Hawkhurst Gang
Encyclopedia
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation (founded by George Gray) involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Dorset
, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole
, to the Kent
coast. After they were defeated in a battle with the Goudhurst
militia in 1747, two of their leaders, Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill, were executed in 1748 and 1749 respectively.
in Kent, the gang was first mentioned as the Holkhourst Genge in 1735. Based in Hawkhurst, it is claimed that they frequented The Mermaid Inn
in the town of Rye
, where they would sit with their weapons on the table. Many local legends and folklore are based on the alleged network of tunnels built by the gang. However, many hidden cellars and remote barns could have been used for storage so it is unlikely that tunnels would have been needed at that period when large armed gangs operated openly, often riding through the larger towns in daylight.
Thomas Carswell and a party of dragoons found about 15 cwt (750 kg) of smuggled tea in a barn at Etchingham
and were taking it to Hastings
in a cart. James Stanford of the Hawkhurst Gang rode round the area and collected about thirty men with horses and weapons. After drinking brandy to bolster their courage, they attacked the revenue party at Silver Hill between Hurst Green
and Robertsbridge
, shooting Carswell dead and capturing the soldiers. One of the smugglers, George Chapman, was later executed and gibbeted in his home village of Hurst Green.
On one occasion when the gang was drinking at the Mermaid Inn in Rye, some twenty of them visited the nearby Red Lion, firing their guns in the air. A young bystander, James Marshall, who took too keen an interest in them was taken away and never seen again.
The gang generally operated freely in the area, as when in 1744 they unloaded a considerable amount of contraband from three large cutters at Pevensey
, from which the smuggled goods were carried inland by around 500 pack horses.
Sometime in the early 1740s Jeremiah Curtis, who had been part of a violent gang in the Hastings area, joined forces with the Hawkhurst Gang, and was one of its most brutal members. It was Curtis who led the whipping and beating to death of Richard Hawkins, a farm labourer from Walberton
who they suspected of stealing two bags of the gang's tea. Hawkins was taken to the Dog and Partridge inn at Slindon
to be interrogated. When he died of his injuries, his body was sunk in the pond at Parham Park
, where it was found in the spring of 1748.
and rum, and a small bag of coffee captured from the smuggler's ship, Three-Brothers, in September. The shipment from Guernsey
, worth about £500, had been organised by the Hawkhurst Gang, working with a group from east Hampshire
and was intended to be landed at Christchurch
Bay, but was captured by a revenue vessel Swift, commanded by Captain William Johnson on the 22 September 1747. The goods were then taken to Poole, after the crew had escaped in a small boat. At a meeting in Charlton
Forest Richard Perrin from Chichester
, who had gone to Guernsey to buy the goods, made an agreement with the local men to recover the contraband. Thirty armed men, including Thomas Kingsmill and about seven other Hawkhurst men rode to Poole, stopping to rest in the New Forest
. Arriving in Poole, at about 11 pm, they found that the customs house was under the guns of a naval sloop. The more local men were for abandoning the attempt, but the Hawkhurst men said they would continue alone, and it was then agreed that they would all continue. It was soon realised that as the tide fell the ships guns would no longer be in sight of the customs house. The gang broke into the customs house around 2 am, on 8 October, escaping on horseback with the tea. They left the brandy, rum and coffee at the customs house, presumably because of lack of sufficient transport. The smugglers were not opposed at any stage of the journey. The Customs Service offered a large reward of £500 for their capture.
