Smuggling in Whitstable

The Winter Talks series starts Sat 8 Nov 2025 @ 7:30 when WYC’s own history specialist Richard Maltby educates us with “Smuggling in Whitstable; Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by!”.  An illustrated presentation about the most secretive and successful of all smuggling organisations of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Seasalter Smuggling Company and the smuggling of French prisoners of war through Whitstable.  How was Whitstable smuggling able to operate regularly, to a set plan, yet always keep one step ahead of the authorities? Who were the “gentlemen” who directed Whitstable smuggling with such skill and influence as times changed? And how did they become some of the richest men in Kent, whose country mansions, buildings and banks remain to this day? Was there a “Mr Big”, a godfather of Whitstable smuggling? And what connections did the smuggling company have with the Whitstable Oyster Fisheries Company? This talk is duty free!