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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | 1725 | John Sandall | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Goal & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Goal for another fraud. |
42 | 1725 | Joseph Bruce | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Goal & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Goal for another fraud. |
42 | 1725 | Thomas Went | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Goal & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Goal for another fraud. |
42 | 1725 | Joseph Hawkins | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Goal & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Goal for another fraud. |
42 | 1725 | Thomas Sherrard | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Goal & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Goal for another fraud. |
42 | 1725 | Daniel Freeman | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | These persons were prosecuted for this fraud; Sandall & Sherrard became Witnesses; Went was drown’d; Joseph Bruce could not be taken; Joseph Hawkins was Arrested & Sent to Gaol & Daniel Freeman was Sent to Gaol for another fraud. |
43 | 1725 | Henry Sheppard | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this fraud - Sheppard absconded & could not be arrested & Hawkins was taken & sent to Goal as before mentioned |
43 | 1725 | Joseph Hawkins | Frinton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this fraud - Sheppard absconded & could not be arrested & Hawkins was taken & sent to Goal as before mentioned |
44 | 1725 | William Tyler | Much Claxton in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this fraud - Spurling absconded & could not be taken, William Tyler was arrested & sent to Goal |
45 | 1725 | William Howard | Claxton Shore in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this fraud - Howard could not be taken - Freeman became a Witness |
45 | 1725 | Edward Freeman | Claxton Shore in Essex | Essex | Imported & run without payment of Duty | were prosecuted for this fraud - Howard could not be taken - Freeman became a Witness |
46 | 1725 | William Booth | near Baldsey in Suffolk | Suffolk | Imported & run without payment of Duty | these persons were prosecuted for this fraud Garrett, Wood, & Garferr could not be taken Booth was arrested & sent to Goal on Accot of another Fraud |