Several months after the raid, a member of the gang known as Diamond was captured and gaoled at Chichester
. He had been recognised by a Fordingbridge
resident, a shoemaker named Daniel Chater, who was given a small bag of tea by Diamond. Chater may not have intended to betray Diamond, but word of his knowledge got around. He was later called as a witness by the customs service, but he and an elderly revenue officer, William Galley, got lost while travelling to the remote downland village of East Marden
to identify Diamond to a Justice of the Peace
, Major Battine. They stopped at the White Hart Inn at Rowlands Castle, a smugglers pub, where the landlady fetched smugglers William Jackson and William Carter to investigate them. They were given drink until they fell asleep and their documents were discovered, then beaten and tied on horses by members of the local gang, then taken north to the Red Lion Inn at Rake
. After burying the customs officer alive in a nearby fox earth they kept Chater chained to a shed at Trotton
for several days before deciding to kill him. They threw Chater down a well
at Lady Holt Park and dropped stones on top of him.
the people formed the Goudhurst Band Of Militia, led by "General" George Sturt, a former army corporal. Enraged by this defiance, Thomas Kingsmill, a native of the town, threatened to burn the town and kill the residents, setting an appointed time, the 21 April 1747. When the gang attacked on the appointed day, the militia were well enough trained to shoot dead Kingsmill's brother George in the first volley of a battle fought around the church. Two more smugglers died before the gang withdrew. The gang were not only smugglers but robbers and extortionists. Arthur Gray was apprehended in 1748, he was indicted on the charges of felonious assembly with the intention of carrying away goods that customs duty had not been paid, in other words smuggling. He was executed at Tyburn on Wednesday the 11 May 1748.
Thomas Kingsmill , William Fairall, alias Shepherd , Richard Perin , alias Pain, alias Carpenter , Thomas Lillewhite , and Richard Glover , were all indicted for being concerned, with others, in breaking into the King's Custom-house , at Poole , and stealing thirty hundred weight of tea, value £500 or more. Kingsmill, Fairall and Perrin were found guilty and sentenced to death. Thomas Lilleywhite was acquitted and Richard Glover was found guilty, but recommended to mercy by the Jury.
Kingsmill, Fairall, Perrin and Pain were executed at Tyburn
on 26 April 1749. The bodies of Thomas Kingsmill and William Fairall were delivered to the Sheriff of Kent, in order that they could be hung up in chains, the former at Goudhurst, the latter at Horsendown Green, where he once lived.
Seven of the gang were tried at Chichester assizes
, and sentenced to hang. One of their number died in gaol before sentence could be carried out. The rest were hanged north of Chichester on the Broyle. The principal murderers' bodies were then hung in chains, one on the Portsmouth Road near Rake, two on Selsey Bill
, one near Chichester at Rook's Hill and one at Horsmonden
in Kent.
With the cruel deaths of Galley and Chater, among others, causing national outrage, the names of known smugglers were published in the London Gazette
, giving them forty days to surrender or face an automatic death sentence, and offering a £500 reward for their capture. Jeremiah Curtis escaped to France before he could be brought to justice.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, to the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
coast. After they were defeated in a battle with the Goudhurst
Goudhurst
Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment area....
militia in 1747, two of their leaders, Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill, were executed in 1748 and 1749 respectively.
Early years
Named after the village of HawkhurstHawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...
in Kent, the gang was first mentioned as the Holkhourst Genge in 1735. Based in Hawkhurst, it is claimed that they frequented The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn is a Grade II* listed historical inn located on Mermaid Street in the ancient town of Rye, East Sussex, southeastern England. One of the best-known inns in southeast England, it was established in the 12th century and has a long, turbulent history. The current building dates from...
in the town of Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, where they would sit with their weapons on the table. Many local legends and folklore are based on the alleged network of tunnels built by the gang. However, many hidden cellars and remote barns could have been used for storage so it is unlikely that tunnels would have been needed at that period when large armed gangs operated openly, often riding through the larger towns in daylight.
Dominance through terror
In 1740 riding officerRiding officer
The Riding Officer was an occupation common during the 18th century around the coastlines of Britain. The principal duty of the office was to visit the coast within their predefined riding range, to meet and correspond with the other riding officers either in person or by letter, and to inquire and...
