2 minute read
The Hawkhurst Gang
from Pirate Plunder August 2021
by ASTAC
The Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society, which is listed on page 20, takes its name from what, in 1735, was then known as the Holkhourst Genge. Named after their home village of Hawkhurst, its members were infamous smugglers feared not only in their local area, but for their power to control the trade in illicit goods from the coast of Kent to Dorset in the West. Their main base was at the Oak and Ivy pub in Hawkhurst, but they also enjoyed frequenting the town of Rye, where – at The Mermaid Inn – it is reported that, “They would sit and drink with loaded pistols on the table”.
There are many legends about the tunnels the Hawkhurst Gang built from the Oak and Ivy. It is believed that tunnels went to Tubs Lake on the Cranbrook road (named after the tubs of brandy found floating on the water), to the Royal Oak in the village centre, Four Throws on the Sandhurst road and to the building where the Tudor Court Hotel now stands.
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In 1740, Thomas Carswell, a Revenue Officer, was shot and killed at Silver Hill between Hurst Green and Robertsbridge while trying to apprehend some of the smugglers. One of the guilty men, George Chapman, was gibbetted on the green of his home village – Hurst Green.
Four years later, it is recorded that three large cutters unloaded contraband at Pevensey, and 500 pack horses carried the goods inland. This major operation provided adequate proof that the smugglers felt able to act with complete impunity.
In 1748, one of the gang brought a large cargo of brandy, tea and rum over from France in his cutter. A Customs cutter captured and seized two tons of tea, 39 casks of brandy and rum, and some coffee. The goods were stored in the Customs House in Poole, Dorset, but some of the smugglers escaped and contacted the gang, who attacked the building and retrieved their contraband.
Several months later, one member of the gang known as Diamond was arrested and gaoled at Chichester. Another member called Chater offered an alibi for Diamond, but while he was talking to a Customs Officer named Galley, they were spotted by a local informer, who told the gang. They decided that Chater was informing on them and this mistake soon led to the death of both men, with Galley being buried alive and Chater thrown down a 30 ft well and large stones being dropped on him.
Until then, the Hawkhurst Gang had been looked upon as benefactors by the local population, but these brutal actions turned the tide against them and the smugglers’ leader, Arthur Gray from Hawkhurst, was executed in 1748.
Thomas Kingsmill from Goudhurst took over as leader, but the gang was never the same after being defeated by a local militia at a pitched battle in the village.
Members of the Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society watch as the flames rise in the shape of a Phoenix.
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