Smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
As we are going on holiday for a few days to Robin Hoods Bay I thought those from afar and near would be interested to hear of the intrigue and stormy past of this incredible little fishing village and the associated smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay!
Robin Hood’s Bay was first mentioned on a record dating back to 1538 which shows the town as a fishing village with twenty boats and just 50 houses. Nearly all the houses have cubby holes and hidden places where contraband goods could be hidden and there are a series of hidden passages linking many of the houses together “so that a bale of silk could pass from the bottom of the village to the top without leaving the houses”.
Some of the tunnels used by the smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay
The smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay were very powerful in numbers and the excise men were poorly paid and no match for them! Two Excise Ships, the “Mermaid” and the “Eagle”, were hounded out of Robin Hoods Bay in 1773 by smugglers in three well armed vessels and in 1779 the smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay and Excise men fought over 200 casks of Sprits and 15 bags of tea on the village dock.
The whole village used to be involved with ladies carrying skins of gin, rum or brandy under their petticoats and the purchasers of the goods were more than likely the local gentry who did not much care how their spirits had been come by.
Fish Road that ran along the top of the village was also rife for highwaymen as it was the road by which the contraband goods that had been confiscated from the smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay used to leave the village. One famous event was where the trade carriage was persuaded to stop by two “lovely ladies” needing a lift who turned out to be men armed with pistols!
The smugglers at Robin Hoods Bay may no longer be there (or are they?) but the village is definitely worth a visit – it is steeped with history and very beautiful. Apparently there are also a few restaurants to be bought if you are into a big real estate investment right now!
If you’d rather build up an income that will pay you for life and you can live wherever you want (my intention!), then click on the button below, input your email address and watch the video. There is no guarantee the business opportunity would work for you (see income disclosure on the right) but one thing for sure – it is bound to be a safer option than smuggling!
