THE SMUGGLERS INN

This historic pub can be found perched by the coast just outside the village of Osmington Mills, Dorset, UK.

It was the headquarters of the French smuggler Pierre Latour and one of the main landing places for smuggled goods from the 17th century onwards, the inn was originally built in the 13th century and had its own brewery at the rear.

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There are numerous ledges along this coast, where the limestone has been eroded to flat reefs. Although they were hazardous to unwary sailors, they were useful to the smugglers who knew their way through them, being a very good landing place for the contraband. In the eighteenth century Osmington Mills was a remote hamlet in a wooded valley, with just a rough track connecting it to Osmington village, and the Smuggler's Inn (known then as The Crown, and later as the Picnic Inn) was the ideal headquarters for the smuggler known as 'French Peter'. Pierre Latour sailed a fast and lightly-armed cutter called 'L'Hirondelle' (The Swallow), and he worked closely with the pub's landlord, Emmanuel Carless.

There is a local tale of French Peter arriving at the pub when a Revenue Officer was hiding there, on yet another attempt to capture the French brigand. The landlord offered him gin instead of his usual brandy and pointed silently to the fireplace where the officer was hiding. Pierre announced that he had a chill in his bones, and asked if the landlord would light the fire. The man was soon smoked out of his hiding place, and the laughter of the locals on top of the hair-raising tales the landlord had told him of the smuggler's exploits was too much for the poor man, who accepted the brandy he was offered and then fled!

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There are several red-brick pillboxes along the South West Coatal Path that passes through Osmington Mills, remnants of the Second World War, when this coastline played an important role in keeping a lookout for the enemy and training for D-Day. Portland was a target for heavy bombing, although most of the warships had moved further north, and it was one of the embarkation points for Allied forces leaving for Normandy in 1944.

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In 2016, Hall & Woodhouse spent £250k to shore up the walls of the small stream that runs in front of the pub, which involved diverting it for four months and indeed because of coastal erosion, there’s a good chance the Smugglers won’t be with us by 2068, so enjoy it while you can!

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