[janwhin]

Despite being a coastal county we haven't done anything on smuggling or customs officers. We've probably got a few people in this forum whose ancestors worked for customs. On the other hand we could have a few descended from smugglers, all those tales of tunnels under Amble!
Here's my starter, the son in law of my three times great grandfather was an excise officer and he left notes of his career and other pieces of correspondence, now at Woodhorn.
He was born in Newburn, on the Tyne, and became an excise officer in 1796. He was moved round the county, frequently, presumably to avoid corruption. His "Rides" included Morpeth, Warkworth, Alnwick, Wooler. He was at the Warkworth Ride from 1797 to 1801. When he retired in 1838 he was awarded superannuation of £72 per annum. Each time he was moved he had to submit an expenses account to explain the costs of removing himself and his family between Rides.