Customs officers and Excise men

H M Customs and Excise was formed in 1909 by the merging of the Board of Customs with the Excise Department of the Inland Revenue. Customs officers collected the duty on imports and prevented smuggling, while Excise men were responsible for collecting the excise tax on home produced goods. Ham´s Customs Year Book lists officers of both boards of Customs and Excise and also the Inland Revenue. We hold copies of the publication from 1875 to 1930.

There were separate Customs Boards for Scotland from 1707 to 1823 and Ireland from 1807 to 1823, when a United Kingdom board was established. Some records for these periods can therefore be found at the National Archives of Scotland, the National Archives of Ireland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

Customs Officers

The first Customs officers were appointed in 1294, and some early officials are listed in published works. A list can be found in Robert L Baker The English Customs Service 1307-43, A Study of Medieval Administration (The American Philosophical Society, 1961), also An Account of the Commissioners of Customs, Excise, Hearthmoney, and Inland Revenue, 1642-1913 (HMSO, 1913).

The Customs Board Minute Books in CUST 28, covering 1734 to 1885, can be used to find the first appointments and later postings of officers with details of conduct. Most volumes have indexes.

Pay lists and staff lists are in CUST 18, from 1675 to 1813, CUST 19, from 1814 to 1829, and also in CUST 39, from 1671 to 1970. A few early lists are in PRO 30/32/15-29 for 1673 to 1689. There are also some Treasury lists in T 42 from 1747 to 1847. Some separate lists for Scotland and Ireland can be found in CUST 20 and CUST 39.

Outport records in various CUST series from CUST 50 to CUST 114 should also be consulted for the ports were officers worked. These records include annual returns of the ages and capacities (ranks) of the officers employed. Outport records also include letter books and records of port administration.

Applications for pensions can be found in the Treasury papers in T 1 and references can be found using Calendars of Treasury Books, Calendars of Treasury Papers and the Calendars of Treasury Books and Papers covering 1660 to 1745. There are also indexes to T 1 papers in T 2, T 4 and T 108 .

Warrants from 1714 to 1797 appointing Customs officers can be found in series C 208. These are indexed by C 202/267-269.

Excise Men

The Excise Board Minute Books in CUST 47, covering 1695 to 1867, can be used to find appointments and postings of Excise men. There are also Excise Entry Papers in CUST 116, covering 1820 to 1870; these have an alphabetical card index in the Open Reading Room. The Entry Papers contain pairs of letters folded together. One letter is a recommendation for appointment, giving details of name, age, place of birth, marital status and a character reference. The other letter is from the excise officer responsible for training of the new recruit, giving details of their abilities. Irish Excise records can be found in CUST 110 and CUST 119.

Pay lists for Excise men in England and Wales can be found in T 44, covering 1705 to 1835. Lists for Scotland are in T 45, covering 1708 to 1832.

Pension records are in the series CUST 39/157-159 for the period from 1856 to 1922.