The Hovellers

 Who were the Hovellers ?

The name was given to a community of fishermen based around the town of Deal in Kent. From the mid 18th Century merchant ships and Men-of-War used the stretch of sea between Deal and the Goodwin Sands, known as the Downs, as a harbour. They would stock up on provisions before venturing out on the trade routes to the Caribbean or India. Sometimes there could be as many as 300 ships waiting for favorable winds. The Downs provided shelter in bad weather, but ships would frequently loose their anchors, or even some of their cargo. Many ships came to grief on the Sands too. The Hovellers changed from their traditional fishing role to scouring the seabed for lost property, thus acquiring the name. They frequently assisted ships in trouble and they saved many lives. However, they also acquired a reputation for pillaging goods, or even sometimes refusing aid. In some cases this may have been justified,  but there are recorded instances where Captains  refused aid because of the salvage costs they would have incurred.

The Luggers

These were traditional boats that the Hovellers used.  Sturdily built, usually with two masts and a lug mainsail, they would be winched up on the shingle beach when not in use and slid down greased wooden poles when they were launched. They were large boats, up to 30 feet long, capable of carrying many tonnes of cargo. Usually there would be a crew of 6 and although they were open boats it wasn't unusual for them to cross the Channel to France or even travel as far as the Isle of Wight. They were fast too. Fully rigged they could easily out run the Navy cutters that patrolled the coast on the look out for any one trying to smuggle goods into the country.

The Trade

Taxes, or levies were imposed on just about everything brought into the country by boat for centuries. They were justified initially to pay for the Army and Navy to defend the Land. But a lot of it also went to furnish the Royal lavish lifestyle of the nobility. When Napoleon threatened to invade at the end of the 18th Century taxes increased dramatically, which caused much resentment and led to a massive increase in smuggling. Most people are aware of the Cornish smugglers, but in fact a huge amount of smuggled goods were landed along the Kent coast, and most of the Hovellers were involved with "the trade", as it was known. They were so successful that revenue men were employed by the Government to try to stop it. The trade continued to flourish though. In January 1785, when all the Deal luggers were laid up on the beach a squadron of Dragoon soldiers destroyed them while all the Hovellers were held at bayonet point. This was done on the orders of William Pitt, the Prime Minister at the time. It didn't stop the Hovellers though, they just purchased more boats and continued the trade. so Navy ships were requisitioned to patrol the coast. Even this had limited success. The officials were often bribed, and the smugglers were aided by the locals who were themselves making substantial profits selling on the spirits, wine, tobacco, tea, lace, silk, and just abut anything else of quality. The sentences imposed on anyone found guilty were harsh. Some were transported to Australia, or even hanged, and fines were harsh too. Substantial rewards were offered for information leading to conviction. £500 was not uncommon. (£6000 in today's money). It was only when taxes started to drop that the trade declined. By 1850 the number of Hovellers, and indeed the total population of Deal had dropped dramatically. Economical conditions were so bad that many emigrated, or just moved on.

William Stanton

He was one such hoveller. Unusually though for the majority of people of that time he could read and write.In his later years, after retiring from a life at sea he wrote a book describing some of his exploits. It was published and there are a limited number of copies still available. He doesn't mention anything about the trade, but there are records of him being arrested and accused of smuggling. He wasn't found guilty though. Thereby hangs an intriguing story which inspired me to right a book based , loosely, on his life. If you are interested you can find it on Google Kindle. Just search for "The Hovellers". By yours truly, Flyn Harris.