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SOMERSET
SMUGGLING AT MINEHEAD
The Minehead port area, which stretched from the Devon boundary to Shurton Barrs near
Stogursey, was full of small creeks and landing places where goods could be illegally landed.
Such goods might be luxuries but were usually basic commodities like salt and soap.
Smuggling was not just a question of evading paying duty but also harbour dues for the
upkeep of quays, restrictions on foreign imports in war, restrictions on cattle movements
during cattle plague and laws against dumping of cheap Irish manufactures. It was not only
the government that lost revenue but ordinary working people whose jobs were jeopardised by
the import of goods made with cheaper labour elsewhere or who livestock market was ruined.
Ironically wealthy families who supported smuggling to obtain luxury goods often, like the
Luttrell, owned the quays that lost revenue by smuggling.
COLLUSION
Collusion between local magistrates, excise officers and smugglers was rife in the later 17th
century. After his dismissal in 1679 a Minehead Collector claimed to have discovered abuses
at the port. In 1682 an investigation discovered abuse in all Somerset ports including
Minehead where two officers confessed to smuggling. However, one of the men, who also
kept an alehouse, was persuaded to withdraw his confession by Francis Luttrell who promised
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to keep him in post. Luttrell was reputed to have acquired great wealth by smuggling and was
in a position to bribe or intimidate the customs officers.1
AN EXCISE CASE
The case of the dismissal of William May, supervisor of the excise at Bridgwater, in 1759 and
representations for his reinstatement unearthed a can of worms. His methods of discovering
smuggling, especially of tea, were considered unethical but this may have been an excuse to
remove him. His work in the ports of Bridgwater, Minehead and Watchet had earned him
many enemies locally but also much support including from the Mayor and Corporation of
Bridgwater. Manufacturers claimed William May made more seizures than any officer in the
previous 26 years.
Many simply wanted all such officers removed so as to prevent interference with their trade,
which often included hiding smuggled goods amongst those that were declared. One Thomas
Withers of Stogumber, a butcher, was described as a low smuggler who had been provided
with a horse and pistols to shoot officers and his wife ran at an officer with a spit when he was
searching their house.
However the officers had the support of soapboilers who wanted to stop the smuggling of
Irish soap and did not want officers removed. In a petition from Bridgwater petition
soapboilers it was stated that ‘Minehead is the fountain that supplies the whole country with
Irish soap and most other run’d goods’ but few seizures were made there as the officers of the
custom house were ‘as great smugglers as any in the place’ and even sold smuggled Irish
soap.
1
Cal. Treas. Bks, 1679—80, 193, 555; VCH Som. II, 261, 325.
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Thomas Withers was said to have planned to plant smuggled goods in Sir Thomas Dyke
Acland’s house at Holnicote but May was accused of offering to pay Thomas Withers’ fine if
he gave information leading to the discovery of at least 10 dozen of soap or other smuggled
goods.
Not all landowners supported smuggling. Thomas Carew of Crowcombe supported May and
tried in vain to get the Commissioners of Excise to reinstate him, saying that great quantities
of smuggled soap, brandy and tea were sold from Minehead. John Trevelyan of Nettlecombe
wrote to William Pitt saying great quantities of soap, candles, starch and other goods liable to
duty were daily smuggled in from Ireland to the prejudice of honest manufacturers and traders
who have paid duty and with the loss of about £1,000 a year to government revenues.
Smuggling was said to be rife in the 1750s at Minehead but to have been stopped by 1764!2
However by the 1800s it was a problem again and seized goods sold at the Customs House in
1804 comprised 2,776 gallons of spirits and wine, 106 lb of black pepper and over 32 tons of
salt.3 The Royal Navy were in the area in 1807 trying to prevent smuggling, 4
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2
SHC, DD/TB 16/11; BL, Add. MS 9293 transcribed in SHC, DD/FA 11/1.
3
SHC, DD/L 1/5/18.
4
Nat. Army Museum, 6807/178/106—7.
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