and as smoking and snuff-taking became very popular the duty raised was large, and the incentive to smuggle tobacco a great temptation. This case was about several men from the parishes of East Budleigh and Otterton.
The evidence was given that a small farmer called Richard Lee, who had two orchards at Ladderam [sic], found in a place called Ladderam Splatt about 30 bags of tobacco. With another farmer, Richard Dolling, the bags were put onto three horses and taken to the house of a man called Richard Warry in Otterton. One witness declared that the tobacco was brought into Otterton parish by a boat from Teignmouth or Brixham, and that the fisher-men kept ten bags of the tobacco. At this time the river Otter was much wider and boats could land at Otterton as well as in the bay at Ladram. A customs officer from Exmouth gave evidence that 35 bags of tobacco had been seized by Mr. Ralph Merson and were put into were put into the barn of John Rise in Otterton. Mysteriously the barn door was broken open and the tobacco disappeared! It was later found in the house of Richard Dolling and seized by the officers. Dolling declared that there was no key to the room where the tobacco was found and he had no idea how it got there. Unfortunately the documents do not record who was eventually convicted or what the punishment was.
This was not the only type of smuggling done at this time. In 1817 an account was given in the Exeter Flying Post of a person residing in Guernsey who had made several trips across the channel in a vessel from that island, and always carried his bedstead ashore on his arrival, until suspicion was aroused that this piece of furniture was not a mere ‘sleeping partner’. On its way to the ship from Stonehouse (Plymouth) it was seized, and upon examination, found to contain lace, stockings, shawls etc. to the amount of £300, the post and legs being hollowed out for their reception. On the following day the ship also was seized. This bedstead, it is said, had often been landed at Portsmouth, Weymouth, Torbay, Plymouth etc. the owner pretending to "travel for his health".
Ladram Bay, Otterton.
