HM Customs & Excise National Museum
Encyclopedia
UK Border Agency
The UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
National Museum, located in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and holds the national collection of HM Revenue and Customs, one of the most important collections of its type held anywhere in the world. Originally HM Customs & Excise National Museum, the collection is now a gallery located on the basement floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum
Merseyside Maritime Museum
The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage...
at the Albert Dock
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
.
The exhibits tell the story of smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
and contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
from the 18th century to the present day. They include an extensive display of tools of the job, prints, paintings and photographs relating to the work of the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs. Other items look at the ingenious and often dangerous world of smuggling, prohibited goods and concealment.
History
The museum was established in 1994 as a partnership between National Museums LiverpoolNational Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool, previously known as National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All museums and galleries in this group have free admission...
and HM Customs & Excise, which in 2005 merged with the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
to form HM Revenue and Customs. The current location of the museum in the basement of Merseyside Maritime Museum opened as HM Revenue and Customs National Museum in May 2008 (known as 'Seized! Revenue and Customs Uncovered') and then became the UK Border Agency National Museum (known as 'Seized! The Border and Customs uncovered') following a new lead partnership with the UK Border Agency in 2009.