The Sussex Smuggler

  Stand and Deliver. Money or your life ! Mail Coach Robbed outside of East Grinstead ! So the newspaper headline read in July 1801. Residents of East Grinstead will be familiar today with the road called Wall Hill Road, outside Ashurstwood village long before the current A22 road was built. There must have been absolute shock and horror of the incident through Sussex at the time. The singleton driver left with his cart from Lewes with the overnight mail on the 20th of July 1801 for East Grinstead. The route would take the cart up through Ashdown Forest through Forest Row and then up the steep incline to East Grinstead via Wall Hill road where the coach was stopped by two men "Stand and deliver. Money or your life." One cried out. The singleton driver pulled back on the reins and put the cart break on as pistols from two silhouettes were directed at him. No mail was worth  taking a shot. With the crime now committed We now learn the two silhouettes were in fact John Beatson, ...

The Hawkhurst Gang Season 1 Episode 5  The trio of Murders ! Following the Crown's humiliation of the raid on the Poole customs house, the authorities issued a reward of five hundred pounds (Approx ninety thousand pounds in today's money according to the Bank of England inflation calculator) for information leading to the conviction of those involved.  Daniel Chater saw his chance following his casual and unexpected meet with Diamond at Fordingbridge. Upon splitting up after the Poole raid some of the gang namely John 'Smoker' Mills and Jeremiah 'Butler' Curtis chose a different route via Slindon Common and stashed tea at a barn. On 13th of January 1748 they returned for their stash of tea and found the innocent Richard Hawkins working out of the barn thrashing corn. Mills and Curtis accused Hawkins of stealing their tea. Hawkins denied it. The Hawkhurst pair produced their pistols and forced Richard Hawkins to go with them to the Dog and Partridge pub at Slindo...

  Jack Upperton Highwayman and Pensioner. The local story of Jack (John) Upperton of Lyminster, West Sussex is known well to the Downland people . Thought to be aged over sixty and too old for heavy farm work, Jack (John) decided to draw down his pension in his own way. In 1770 Jack (John) concocted a plan to rob the mail coach on the old road between Arundel and Findon, likely to be today's A27.  . It was thought there was another accomplice, possibly Jack's brother, Richard Upperton but this was never proven.  According to East Grinstead Assizes court papers ( Worthing Occult & Paranormal Investigations (Facebook) written at the trial of Upperton on the 18th of March 1771, deep into  Clapham woods where Upperton still haunts today (see bibliography for you tube video)  laid in wait for the mail coach to make its way down through the wooded highway to Steyning. It was there at around 8pm on the 26th of August 1770 (26th of September 1770) our reluctant hi...

  The Hawkhurst Gang Season 1 Episode 4 The Raid on Poole. "If Poole was a fish pool, and the men of Poole fish, There'd be a pool for the Devil and fish for his dish!" On the 22nd of September 1747. The Three Brothers cut through the English Channel swell, the morning mist had lifted. Portland stuck out over the portside and Wight on the starboard. She made sail for Lymington, Christchurch Bay, Dorset. She was carrying Tea,Brandy,Rum and some interesting passengers, Richard Perin and John Diamond of the Hawkhurst gang. The crew of the Three Brothers sighted through their spyglasses, the fast approaching privateer the Swift closing in at speed after giving chase at 5pm.According to the Old Bailey trial documents concerning the Poole raid, the Swift opened fire on the T hree Brothers which ended the chase at around 11pm. Captain Johnson then boarded and made this discovery ' she was loaded with tea, brandy, and rum. The tea was in canvas and oil-skin, over that the u...

The Hawkhurst Gang Season 1 Episode 3.   The Battle of Goudhurst 1747. Goudhurst, a pretty village in the Kent weald countryside was to host a significant battle between the infamous Hawkhurst gang and the villagers of Goudhurst led by 29 year old 'General' George Sturt (a former soldier) who led the militia group.   "that on the 21st of April 1747 He would attack Goudhurst, kill the residents (broil their hearts)......and burn the place to the ground." - Thomas Kingsmill about the village of Goudhurst. Thomas Kingsmill a native of Goudhurst and now the Boss of the gang faced his first challenge since the incarceration of Arthur Gray and the capture of his brother William Gray by the lesser known Cranbrook Association. The gang must have been demoralised by the loss of such senior members and therefore it now fell to Kingsmill to raise morale and assert his authority not just with gang members, but with locals too. Kingsmill had to control of the roads to ensure the...