A most discreet Company
The organisation of the Seasalter Company was not so much a hierarchy as a fraternity. This vital dynamic enabled the …
Author Archives: Philip Atherton
Death of a Riding Officer
The riding officer usually experienced an isolated life. He was responsible for collecting intelligence regarding illicit trading and information concerning …
Silk smuggling in London: commodities, people and connections c.1720-1800
In a paper for the North American Conference on British Studies 2016, William Farrell provides valuable background to the silk …
Reverend Thomas Patten lays a ghost to rest.
Francis Grose lived in Whitstable and told many stories concerning the local people and their idiosyncrasies. These recollections written down …
Keeping the secret
One of the remarkable features of the Seasalter Company of Smugglers was their ability to maintain secrecy. Few accounts exist …
Letters Patent in 1803 and the privileges they carried.
In an article available on the Kent Archeological web site (Archæologia Cantiana) there is an explanation of the privileges offered …
A nation panics. Closure of the banks and the 1825 aftershock.
Following the French Wars, Britain’s future should have been full of confidence: “The half century from 1775 to 1825 saw the …
Funeral of John Minet Fector. MP, banker, merchant and rumoured free trader.
One theory suggests that John Minet Fector was in effect, the godfather of smuggling in North Kent. He was certainly …
Welcome to Bluetown: Where every other house is a public house and every third house a brothel.
The fort and barracks we know today as Sheerness were key defences against overseas invaders. The first structure at …
The 19th century Godfather of North Kent.
(The following notes suggest a different theory regarding the structure and operations of smuggling networks around North Kent, especially Seasalter …
Blue Anchor Corner 