Transcription from ‘Petitions in the State Papers: 1650s’, in Petitions in the State Papers, 1600-1699, ed. Brodie Waddell, British History Online, Thomas Marshall, collector of the customs at Rye. SP 18/94 f. 13 (1655).
To the right honourable The commissioners to whom the matters depending before the counsell are refered
The humble petition of Thomas Marshall collector of the customes att Rye
Sheweth that upon an order of the counsell of the 8th of August 1654 here annexed, and some former of older date, he hath disbursed for the relief of forain seamen taken by the state’s ships att sea, and sent to the said towne of Rye to be from thence transported over into France, the summe of thirty one pound five shelings, as appeareth by the bills, here also annexed.
Therefore your petitioner humbly desires the counsell to give order for the repaying the said summe unto him according the said orders of the counsell
And he shall as in duty bound more and more pray etc
Report by Mary Wiggins
In this petition Thomas Marshall, collector of the customs at Rye, sought reimbursement of £31. 5s. spent on the care of detained foreign seamen, prior to their removal to France.
Thomas Marshall
I have not been able to trace for certain the petitioner Thomas Marshall who was the collector of customs at Rye, but there are some details about a man of this name in the area in the 1650s.
On 11 July 1655 the Mayor and Jurats (judicial officers) of Rye wrote to a Thomas Marshall of the Spurre Inn in Southwark stating: ‘By reason there are so many men of war on this coast (you know one of our vessels is taken already, [and] Captain Cadman had like to have been taken going over Sunday night last) we thought good to petition the Lord Protector for a convoy, and we desire you to present the business.’[1] This seems to confirm that this Thomas Marshall is linked to Rye, although he appears to be at or from the Spurre Inn in London. This inn was variously called the Spore (1542), the Spurre (1598) and the Spur – there is very little information about it but it was in an area full of famous inns.[2]
In June 1658 Thomas Marshall is mentioned as Mayor of Rye,[3] however I haven’t been able to confirm that this is the same man as in the original petition or to find out any other names or information about the mayors of Rye during this period.
The collection of customs
There was a centralised system for the collection of customs duties from the 13th century in England, overseen by the Board of Customs from the 17th century. The payment of customs duty has been recorded in England for over 1,000 years.[4]
Further restrictions on trade were raised in the 17th century by collecting higher customs and excise duties, which made many common utilities such as candles and beer very expensive.[5] Each port had a Customs House collector, supported by other officers.
On 22 July 1643, the Long Parliament passed the ‘Excise Ordinance’ in order to raise money for the maintenance of the Parliamentary army. A board was set up, consisting of eight commissioners, to oversee the collection of this money. Originally the duty was raised on beer, cider, spirits and soap, but this list gradually grew to include day to day necessities such as meat, fish, clothes and leather. This, of course, was hugely resented by the general public.[6]
References
[1] Historical Manuscripts Commission, ‘The corporation of Rye: 1651-62’, in The Manuscripts of Rye and Hereford Corporations, Etc. Thirteenth Report, Appendix: Part IV (1892), pp. 216-246. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/hist-mss-comm/vol31/pt4/pp216-246.
[2] ‘Borough High Street’, in Survey of London: Volume 22, Bankside (The Parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch Southwark), ed. Howard Roberts and Walter H Godfrey (London, 1950), pp. 9-30. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol22/pp9-30.
[3] Historical Manuscripts Commission, ‘The corporation of Rye: 1651-62’, in The Manuscripts of Rye and Hereford Corporations, Etc. Thirteenth Report, Appendix: Part IV (1892), pp. 216-246. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/hist-mss-comm/vol31/pt4/pp216-246.
[4] ‘HM Customs’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Customs.
[5] ‘Smuggling in Rye & on Romney Marsh’, Rye Castle Museum, https://ryemuseum.co.uk/smuggling-in-rye-on-romney-marsh/.
[6] ‘HM Excise’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Excise.