buy
Above the Net Shed
The Net Shed, Polperro Harbour, Cornwall
Polperro, a 13th century fishing village, is situated on the south-east coast of Cornwall. Sheltered in a cliff ravine this unspoilt picturesque harbour is located only 25 miles from the city of Plymouth. Fishing has been the prime occupation of the community for centuries, and although tourism now provides Polperro’s main source of income, it still remains a working fishing village today.
Zephaniah Job arrived in Polperro in the earlier part of 1770. An entrepreneur of his day he was to change the life of the village completely. As well as managing the business side of the smuggling trade, he also managed the financial affairs of many of the local people, acting as advisor, accountant and banker. He was to act as banker and steward to Sir Harry Trelawney’s family at Trelawne near Polperro. He was a trader and merchant of many items such as corn, seed, coal and timber, and until it was stopped by Napoleon, he’d even taken charge of the pilchard export trade between Polperro and Italy. Zephaniah Job, Polperro’s benefactor died in 1822.
Smuggling reached its peak towards the end of the 18th century. Many items such as brandy, gin, tea and tobacco were shipped across the channel from Guernsey where prices were much lower than England. Secluded coves along the Polperro coast were where many of the smuggled goods were landed. In 1798 the ‘Lottery’ a Polperro boat was implicated in an incident in which a Customs Officer was killed. Tom Potter, one of the crew was tried for murder at the Old Bailey and later executed. Eventually the once thriving smuggling trade began to subside as Revenue officials became ever more resolute in stamping it out.