Since the 12th Century there has been a port at Polperro. It’s location on the South Cornwall coast meant that its proximity to France and Spain was perfect for smugglers. The high cliffs around the entrance to the harbour with the town sitting in a bay provided a favourite landing place for the lace, tea and brandy being brought into England.

The Reign of Zephaniah Job

Zephaniah Job lived in Polperro in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. He worked to make the town the perfect location for Smugglers and provided them with a great amount of help. He was given the name the “Smugglers’ Banker” as he provided help with moving the goods, moving money and even employing a lawyer if the smugglers were caught. Zephaniah Job made so much money from the smugglers that when Polperro Harbour was destroyed in 1817 by a storm, he personally paid for it to be rebuilt. Without Job it is almost certain the Polperro Smugglers would have been caught much more easily.

Full article from Polperro Guide: “The Smugglers of Polperro“.

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