An explanation of how the smuggling was done
Below is a copy of a page of an act of parliament in 1784 which basically says, if you were found at anchor less than 4 leagues (about 14 Miles) from the coast. (Weather permitting) and not reporting to a customs officer then you would be known to be "Hovering". for which there were large fines of £200 and potential confiscation of your cargo or your ship. In the end the South West Coast Path was built to enable HM Customs officers or "Riders" to spot these ships and prevent vessels trying to recover their hidden contraband under the water by a process called "Creeping".
How did the Pengersick Smugglers locate smuggling ships?
Pengersick Castle is the only lookout, (which was in ruins at the time of Carter's reign) and high enough to easily see the Shoals of Cudden or the stone which are shallow enough to sink the contraband and then recover it “when the coast is clear” (this is where the saying come from) you can see the ships in the bay when they deliver the cargo and then the smugglers come and pick it up later in a gig or smaller boats. They had to drop the cargo quickly because there was a law called “Loitering or Hovering Law of 1784“- if you were caught hanging around the coast in a boat there was a £200 fine or forfeiture of your ship and possibility of being chased by the revenue boats and if caught you may hang. (Please see above a copy of the act of Parliament called the Smuggling Act.
If you look further down at the Admiralty chart of the time (below), you can see the 'transit points', where smugglers could line up their ship over the shoals of shallower water and where they could 'hover' or 'loiter'. The smugglers would then either wait for a signal from shore to meet near a cove to unload their cargo or sink barrels of liquor in the shoals (shallow sand area). A smaller boat would then come with a grappling hook and retrieve it at a later date, this process was called 'Creeping', just read on and we can explain how it done.
See the chart above, to get Fathoms into Metres you would multiply the fathom by 1.829. Carn Welloe is 10.9 Metres Deep and Shoals of Cuddon is 4.5Metres(2.1/2 Fathoms) and 2.28 Metres(1.1/4 Fathoms) and Carn Welloe is 11Metres(6 Fathoms) this area of sea bed is enough to drop a shot line over the side of the ship and someone could go down to untie the barrel rope to recover the contraband the rest of the sea area is just too deep for a human to go down a shot line. The transit point (Points which are used for navigation) goes right back to Pengersick Castle Tower from there. Ringed in red are the Gun Battery for the Admiralty and in Green is where the sea becomes shallow away from the Kings Guns and into Prussia Cove to land the Gig and where the safety of John Carters Gun Battery stood and also Prussia Cove is where just after he married John Richards in 1765 he built a house and moved into in 1770 after finding this area now named after him so useful.
- Below are modern charts overlayed on top of the old Admiralty Chart. (Source HM Hydrographic Office, Exeter and National Maritime Museum Falmouth),
- Look at and remember the 3 red dots out at sea, they are The Stone and the Shoals of Cuddan. Look how deep it is as you go towards St Micheals Mount up to (27Metres or 88feet).
Here is the modern chart below and see the 3 red dots, marked as a shipping hazard when it gets shallower than 5 Metres or 16 feet) you can see how the perfect spot to watch the barrels dropped from a larger ship at Pengersick Tower and close enough to pick up the sunken barrels by locals in a Gig. Today there is even a Cardinal Bouy marked on the map just by the words Mounts Bay with a black ring with a cross on it, to warn shipping of the shallow water and give the direction to safer water.
See the chart below, we have zoomed in on the Shoals of Cuddan to see the exact depth and Mountamopus as it is called is only 5 to 6 Metres deep. (16 to 18 feet)
Here is a zoomed in shot of the Stone, it is as shallow as 3 Metres (9 foot) and a very large area to drop barrels ready for “Creeping”. Which we will explain what "Creeping" is soon.
How did they recover the Cargo unseen?
