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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
188 | 1731 | William Pattinson | On the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this & other Frauds & Compounded. |
189 | 1731 | Joseph Thurnhill | On the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
190 | 1731 | Francis Hay | On the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this & other Frauds & Compounded. |
191 | 1731 | Joseph Cordukes | On the Yorkshire Coast | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for these and other Frauds & Compounded. |
192 | 1731 | Thomas Taylor | Whitby | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud & other goods - he can't be heard of. |
193 | 1731 | William Bell | Holkam bay in ye Port of Wells | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud - he has offered a Composition which is under Consideration. |
194 | 1731 | John Bell | in Holkam Bay | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud - he has offered a composition which is under Consideration. |
195 | 1731 | Joshua Smith and others | On the Norfolk Coast | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud they can't be taken; were Prosecuted for receiving part of these goods & can't be taken. |
195 | 1731 | Samuel Cannon & others | On the Norfolk Coast | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud they can't be taken; were Prosecuted for receiving part of these goods & can't be taken. |
196 | 1731 | William Dale | Bridlington | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this and other Frauds & Compounded. |
197 | 1731 | John Proud | Boston | Lincolnshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud - he can't be taken. |
198 | 1731 | John Hartley | Marsh Chappel | Lincolnshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud - he can't be taken |