Smuggling in East Anglia - 1700-1840

The East Anglian coastline was always ideal for smuggling. Low-lying, bleak and lonely, it made a perfect landfall for a swift ship loaded with a cargo of contraband. The Revenue Service was poorly staffed and financed, and its cutters were easily eluded by local seamen who knew how to pick their way through the area’s maze of tidal creeks and channels.

During its heyday, smuggling embraced a huge range of dutiable luxuries including lace, silks, coffee and playing cards, as well as less orthodox cargo such as golden guineas and spies. It was a big industry, employing more than 40,000 people and accounting for a quarter of all England’s overseas trade.

Whole communities were involved in this black economy - young and old, rich and poor, labourers and landowners. At Sizewell Gap in Suffolk it was not uncommon to see 100 carts and up to 300 horses gathered on the beach to await a big landing, while Tiptree Heath in Essex was the site of a permanent contraband fair - a smugglers’ bring-and-buy sale from which goods were distributed to the rich markets of Colchester, Chelmsford and London.

Stan Jarvis’ book describes the industry along each section of the East Anglian coast from Southend-on-Sea to King’s Lynn, explaining the methods used and introducing the characters involved. His book is a vivid portrait of a trade which even today is remembered with more than a little affection.

A5 (softcover) 176 pages

Author: Stan Jarvis

ISBN 9780905392868