If you look a the photo below the whole process was started out with signals and they used a signal lamp as shown in the photo below, or they flew a flag a certain way, on shore people used to leave a specific predetermined window patten of curtains opened or closed in the daytime and lights on in certain rooms at night. Or even certain colours or items of washing out on a certain day, meant "The coast is clear". Below are the signal lamps used by Smugglers to emit a thin beam of light to the ship. The ships would "Hover" before unloading on to the sea bed and the shore based smugglers would go "Creeping " to recover the cargo.
the signal lamp
the signal lamp
Further clauses of the smuggling act involved hefty fines for anyone allowing lights to be used to signal boats out at sea. When a ship carrying contraband wished to unload it's cargo out in the bay there would be up to 100 local people on the beach willing to help unload. Below is a copy of the act; (Part 5)
V. ‘And Whereas by an Act passed in the Forty seventh Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Prevention of Smuggling, it is enacted, that any Person or Persons making, or aiding or assisting in the making, or being present for the purpose of aiding or assisting in the making any Light, Fire, Flash or Blaze, or Signal, in or on board any Vessel or Boat, or on or from any Part of the Coast or Shores of Great Britain, or within Six Miles of such Coast or Shores, for the purpose of making or giving any Signal to any Person or Persons on board any Smuggling Vessel or Boat, and being duly convicted thereof, shall by Order of the Court before whom such Person or Persons shall be convicted, either forfeit and pay the Penalty of One hundred Pounds, or at the Discretion of such Court be sentenced to or committed to the Common Gaol or House of Correction, there to be kept to hard Labour for any Term not exceeding One Year: And Whereas it is expedient to encourage the Apprehension of such Offenders;’ Be it enacted, That in every such Case where any Offender or Offenders shall be so convicted of such Offence as aforesaid, and shall, in lieu of paying any such Penalty, be sentenced to or committed to the Common Gaol or House of Correction, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of the Customs and Excise respectively to order and direct any Sum not exceeding Twenty five Pounds to be paid out of any Monies in the Hands of the Receiver General of the Customs and Excise respectively, to any Person or Persons who shall have informed against, discovered or prosecuted any such Offender as aforesaid.
Creeping
the signal lamp
This is how the Smugglers collect their cargo in a gig after it is unloaded from a ship in the bay in the shallower shoal’s or weloes. The process is called “Creeping”. You would see the cargo marked with a bouy and use a grappling line, or if you could see the cargo if it wasn’t marked with a bouy swim down to it on a shot line.
To prevent the acts of 'loitering, hovering and creeping', King George I brought in the first "Hovering Act of 1709 preventing any ship larger than 50 tons from coming any closer than 6 miles from the shore, which basically would be waiting for a chance to unload it's cargo without alerting the Customs and Excise officers. (Customs is for tax on imported goods and Excise is the tax on Exported Goods ).
IV. ‘And Whereas by an Act passed in the Eighth Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George the First, intituled An Act to prevent the clandestine removing of Goods, and the Danger of Infection thereby; and to prevent Ships breaking their Quarantine; and to subject Copper Ore of the Production of the British Plantations to such Regulations as other enumerated Commodities of the like Production are subject, certain Provisions are made against Persons found passing with Foreign Goods, landed without Payment of Duties, in their Custody, from any of the Coasts of this Kingdom, or within the Space of Twenty Miles of any of the said Coasts, wearing any Vizard, Mask or other Disguise: And Whereas it is expedient to extend the like Provisions with respect to any Person or Persons so disguised and found or discovered on board certain Vessels found within the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere within certain Distances of the Coast of this Kingdom;’ Be it therefore enacted, That if any Person or Persons, being His Majesty’s Subject or Subjects, shall be found or taken on board, or discovered to have been on board any Ship, Vessel or Boat liable to Forfeiture under any of the Provisions of any Act or Acts of Parliament, for being found or having been at anchor or hovering within any such Distances of any of the Dominions of His Majesty, with such Goods on board as subject such Ship, Vessel or Boat, or Goods, to Forfeiture, wearing any Vizard, Mask or other Disguise, such Person or Persons shall be adjudged guilty of Felony, and shall on Conviction for such his, her or their Offence, be transported as a Felon for the Space of Seven Years; and if any such Offender shall return into Great Britain or Ireland before the Expiration of the said Seven Years, he, she or they so returning shall suffer as a Felon, and have Execution awarded against him, her or them, as Persons attainted of Felony without Benefit of Clergy.
the owlers on shore
Ready on shore were The “Owlers” as they were called were the people who collected the barrels from the gig and got paid a shilling to turn up for a drop and 25 shillings if the land of the contraband was successful.
