Dark Markets Observatory
Smuggling Prosecutions in England and Wales c. 1722-1732
This is a raw version of the data that was transcribed and compiled from reports ordered by the British House of Commons in 1733. In that year and following debate over the Excise Bill, the House ordered a summary of all prosecutions for smuggling throughout England, Wales, and Scotland for the preceding 10 years.
While the Scottish report has not yet been located, the reports for England and Wales were found
at the National Archive, Kew, England (references T64/146-149).
Corrected data will be provided in early March, 2026
If you think this data might be useful, please feel free to email me with ideas about formatting, visualizations or connections with other sources. If you detect errors, please also let me know. dasmith@wlu.ca
Thanks to Jessica Duncan and Nicholas Morrison for their excellent assistance putting together this database. Jessica used TransKribus to create the transcription and Nicholas proofed the copy.
This research is supported in part by funding from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Index | Year | Persons | Place | County | Circumstances | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 | 1727 | Thomas Edwards | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
80 | 1727 | Evan Rowland | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
80 | 1727 | Thomas Brown | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
80 | 1727 | David Jones | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
80 | 1727 | Charles Pott | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
80 | 1727 | Edward Jones | Parnell Brittin Flintshire | Flintshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) process Issued against David Jones, Charles Pott, Jeremy Williams, Thomas Edwards & Evan Rowland but they absconded & could not be taken - Thomas Brown & Edward Jones were arrested & sent to Gaol - John Rowland was arrested & Judgment was obtained upon his Bail Bond & he & his Bail all Run away. |
81 | 1727 | James Bushell | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was prosecuted for this fraud (& other Goods) but could not be taken |
82 | 1727 | Edward Kerby | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this Fraud Edward Kerby was arrested & became an Evidence - & the rest absconded & could not be taken |
82 | 1727 | James Bushell | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this Fraud Edward Kerby was arrested & became an Evidence - & the rest absconded & could not be taken |
82 | 1727 | John Sampson | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this Fraud Edward Kerby was arrested & became an Evidence - & the rest absconded & could not be taken |
82 | 1727 | Alexander Chisam | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this Fraud Edward Kerby was arrested & became an Evidence - & the rest absconded & could not be taken |
82 | 1727 | Edward Grice | near Little Holland | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this Fraud Edward Kerby was arrested & became an Evidence - & the rest absconded & could not be taken |