Terror on the coast, the 1700’s gang.

Today, much of the Southern coastline is a popular destination for tourists and families, leisurely enjoying their holidays and weekends under the warmth of the southern sun. With fish and chips in hand, children laugh and play in the sea. But this idyllic scene is a far cry from what it once was. In the 18th century, the area was plagued by a gang so feared and notorious that for nearly 20 years, they ruled the territories between Dorset and Kent, stealing goods, committing murder, and terrorising anyone who crossed them.

Local magistrates were too afraid to intervene, and the law seemed powerless in the face of this relentless band of criminals. But who were these ruthless men? What made them so powerful?

Smugglers, Rye

Britain in the 1700s: A Harsh Reality

The 1700s in Britain was a time of great suffering and inequality. Dickens’ tales of workhouses and squalid slums were only a glimpse into the grim reality faced by the lower classes. The gap between the rich and poor was vast, and those at the top—though few in number—controlled everything from the goods people bought to the land they lived on.

Illness was rampant, and many struggled to afford even a roof over their heads. For those who could scrape by, life was far from comfortable. Yet the wealthy never seemed satisfied, constantly demanding more. As the East India Company faltered, the government imposed heavy taxes on everyday goods like tea, brandy, and coffee. These taxes made smuggling incredibly profitable, attracting criminal gangs funded by wealthy investors.

Romanticising the Past: The Smuggler's Ideal

Smuggling, like many of the old crimes, has often been romanticised. We think of dashing, bold men who plundered from the government and kept their families well-fed and prosperous. But the truth is far more sinister. These were not the kind of men you’d want living near you—or even knowing you. They were violent, merciless criminals who would beat and rob the very locals who sheltered them, all out of fear. Cross them, and it could mean your life, or your family’s. These were not heroes; they were villains, pure and simple.

The Rise of the Hawkhurst Gang

One gang, however, stood head and shoulders above the rest, earning a reputation as one of the most notorious smuggling operations in the UK—the infamous Hawkhurst Gang.

The gang emerged from several smaller factions in the area, with records of their activities dating back to the early 1730s. By the mid-1700s, they had taken control of the Kentish coast, ruling with impunity. Goods flowed into the UK through the Romney Marshes, carried by pack horses and eventually making their way through the gang’s territory.

Customs house raid, Poole.

Their name came from Hawkhurst, where the gang would gather at the Oak and Ivy pub to plan their crimes. They later established a secondary headquarters at the renowned Mermaid Inn in Rye, where, by the famous ‘Giants’ foreplace, they would sit—pistols loaded and displayed on the table—plotting their next move.

The Gang’s Bloodshed Begins

By the early 1740s, the gang’s notoriety had grown, and so had their bloodlust. In one chilling incident, a young boy named James Marshall took an interest in the gang’s activities. He had been seen watching them leave a local inn, firing their guns into the air in celebration. After that night, James was never seen again.

Not long after, another man, Richard Hawkins, a local farm labourer, was accused of theft by the gang’s most brutal member, Jeremiah Curtis. Hawkins was taken by the gang, “interrogated,” and his body was later found weighted down in a lake.

The Customs Officers’ Murder: A Bold Display of Power

In 1744, the gang’s cruelty reached new heights. Two customs officers, armed with a warrant to arrest two key members of the gang, were surrounded at an inn in Sussex. The gang, refusing to let their men be taken, began firing their guns in an attempt to intimidate the neighbourhood. The officers were forced to surrender.

But the terror didn’t stop there. The gang marched the men for five miles, where one was released with a chilling warning: "Don’t tell anyone, or we’ll boil you alive." The two remaining officers were tied to trees and whipped until they begged for death. The gang then set fire to them, dousing the flames when they were near death, before eventually taking them aboard a smuggler’s ship. The officers were never seen again.

The Downfall of the Hawkhurst Gang

Despite the arrest and execution of their leaders, Arthur Grey and William Rowland, the Hawkhurst Gang’s reign of terror continued. However, their demise was inevitable. As the gang grew bolder, the locals began to fight back.

In 1747, under the leadership of Thomas Kingsmill, the gang turned their attention to the village of Goudhurst, where locals had organised a militia to defend themselves. Kingsmill, enraged by the resistance, vowed to burn the village to the ground and kill everyone in it. But what happened next was something the gang never anticipated.

The villagers, under the command of a former soldier, had been trained in arms. From a hilltop position, they ambushed the gang, forcing them into retreat. The gang, in their panic, fired at houses, killing Kingsmill’s brother and two others. This was the first time the gang had been beaten by civilians, and it marked the beginning of their downfall.

Stoning to death of customs officer in well.

The Final Days of the Hawkhurst Gang

Later that year, in another raid, the gang ambushed customs officers, capturing several and executing them in gruesome fashion. By the end of 1748, after a series of betrayals, brutal murders, and ambushes, the gang’s reign was effectively over.

The authorities, spurred on by anonymous tips, began rounding up the remaining gang members. Six were hanged as an example, and another 40 were either executed or transported to the colonies to serve out their sentences.

Murder of the Officers.

For nearly 50 years, the Hawkhurst Gang terrorised the coasts and towns of Sussex and Kent, murdering, robbing, and leaving a trail of fear in their wake. Their story serves as a dark reminder of the lawlessness that once plagued parts of Britain—and of how even the most infamous of criminal gangs can fall, undone by their own hubris and the betrayal that eventually takes them down.