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Blackwater Watch Vessel & Bradwell Cutter The River Blackwater was as much of a problem for the Coastguard to deter smuggling as the Rivers Crouch and Roach to the south. Instead of a network of Watch Vessels in the Crouch. Roach and Thames, the Blackwater Coastline was only protected by Watch vessel at Stansgate and a Revenue Cutter based at Bradwell on Sea. The cutters were important to the Revenue men as they were small but fast and well armed and so were able to patrol at sea and surprise the smugglers when they were making land or floating the cargo. In 1794 the Fly was the excise cutter based at Bradwell when it was able to catch the crew of the Ox red handed heading for Rowhedge on the River Colne with 300 tubs of brandy and geneva aboard. In 1818 The rattlesnake was transferred to Bradwell from Blackmore Haven in Sussex only to be replaced in 1820 by the New Order although her commander Richard Gowlland stayed in charge of the new vessel. New Order was in turn replaced by the Richmond although this vessel was in poor condition and became the Watch Vessel 4 at Stansgate. The revenue cutter moored at Bradwell Quay in 1856 could well have been the Richmond In its turn the Richmond deteriorated and was replaced in about 1870 by the Frolic. The Frolic provided accommodation for the Chief Coastguard, four men and their wives and families. Being based at Stansgate several miles from the small village of Steeple the men and their families must have felt quite isolated. Customs men on the Watch Vessels or the land stations could only watch or mount land patrols which given the tacit support by the local residents for the smugglers usually proved a failure. All that remains of the Stansgate Coastguard's is the white building now used as a store that was formerly the washroom for the Coastguard and their families Essex Family History has a number of other pages about the of the Coastguard's relating to their history as well as their genealogy. Click on the following link to see the available pages
www.essex-family-history.co.uk
The Watch Vessel at Stansgate believed to be the Frolic.
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