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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
156 | 1730 | John Bilton | Between Clowton & Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
157 | 1730 | John Maultby | near the Mill Hoop in Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
158 | 1730 | Clement Seller | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud & can't be taken. |
159 | 1730 | John Lee | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and Run without Payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for these Frauds & Compounded. |
160 | 1730 | Isaac Miers | at Gayesley Yorkshire | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is Prosecuted for this and other Frauds he can't be taken. |
161 | 1730 | William Cramlington | Jarrow Key Durham at Stanton - Durham near Sunderland | Durham | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for these & other Frauds The Cause against Cramlington is at Issue Artley is dead. |
161 | 1730 | William Artley | Jarrow Key Durham at Stanton - Durham near Sunderland | Durham | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for these & other Frauds The Cause against Cramlington is at Issue Artley is dead. |
162 | 1730 | Francis Hodgson | on the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Sold in an Unenter'd Place | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
163 | 1730 | John Ashburne | at Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud and admitted an Evidence. |
164 | 1730 | John Sharpe | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |
164 | 1730 | Thomas Sim | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |
164 | 1730 | William Heskett | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |