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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
171 | 1730 | Robert Grange | Castle Holmes Yorkshire | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
172 | 1730 | John Pearson Senr | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud and admitted Evidences. |
172 | 1730 | John Pearson Junr | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud and admitted Evidences. |
173 | 1730 | James Newton | Mawberry Cumberland | Cumberland | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud he was arrested & got away from the Officers & can't be since heard of. |
174 | 1730 | John Stainton | at Mawberry | Cumberland | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for these & other Frauds - The Cause is at Issue. |
175 | 1730 | Edward Poskett | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & admitted an Evidence. |
176 | 1730 | Mathew Leng | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for part of these goods he is an Evidence. |
177 | 1730 | William Chandler | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud Chandler Compounded - Clerkson is admitted an Evidence. |
177 | 1730 | John Clerkson | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud Chandler Compounded - Clerkson is admitted an Evidence. |
178 | 1730 | Thomas Idnall | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud & can't be taken. |
179 | 1730 | John Harrison | Scarbrough Harbour | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud & Process is in force against him. |
180 | 1730 | John Taylor & others | Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud which Taylor Compounded |