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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
99 | 1728 | George Earle | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | Samuel Cantrell | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | John Earle | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | Thomas Hall | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | Browsler Hansell | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | John Crosson | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
99 | 1728 | William Hicks | at Several places on the Coast of Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this & other frauds - Judgmt was obtained against Crosson upon his Bail Bond & he was taken in Execution thereon - Cantrell is Dead William Tylere, Thos Hall, Wm Taylor, Wm Hicks, George Earle & Browsler Hansell were Severally prosecuted for part of these Goods - John Earle, William Hicks & George Earls Bail bonds are in Suit - Hall & Tyler were taken & sent to Chelmsford Goal - Taylor & Hansell cant be heard of. |
100 | 1728 | Joseph Alcock | at Skegness Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this and other Frauds - Hardy was Drown'd Aynes was sent to Beverly Gaol from whencehe made his Escape - Judgment was Obtain'd against Alcock with which he was charged in Execution in the Fleet Prison. |
100 | 1728 | Micheal Hardy | at Skegness Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this and other Frauds - Hardy was Drown'd Aynes was sent to Beverly Gaol from whencehe made his Escape - Judgment was Obtain'd against Alcock with which he was charged in Execution in the Fleet Prison. |
101 | 1728 | Edward Oram | East Tilbury Essex | Essex | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & died before he could be Arrested. |
102 | 1728 | John Willis | at Hemsby in Norfolk | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | are Prosecuted for this Fraud - Elgate has been arrested and has given Bail - Willis can't be taken - they have since Compounded. |
102 | 1728 | John Elgate | at Hemsby in Norfolk | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | are Prosecuted for this Fraud - Elgate has been arrested and has given Bail - Willis can't be taken - they have since Compounded. |
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