The Smuggling of contraband and the coastguard in Flamborough

Anyone visiting Flamborough with a smugglers eye would pronounce that it was made for the purpose: What with the natural caves, what with the accessible creeks, what with the deep water underneath the miles of cliff, making it easy for the contraband goods to be hauled from the boat to the surface, smugglers in the past must have had "high old times".

Smuggling was rife in Flamborough in times gone by. This is testified by the fact of many houses still retaining the smugglers hole, a large receptacle running right through the house, the opening of which is difficult to find. There are farmers still living who can remember it was no uncommon thing for them to have their horses and wagons taken out in the night. They were not alarmed, by morning all would be returned, and a keg of brandy left at the door as a substantial recompense. Smuggling has now become a very mean affair, a few cakes of tobbacco, obtained from a "Coper", and hidden under fishing nets to escape observation, occasionally a bottle of spirits from the same source, make up the sum total of which her Majesty's revenue is defrauded. This is partly due to the abolition of irritating and excessive duties,partly to a better appreciation of the duties of citizenship, but above all to the effectual way in which work is performed by the coastguard.

Every inch of the coast in patrolled by the coastguard. It is under either a District or Division or Station or Detachment. All, whether Officers or men, have served in the Royal Navy. At Flamborough it is a station under the command of an Officer. They are located between the lighthouse and the sea, and although their chief duty is the defence of the sea in times of war, and even to serve in ships of war if necessary, yet on shore no duty is so rigorously exacted of them as the preventation of smuggling.

Day and night the coast is watched. On the most blustering drenching night there is the coastguard on watch. There are six men at the station here, and they watch by turns. In days gone by a favorite dodge was to send information that smuggling would be attemted at some place a few miles off, the Preventative men, as they were then called, were lured away, and the smuggler safely ran ashore. How profitable it was may be best learnt from the fact that the smuggler never cared about losing his vessel if only to land his contraband goods. "Preventative men " is a very good name for the coastguard service, their special mission is to prevent the contraband trade which would certainly spring up if the watch were relaxed.

Flamborough Village and Headland 1894. By various writers edited by Robert Fisher MA

OTHER ARTICLES
• The Yorkshire smuggler - the smuggling of contraband
• The life of a Riding Officer or preventative in the golden age of smuggling
• Smuggling of contraband along the Scarborough coast
• French merchants and smugglers on the Yorkshire coast
• The fishing community in Flamborough head - superstition and bad luck
• Scarboroughs Heyday of Inns,smuggling and illicit stills
• Thomas Crimlisk - First of the Crimlisks
• Flamborough Head - ancient fishing village
• The U-Boat campaign in the First World War
• The history of the herring fishing in the North Sea
• Instructions to sailors - Flamborough Head
• The 200 year history of scarboroughs RNLI
• The Harwood and Bullamore fishing family history in Scarborough
• The history of the Scarborough fishing industry
• An early history of Filey and its fishing community
• Naval battle off Flamborough Head - Captain Paul Jones
• The press gang and the Royal Navy at Scarborough
• Customs Officer during golden age of smuggling in Scarborough
• Primitive Methodism amongst the Scarborough Filey and Flamborough fishing communities

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