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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
164 | 1730 | John Pew | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |
164 | 1730 | George Sharpe Junr | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |
164 | 1730 | James Sharpe | Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were severally Prosecuted for part of these goods and admitted Evidence |
165 | 1730 | John Simpson | at Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | are under Prosecution for part of these goods & can't be taken. |
165 | 1730 | William Hothard | at Mawberry Sands | unknown | Imported and run without payment of Duty | are under Prosecution for part of these goods & can't be taken. |
166 | 1730 | Timothy Hay | Scarbrough Harbour | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & became an Evidence. |
167 | 1730 | William Pattinson | near Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - and Compounded - Mathew White was prosecuted for part of these Goods & Compounded |
167 | 1730 | Mathew White | near Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - and Compounded - Mathew White was prosecuted for part of these Goods & Compounded |
167 | 1730 | Francis Fox | near Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - and Compounded - Mathew White was prosecuted for part of these Goods & Compounded |
168 | 1730 | Francis Hay | on the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this & other Frauds & Compounded. |
169 | 1730 | Joseph Cordukes | on the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this & other Frauds & Compounded. |
170 | 1730 | William Almon | on the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |