Smuggling around Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay

An entire world existed in secret; let’s uncover the shocking smuggling secrets from around Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay.

From the early 17th century, the cliffs and hidden coves of North Yorkshire’s coastline were a haven for one of England’s most notorious illicit trades: smuggling. Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay were at the heart of this secretive and dangerous world with their isolated locations and alleyways. These small coastal communities were not just bystanders in the smuggling trade—they were its backbone, with entire families and villages complicit in illegally importing goods. You can learn more about smuggling around Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay here.

What is smuggling?

Smuggling means illegally transporting goods or people into or out of a country or region. Usually, to avoid paying taxes or bypass restrictions and regulations.

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Historically, smuggling was driven by high taxes or prohibitions on certain goods, making it lucrative for individuals or groups to import or export items while evading the authorities secretly.

A few ways people would smuggle contraband:

• Hiding goods in secret compartments on ships.
• Landing goods at night in secluded coves and beaches.
• Using horses and carts to transport goods inland.
• Bribing or intimidating government officials.

Smuggling flourished along the North Yorkshire coast, particularly in the remote and inaccessible areas around Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay. During this period, heavy taxes on goods like tea, tobacco, brandy, and silk made them prohibitively expensive for the average person. To avoid these taxes, a lucrative black market emerged, with smugglers bringing contraband from mainland Europe under darkness.

Robin Hood’s Bay became a very wealthy village!

Robin Hood’s Bay became one of the wealthiest villages in the country due to its involvement in the smuggling trade.

From fishermen to innkeepers, everyone had a role to play. Houses in Robin Hood’s Bay were connected by underground tunnels. Goods were passed from one end of the village to the other without ever seeing the light of day. This prosperity came at the risk of severe punishment, as those caught smuggling faced harsh penalties, including transportation or death.

What did they smuggle?

In Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, the most commonly smuggled items included:

• Tea: From China, tea was one of Britain’s most heavily taxed goods during the 18th century. Smugglers could sell tea at a fraction of the price charged by legal merchants.
• Tobacco: Like tea, tobacco was subject to high taxes, making it a prime target for smuggling operations.
• Brandy and Rum: These alcoholic beverages were in high demand and heavily taxed. Smugglers brought them in from France, the Caribbean, and other regions to sell at a lower price than legally imported spirits.
• Silk and Lace: Luxury fabrics like silk and lace were expensive and heavily taxed, making them popular items for smuggling.
• Salt: Although less glamorous than other goods, salt was essential for preserving food and was also taxed, leading to its smuggling.
• Spices: Exotic spices from the East were highly sought after and expensive due to taxation.

The area’s famous smugglers’

Captain John Johnson, “Lucky Jack“

Captain John Johnson, also known as “Lucky Jack,” was one of the well-known smugglers in Whitby. He was a skilled master mariner who led a fleet of smuggling ships. Renowned for his audacious raids and knack for evading the revenue cutters, he became a legendary figure in the region.

Andrew Snape “King Snape”

Andrew Snape, popularly referred to as “King Snape,” was another prominent smuggler in Whitby. He held considerable power and influence in the area and owned multiple pubs and inns, which he strategically used as hubs for his smuggling operations.

John Andrew ‘The King of Smugglers’

John Andrew was a prolific smuggler who was the landlord of the Ship Inn in Saltburn. He was known as ‘the King of Smugglers’, and his pub became known as the area’s free-trade hotspot. John had strong connections in the area, and all the landlords of the local taverns stuck together in their trade and connected tunnels underground so that their dealings would go on unnoticed.

Captain Harold Hutchinson

It was challenging to avoid excise officers most of the time. Eventually, they would catch up with you and arrest you for smuggling. However, one person played the system so well that he was never found out until after his death.

Captain Harold Hutchinson of the Dragoons Guards became the Customs Officer after the Dragoons Guards were based in Whitby for three years to clamp down on smuggling in the area.

But he wasn’t the cleanest of folks; Captain Hutchinson would often take contraband taken from smugglers and then sell it on himself. He made so much money in his time that he made himself a beautiful home on Skinner Street known as ‘Harold Mansion’

Whitby’s Women Smugglers

Smuggling wasn’t just a man’s job. In Whitby, women also took to the trade. The taxman was unwise and thought women wouldn’t possibly get into such unlawful dealings.

Regular housewives would wear loose-fitting clothes to the market and return home with their clothes bursting at the seams. Underneath, there was a treasure of contraband goods.

Mrs Gaskell, who lived in Whitby then, commented, “There was a clever way in which certain Whitby women managed to bring in prohibited goods. When a woman did give her mind to smuggling, she was full of resources, and tricks, and impudence, and energy more so than any man”

Our smuggling tales from Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay

1. The dead sailor

For Whitby, our first tale inevitably involves a dead sailor, a headless horse, and buried treasure. The tale goes that a drowned sailor would be visited at his grave on the third night after his funeral by a ghostly coach pulled by headless horses.

This coach, carrying a crew of skeletal sailors, would circle the grave three times in frantic loops. This would cause the ghost of the deceased to rise and join them in their haunted horse-drawn carriage. They would speed away, disappearing into the night.

Smugglers loved to create stories about frightening events in the graveyard to keep simple, god-fearing folks away from it.

Hidden in a sailor’s coffin

Smugglers would often hide bounties in the graves of the newly deceased. They needed a clever and cunning way to collect and move them around the town. A sailor’s coffin with its haunted legend would be the perfect cover for such illicit activity.

Smugglers went to extraordinary lengths. In Dorset, horses were painted white, and lanterns were hung from coaches to create a phantom carriage of a convincing nature. The gang would then adorn themselves in fearsome, dreadful costumes to accompany the terrible ghost carriage.

The legend would spread like wildfire among the towns and villages along the coast. Even the most curious-minded would steer clear – leaving the smugglers to collect their stash in peace.

2. The old smuggler

Many visitors to Whitby will know of the Baxtergate pub, The Old Smuggler. Once known as the Old Ship Launch Inn, this well-known Whitby landmark dates back as far as 1401. As the name suggests, it has a long history of smuggling.

Underground tunnels

Locals created a network of tunnels beneath the town to connect certain inns and taverns. It is said that there is a tunnel between the Old Smuggler and the Station Inn. In this way, the contraband could move through the town without interference from the customs officers. Robin Hood’s Bay is full of these tunnels and is worth visiting.

3. The fire of the Saltersgate Inn

Located on the North York Moors, close to a bend in the road known as the Devil’s Elbow, once stood the Saltersgate Inn. During the 1800s, the Salt Tax was the highest it had ever been in British history.

Fishermen had to salt their fish to keep them fresh as they transported them to buyers. The salt tax was so high there was no money to be made, so salt began being smuggled. The Saltersgate Inn was the perfect isolated location.

A candle in the window

There was a candle in the window of the Inn that would warn others of taxmen being in the pub. One night, smugglers and fishermen returned to their old haunt when the light wasn’t lit. Unknowingly, an Excise Officer managed to go undetected and was ready to make arrests after hearing rumours about the illegal business.

When the Excise Officer went to the basement to catch the culprits red-handed, he did not foresee what happened next. A rock came crashing down on his head, killing him instantly; it was the Landlord who had dealt the lethal blow.

In a panic, the men buried the corpse underneath the fire pit, and it is said that if the fire were to be put out, the ghost of the Excise Officer would come back and seek revenge. Many say this is why the fire burned for nearly 200 years.

The decline of smuggling in Whitby started in the early 19th century as the government lowered taxes on imported goods. However, the town’s smuggling legacy continues to thrive today. Whitby is home to numerous pubs and restaurants named after famous smugglers. You can learn more about smuggling in Whitby on one of the fantastic Whitby guided walking tours.