Isaac Gulliver
Encyclopedia
The name of three generations of Gullivers from Semington
in Wiltshire
, England during the 18th and early 19th century; Isaac Gulliver (1745-1822) was so successful as a smuggler on the south coast that he came to control its length from Lymington
on The Solent in Hampshire
, through Dorset
to Torbay
on the Devon
coast and became known as "King of Smugglers". he was also referred to as "the gentle smuggler who never killed a man" and with his gang, ran 15 Luggers bringing from the Continent to Poole Bay gin, silk, lace and tea. On the 5th of October 1768 he married innkeeper's daughter Betty Beale at Sixpenny Handley parish church.
in Dorset where he planted large clumps of trees to act as navigation aids for his ships. An extremely wealthy man, Gulliver was also able to build many grand houses, among them 'Howe Lodge', in Kinson
, Bournemouth, a purpose built smuggling stronghold. When it was demolished in 1958 a number of hiding places were found within, including a secret room only accessible through a door 10 feet up a chimney. It was at Howe Lodge that he allegedly covered his face in white powder and lay in an open coffin. When the customs men arrived to arrest him his wife told them he had died during the night and showed them the 'body'. When they went away, Gulliver got out of the coffin and escaped.
In a report from the Custom House, Poole, to His Majesty's Commissioners of Customs in London [1788] it is mentioned that: "Gulliver was considered one of the greatest and most notorious smugglers in the west of England and particularly in the spirits and tea trades but in the year 1782 he took the benefit of his Majesty's proclamation for pardoning such offences and as we are informed dropped that branch of smuggling and afterwards confined himself chiefly to the wine trade which he carried on to a considerable extent having vaults at various places along the coast and "in remote places" .
Gulliver became a respected citizen gentleman and banker. He retired to Gulliver's House, West Borough, Wimborne and died there on Friday 13th September 1822, leaving an estate of £60,000, with properties across Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as Dorset, which would be worth many millions today. His gravestone is in the floor of Wimborne Minster.
; Lt Gen Sir John Fryer
; the banker Edward Castleman, owner of Chettle
House; Captain Thomas Hanham (responsible for the first legal cremation in England - 3/10/1882) and the artist Rodney Fryer Russell
(who lived at Manston
House, site of the first cremation and whose grandparents lived at Kinson House).
Semington
Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge.The parish includes the hamlets of Littlemarsh and Littleton....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England during the 18th and early 19th century; Isaac Gulliver (1745-1822) was so successful as a smuggler on the south coast that he came to control its length from Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
on The Solent in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, through Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
to Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
on the Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
coast and became known as "King of Smugglers". he was also referred to as "the gentle smuggler who never killed a man" and with his gang, ran 15 Luggers bringing from the Continent to Poole Bay gin, silk, lace and tea. On the 5th of October 1768 he married innkeeper's daughter Betty Beale at Sixpenny Handley parish church.
Life
He owned several farms including one at Eggardon HillEggardon Hill
Eggardon Hill is located on chalk uplands approximately four miles to the east of Bridport, in the English county of Dorset. It stands 250 metres above sea level, and provides panoramic views to the south, north and west...
in Dorset where he planted large clumps of trees to act as navigation aids for his ships. An extremely wealthy man, Gulliver was also able to build many grand houses, among them 'Howe Lodge', in Kinson
Kinson
Kinson is a former village which has been absorbed by the town of Bournemouth in the county of Dorset in England. The area became part of Bournemouth on 1 April 1931....
, Bournemouth, a purpose built smuggling stronghold. When it was demolished in 1958 a number of hiding places were found within, including a secret room only accessible through a door 10 feet up a chimney. It was at Howe Lodge that he allegedly covered his face in white powder and lay in an open coffin. When the customs men arrived to arrest him his wife told them he had died during the night and showed them the 'body'. When they went away, Gulliver got out of the coffin and escaped.
In a report from the Custom House, Poole, to His Majesty's Commissioners of Customs in London [1788] it is mentioned that: "Gulliver was considered one of the greatest and most notorious smugglers in the west of England and particularly in the spirits and tea trades but in the year 1782 he took the benefit of his Majesty's proclamation for pardoning such offences and as we are informed dropped that branch of smuggling and afterwards confined himself chiefly to the wine trade which he carried on to a considerable extent having vaults at various places along the coast and "in remote places" .
Gulliver became a respected citizen gentleman and banker. He retired to Gulliver's House, West Borough, Wimborne and died there on Friday 13th September 1822, leaving an estate of £60,000, with properties across Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as Dorset, which would be worth many millions today. His gravestone is in the floor of Wimborne Minster.
Family
His only son, Isaac Gulliver [1774-98] died unmarried, but his daughters married into the Fryer family whose interests and wealth ranged from the Newfoundland fisheries to banking.. His descendants include; Sir Frederick FryerFrederick William Richard Fryer
Frederick William Richard Fryer served as Lieutenant Governor of the British Crown Colony of Burma from May 1897 to April 1903.-External links:* http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Myanmar.htm...
; Lt Gen Sir John Fryer
John Fryer (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir John Fryer, KCB, was a British Army officer.After studying at Exeter College, Oxford. he entered the Army in 1860 as a cornet in The Carabiniers. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the regiment, and commanded it from 1877 to 1882...
; the banker Edward Castleman, owner of Chettle
Chettle
Chettle is a hamlet in North Dorset, in southern England, situated on Cranborne Chase on the A354 road six miles north east of Blandford Forum. Chettle has a population of 80 ....
House; Captain Thomas Hanham (responsible for the first legal cremation in England - 3/10/1882) and the artist Rodney Fryer Russell
Rodney Fryer Russell
Rodney Fryer Russell was a well known West Country watercolourist and portrait painter and poet. Born in Dorset, England, he was the great-great-great grandson of Isaac Gulliver and the second cousin of Dame Sybil Thorndike. In 1950 he won a scholarship to Paris and lived in London, West Sussex,...
(who lived at Manston
Manston, Dorset
Manston is a village in north Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale two miles east of Sturminster Newton. The village has a population of 135 .-External links:*...
House, site of the first cremation and whose grandparents lived at Kinson House).