Thomas Carswell and a party of dragoons found about 15 cwt (750 kg) of smuggled tea in a barn at Etchingham
Etchingham
Etchingham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District in East Sussex, southern England. The village is approximately twelve miles north-west of Hastings, on the A265, half a mile west of its junction with the A21....
and were taking it to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in a cart. James Stanford of the Hawkhurst Gang rode round the area and collected about thirty men with horses and weapons. After drinking brandy to bolster their courage, they attacked the revenue party at Silver Hill between Hurst Green
Hurst Green, East Sussex
Hurst Green is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. The village is located on the A21 road, thirteen miles north of Hastings....
and Robertsbridge
Robertsbridge
Robertsbridge is a village in East Sussex, England within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It is approximately 10 miles north of Hastings and 13 miles south-east of Tunbridge Wells...
, shooting Carswell dead and capturing the soldiers. One of the smugglers, George Chapman, was later executed and gibbeted in his home village of Hurst Green.
On one occasion when the gang was drinking at the Mermaid Inn in Rye, some twenty of them visited the nearby Red Lion, firing their guns in the air. A young bystander, James Marshall, who took too keen an interest in them was taken away and never seen again.
The gang generally operated freely in the area, as when in 1744 they unloaded a considerable amount of contraband from three large cutters at Pevensey
Pevensey
Pevensey is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located 5 miles north-east of Eastbourne, one mile inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of the parish.-Geography:The village of Pevensey is located on...
, from which the smuggled goods were carried inland by around 500 pack horses.
Sometime in the early 1740s Jeremiah Curtis, who had been part of a violent gang in the Hastings area, joined forces with the Hawkhurst Gang, and was one of its most brutal members. It was Curtis who led the whipping and beating to death of Richard Hawkins, a farm labourer from Walberton
Walberton
Walberton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located five miles to the north-west of Littlehampton, and is situated south of the A27 road. Located on the southernmost slopes of the South Downs the civil parish covers an area of and has a population...
who they suspected of stealing two bags of the gang's tea. Hawkins was taken to the Dog and Partridge inn at Slindon
Slindon
Slindon is a small village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, nestling in woodlands on the southern edge of the South Downs. Slindon lies approximately seven miles north-east of Chichester...
to be interrogated. When he died of his injuries, his body was sunk in the pond at Parham Park
Parham Park
Parham Park is an Elizabethan house in Cootham, between Storrington and Pulborough, West Sussex, South East England, originally owned by the Monastery of Westminster and granted to Robert Palmer by King Henry VIII in 1540....
, where it was found in the spring of 1748.
The Poole raid
In October 1747, members of the gang led a successful raid against a government Custom House in Poole, Dorset, which was holding about 30 hundred weight of tea, thirty-nine casks of brandyBrandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
and rum, and a small bag of coffee captured from the smuggler's ship, Three-Brothers, in September. The shipment from Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, worth about £500, had been organised by the Hawkhurst Gang, working with a group from east Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and was intended to be landed at Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
Bay, but was captured by a revenue vessel Swift, commanded by Captain William Johnson on the 22 September 1747. The goods were then taken to Poole, after the crew had escaped in a small boat. At a meeting in Charlton
Charlton, West Sussex
Charlton is a hamlet in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Singleton to East Dean road 5.3 miles north of Chichester....
Forest Richard Perrin from Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, who had gone to Guernsey to buy the goods, made an agreement with the local men to recover the contraband. Thirty armed men, including Thomas Kingsmill and about seven other Hawkhurst men rode to Poole, stopping to rest in the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
. Arriving in Poole, at about 11 pm, they found that the customs house was under the guns of a naval sloop. The more local men were for abandoning the attempt, but the Hawkhurst men said they would continue alone, and it was then agreed that they would all continue. It was soon realised that as the tide fell the ships guns would no longer be in sight of the customs house. The gang broke into the customs house around 2 am, on 8 October, escaping on horseback with the tea. They left the brandy, rum and coffee at the customs house, presumably because of lack of sufficient transport. The smugglers were not opposed at any stage of the journey. The Customs Service offered a large reward of £500 for their capture.
