256 An Account of Lesbury Parish, by Geo. Tate, F.G.S. 



himself shot through the hand. The privateer had 1 6 carriage- 

 guns and 120 men.* April 4, 1747, a French privateer of 8 

 carriage-guns, took a Berwick salmon sloop off Alemouth, and 

 ransomed her for 200 and odd pounds, and thereafter forced a 

 snow on shore, hound for Philadelphia with stores, near that place.f 

 On August 22, 1756, a French privateer — " a long dogger that ap- 

 peared to be full of men," — took a fishing-smack, belonging to 

 Berwick, freighted with salmon, off Alemouth, "in sight of a 

 great number of the inhabitants." % April 7, 1765, three country 

 people were drowned at the mouth of the river, while so fool- 

 hardy as to attempt to cross, against both wind and tide.§ Nov. 

 1, 1765, during a great storm at sea of several days' continuance, 

 two cobles with six men in them, were sunk at sea off Alnmouth, 

 and two men perished in another boat, but the third man brought 

 the two deceased ashore. || In the beginning of Dec. 1785, a 

 most violent and destructive storm ravaged the coast of North- 

 umberland, and strewed the shore with wrecks, and vessels 

 a-ground. Between Alnmouth and Coquet Island, 11 vessels lay 

 on the beach (whose crews were, however, preserved), besides 

 those that had foundered, and been stoven to pieces among the 

 rocks ; and 15 other ships were ashore northward of Alnmouth.^f 

 On the 2nd of January, 1791, Eobert Henderson, of Stockton, 

 gentleman, usually called the Sailing Quaker, while attempting to 

 take the harbour of Alnmouth, in his sailing boat, was capsized 

 and drowned, along with his man, in the sight of the whole 

 town. He put to sea at Newbigging contrary to the remon- 

 strances of the fishermen.** Among the advertisements of 

 amusements in the Newcastle -papers, between 1724 and 1740, 

 horse-races were held at Alnmouth. ft Smuggling was formerly 

 prosecuted on this coast with boldness, but not always, as it would 

 appear, with unvarying success. In the Universal Magazine (vol. 

 lvii., p. 276), under date Nov. 21, 1775, we have this item of in- 

 telligence : " Saturday se'night was lodged in the King's ware- 

 house at Alnmouth, 80 casks, containing 300 gallons of spirits, 

 great part of which was sunk in the sea at Stinking-hole [New- 

 ton-by-the-Sea], and taken up and seized by Mr Banner, riding- 



* Newcastle Journal and Courant, July 14, 1744. 



t Newcastle Courant, April 11, 1744. 



X Newcastle Newspapers. § Table Book, vol. ii., p. 131. 



|| lb. p. 138. IT lb. p. 303. ** Brewster's Stockton. 



tt Arch. .-Eliana, N. S., vol. iv., p. 233. 