John Carter and his smuggling activities were immortalised by a song written about smugglers and then turned into a poem “The Smuggler’s Song” by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). This poem was published in 1906 and remains popular today.
Look further down the pages to read this poem with the words " face the wall my darling - while the gentlemen go by".
This is what inspired Rudyard Kipling.
IF you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet,Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,Them that ask no questions isn't told a lie.Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by.Five and twenty ponies,Trotting through the dark -Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.Laces for a lady; letters for a spy,Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by Please click on the link below to hear the whole poem) (A Smuggler's Song (1906)
Wherever the smugglers went local people would gladly help stash their haul or keep an eye out for the revenue men and would pass the word on to friends when goods were available.
the tub man
After the contraband was unloaded from the gigs by the "Owlers". There would be a tub man and were usually farm workers who were quite strong. This would be a man that carried the tubs off the beach area and up to a hiding place near where the smuggler lived.
Why did locals help the smugglers?
In the period from 1760 -1810, the smugglers came into their own. Britain was fighting a number of costly wars at the time and, because of this, money was needed badly. This had to be raised by taxation, particularly on imported goods - and heavy duties had been put on luxury items - especially, wine, spirits and tobacco. This was hurting people. At this time if you weren't working in one of the many tin or copper mines in the area working 61/2 days a week with just a candle on your head to enable you to see, you were fishing or preparing pilchards or sardines for a living. The ordinary people needed the fine salt. To preserve the fish they had caught enabling it to be exported to the Mediterranean. The middle and upper classes of the time needed the smugglers reasonably priced Tea, Brandy, Salt, Lace and Tobacco. All these goods were taxed to multiple times of its original value. Cornwall had many small coves to unload cargo and was only a days sailing from Jersey & Guernsey and Breton in France in which the language in Breton is similar to Cornish plus the Cornish family’s in this area contained either skilled fisherman and good Mariners or the best miners used to create or modify tunnels in which to hide the stash which gave Cornish Smugglers a unique advantage over the rest of the country, helped by the local community.
who would buy their contraband? and who is "cousin Jack"
The Carters sold their goods to people from all walks of life, from the ordinary poor folk to the gentry and even the judiciary which is why it is said, no court in Cornwall would convict them.
The local pubs were trading houses for the smugglers, these were called 'Winks'. You only have to walk 2.5 miles along the coastal path going west from here in Praa Sands to arrive at Bessies cove (now called Pisky's cove). The pub there was run by Bessie Bussow and was called the Kiddlerwink. She would buy one barrel to show the customs officers, which would be the 'legal' barrel from which you would pay a much much higher price for a drink or you could order a glass of "cousin Jacks". Cousin Jack was a sort of slang term for a Cornish Miner who migrated, the idea being everbody had a cousin Jack somewhere in the world and that was a barrel from him. This “Cousin Jacks” meant “I want one from under the counter” or it was sometimes kept in a kettle. A wink would be given to the landlord and if he winked back it would mean I have some available. The Smugglers would also wink at the landlord to let him or her know that they had Brandy to sell.
And here is a good example of a "Wink Pub"
Located in Lamorna Cove
how remote was pengersick in carter's reign ?
Here above is an 18th Century, hand-coloured engraving of the East view of Pengersick Castle in Cornwall,by Samuel & Nathaniel Buck (c.1740) from their survey of English Castles.
The easist way to work out where Smugglers Barn lies is face the tall oval door on the Castle Currently as you can see on Google earth. Then walk down the drive to the road, (as in the engraving) then look slightly left and you will see Smugglers Barn just in front of you, and you can see it has an upstairs like Smugglers Barn. (As in the engraving. ) Theres no other dwellings to be seen in the engraving, Pengersick was very remote.
If you read the passage from Harry Carters Autobiography below it will give you an idea of how remote Pengersick was and a feeling of how it was situated in the 18th Century.
