South Coast Smuggling
Downderry is full of smugglers' descendents
Met someone down Downderry, ancestors were all smugglers and wreckers. For years his family weren’t about no more, this is what happened.
Downderry is full of smugglers’ descendents; they’m still living all the way along the coast. This man I met, great great Granfer name of Toms, lived Mevagissy 1750s. Like as was usual them days, the whole family made a living from smuggling and wrecking. As was the peril, one night great great Granfer got caught by the revenue man. The revenue men offered him ten thousand pounds to inform on the rest of his family, lot of money them days. He took the money and left for Devon. His family they were each and every man hung. Legend goes he went to London, I knows from meeting his descendent last week, really he went to Devon. Toms lived out rest of life in Modbury and neither he nor not one of his descendent ever went back to Cornwall for fear of reprisals for his betrayal.
No one too bothered about it nowadays.
Millbrook
Smugglers moved loads of lovely loot around about Rame Peninsular. Through Millbrook it was all carried top of a donkey.
It happened the fishermen loaded pilchards on donkeys at Finnygook beach and took them up the cliffs to Portwrinkle along Donkey Lane. Along Whitsand Bay, past Tregantle another Donkey Lane leads all the way into Millbrook. Here they also landed some pilchards to be carried by donkeys. Mostly, under the pilchards; they hid silks and brandy landed by the smugglers. When the donkeys got to Millbrook, the loot was stowed in the Highland House. Highland House being halfway up Donkey Lane. When they smugglers were ready; the smuggled goods were moved from the Highland House and taken across the river Tamar to Plymouth.
Imagine the fun to be had if you’m a regular character in Millbrook they days. All the wives doing twirls in sea blue silks, glasses of delicious brandy for all who poured it, forget about Plymouth! I don’t drink a lot meself mind; would have liked the company and good for stories.
Heard there was a bit of rain down Rame, Brought my umbrella cart down see if any needin’ fixin’.
These local tales were collected at droll tea parties as part of Mazed, and are retold in South East Cornwall dialect in the voice of Liskeard's umbrella mender droll teller, Bill Chubb.