Several months after the raid, a member of the gang known as Diamond was captured and gaoled at Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. He had been recognised by a Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge is a town and civil parish with a population of 5,700 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near to the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest. It is south west of London, and south of the city of Salisbury. Fordingbridge is a...
resident, a shoemaker named Daniel Chater, who was given a small bag of tea by Diamond. Chater may not have intended to betray Diamond, but word of his knowledge got around. He was later called as a witness by the customs service, but he and an elderly revenue officer, William Galley, got lost while travelling to the remote downland village of East Marden
East Marden
East Marden is a village on the spur of the South Downs in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is within the civil parish of Marden, West Sussex. It is first mentioned in the Domesday Book as Meredone and was given in 1086 to Roger, Earl of Montgomery...
to identify Diamond to a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, Major Battine. They stopped at the White Hart Inn at Rowlands Castle, a smugglers pub, where the landlady fetched smugglers William Jackson and William Carter to investigate them. They were given drink until they fell asleep and their documents were discovered, then beaten and tied on horses by members of the local gang, then taken north to the Red Lion Inn at Rake
Rake, West Sussex
Rake is a linear village in the English county of West Sussex.Historically its importance rose from it being on the main London-Portsmouth road but it has been bypassed for several years. Administratively Rake forms part of the civil parish of Rogate; in turn Rogate forms part of the district of...
. After burying the customs officer alive in a nearby fox earth they kept Chater chained to a shed at Trotton
Trotton
Trotton is a village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Trotton with Chithurst, on the A272 road 3 miles west of Midhurst. The A272 crosses the River Rother at Trotton Bridge near the church....
for several days before deciding to kill him. They threw Chater down a well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
at Lady Holt Park and dropped stones on top of him.
Downfall
Although smuggling gangs were generally supported by the local population, as they provided much needed and well paid work, the murderous brutality of the gang had turned the residents against them. At GoudhurstGoudhurst
Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment area....
the people formed the Goudhurst Band Of Militia, led by "General" George Sturt, a former army corporal. Enraged by this defiance, Thomas Kingsmill, a native of the town, threatened to burn the town and kill the residents, setting an appointed time, the 21 April 1747. When the gang attacked on the appointed day, the militia were well enough trained to shoot dead Kingsmill's brother George in the first volley of a battle fought around the church. Two more smugglers died before the gang withdrew. The gang were not only smugglers but robbers and extortionists. Arthur Gray was apprehended in 1748, he was indicted on the charges of felonious assembly with the intention of carrying away goods that customs duty had not been paid, in other words smuggling. He was executed at Tyburn on Wednesday the 11 May 1748.
Thomas Kingsmill , William Fairall, alias Shepherd , Richard Perin , alias Pain, alias Carpenter , Thomas Lillewhite , and Richard Glover , were all indicted for being concerned, with others, in breaking into the King's Custom-house , at Poole , and stealing thirty hundred weight of tea, value £500 or more. Kingsmill, Fairall and Perrin were found guilty and sentenced to death. Thomas Lilleywhite was acquitted and Richard Glover was found guilty, but recommended to mercy by the Jury.
Kingsmill, Fairall, Perrin and Pain were executed at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
on 26 April 1749. The bodies of Thomas Kingsmill and William Fairall were delivered to the Sheriff of Kent, in order that they could be hung up in chains, the former at Goudhurst, the latter at Horsendown Green, where he once lived.
Seven of the gang were tried at Chichester assizes
Assizes (England and Wales)
The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court...
, and sentenced to hang. One of their number died in gaol before sentence could be carried out. The rest were hanged north of Chichester on the Broyle. The principal murderers' bodies were then hung in chains, one on the Portsmouth Road near Rake, two on Selsey Bill
Selsey Bill
Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex.The southern most town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Selsey Peninsula and Selsey Bill is situated on the towns southerncoastline...
, one near Chichester at Rook's Hill and one at Horsmonden
Horsmonden
Horsmonden is a village in Kent, on the Weald. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is Paddock Wood, Horsmonden railway station having closed in 1961.- History :It was an important centre of the medieval...
in Kent.
With the cruel deaths of Galley and Chater, among others, causing national outrage, the names of known smugglers were published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
, giving them forty days to surrender or face an automatic death sentence, and offering a £500 reward for their capture. Jeremiah Curtis escaped to France before he could be brought to justice.