The part of Cornwall to which the autobiography chiefly relates is the district lying between the two small towns of Marazion and Helston, a distance of about ten miles on the north-eastern shores of Mounts Bay, comprising the parishes of Breage, Germoe, St. Hilary, and Perranuthnoe. The bay is practically divided into two parts by Cuddan Point, a sharp small headland about two miles east from St. Michael’s Mount. The western part runs into the land in a roughly semicircular shape, and is so well sheltered that it has almost the appearance of a lake, in fact, the extreme north-western corner is called Gwavas Lake. From the hills which surround it the land everywhere slopes gently to the sea, and is thickly inhabited. The towns of Penzance and Marazion and the important fishing village of Newlyn occupy a large portion of the shore, and around them are woody valleys and well cultivated fields. To the eastward of Cuddan is a marked contrast. There, steep and rocky cliffs are only broken by two long stretches of beach, Pra Sand and the Looe Bar, on which the great seas which come always from the Atlantic make landing impossible except on a few rare summer days. With the exception of the little fishing station of Porthleven there is not a place all along the coast from Cuddan Point to the Lizard large enough to be called a village. Inland the country is in keeping with the character of the coast. Trees are very scarce, and the stone hedges, so characteristic of all the wild parts of West Cornwall, the patches of moorland, and the scattered cottages, make the whole appearance bare and exposed.
Porth Leah, or the King’s Cove, now more usually known as Prussia Cove,[1] around which so much of the interest of the narrative centres, lies a little to the eastward of Cuddan Point. There are really two coves divided from one another by a point and a small island called the “Enez.” The western cove, generally called “Bessie’s Cove,” is a most sheltered and secluded place. It is so well hidden from the land that it is impossible to see what boats are lying in the little harbour until one comes down to the very edge of the cliff. The eastern side of the point, where there is another small harbour called the “King’s Cove,” is more open, but the whole place is thoroughly out of the world even now.
The high road from Helston through Marazion to Penzance now passes about a mile from the sea, but at the time of which Harry Carter was writing this district must have been unknown and almost inaccessible. From all accounts West Cornwall at that time was very little more than half civilised.
The mother of Sir Humphry Davy (born at Penzance, 1778) has left us a record that when she was a girl “West Cornwall was without roads, there was only one cart in the town of Penzance, and packhorses were in use in all the country districts” (Bottrell, iii. 150). This is confirmed by a writer in the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” who says that in 1754 there were no roads in this district, the ways that served the purpose were merely bridle paths “remaining as the deluge left them and dangerous to travel over” (“Gentleman’s Magazine,” October, 1754); and by the official records of the town of Penzance, which show that in 1760 the Corporation went to some expense in opposing the extension of the turnpike beyond Marazion, to which place it was then first carried from Penryn (Millett’s “Penzance, Past and Present”).
The places of which the names are mentioned in the autobiography, but which are not shown in the map, such as Rudgeon, Trevean, Caerlean, Pengersick, Kenneggey, and Rinsey, are all in the immediate neighbour-hood of Prussia Cove. They are merely little hamlets of four or five cottages each, and there is no reason to suppose that they were any larger one hundred years ago. Helston, the market town of the district, is about six miles off, and had then a population of some two thousand people.
The chief interest in the autobiography is probably that which it attracts as the most authentic account of the smuggling which was carried on in the neighbourhood in the latter portion of the last century. Cornwall has long enjoyed a certain reputation for pre-eminence in this particular form of trade, and apparently not without some reason. A series of letters of the years 1750-1753 were published some years ago in the journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall (vol. vi. pt. xxii. p. 374, “The Lanisley Letters”) to a Lieutenant - General Onslow, from George Borlase, his agent at Penzance, asking that soldiers might be stationed in the district, because “the coasts here swarm with smugglers,” and mentioning that a detachment ought to be stationed at Helston.
Source THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CORNISH SMUGGLER (CAPTAIN HARRY CARTER, OF PRUSSIA COVE) 1749-1809 first published in 1809. (2nd edition Introduction by John B Cornish written in 1900)