While revenue collection and protection was the Customs officers' principal task, several other responsibilities were accrued over centuries in relation to maritime law enforcement.

As the principal government representatives in England's (later Britain's) ports, customs officers were involved in the regulation of salvage, quarantine, immigration, emigration, fisheries, trade and embargoes, as well as in the collecting of statistics and various other activities.

Alongside large numbers of local officers, the building accommodated officials and clerks responsible for national administration and oversight; the Board of Customs was based there from the time of its establishment in the 17th century.

The main public space in each Custom House, known as the Long Room, was where traders and others presented themselves to make the required payment of duties and fees on cargo destined for export or import.

In 1215 Magna Carta asserted that merchants travelling to and from England should expect to pay the rectae et antiquae consuetudinae ('ancient and rightful customs').

[3] The first written reference to a Customs-type payment in England is found in a charter of King Aethelbald of Mercia issued in AD 743 to Worcester Abbey, granting them the dues of two ships collected at the Hythe of London.

The tax on imported wine called Prise initially involved a proportion of the beverage itself being surrendered for use at the King's table; it subsequently developed into a financial payment.

[6] For any sizeable port, the grant of a cocket to its appointed Customs officers was important as it signified that it was a legitimate place for the landing and loading of goods for international trade.

Two years later, officers called Searchers were appointed in each port to arrest anyone dealing in counterfeit money, to examine all goods for import or export and to ascertain that the correct duty had been paid.

Thus, by the end of the 13th century, a principle was established which has remained in force (with some modifications) to the present day: that of separation between the assessment of goods, the collection of revenue and the checking of accounts.

One of the local landed gentry would often serve as Customer, as they possessed the staff and vehicles required to ensure the safe transport of money received; however, with these appointments being made by Letters Patent, often for life (and sometimes with rights of inheritance), the patentee was able to employ a deputy to do the work while still collecting the (often substantial) fees associated with the post.

These were initially raised as a temporary measure (for defence of the realm) by agreement with the merchants, but in 1373 legislation was passed making them permanent; from 1414 the associated revenue was granted directly to the Crown.

The Pool of London was the main centre of international trade in the country; the majority of revenue was received there and its administrative systems were well established.

In 1780, a Commission of Inquiry reported on the proliferation of lucrative 'patent' posts associated with HM Customs; by the end of the century these sinecures were being abolished.

Another committee looked into the complex matter of fees (it was not unusual for merchants to have to make payments to several different officials in order to clear a single consignment of goods); these were also abolished not long afterwards.

The most ambitious change, however, was the passing of an Act of Parliament in 1787 which sought to simplify the vastly complicated profusion of Customs laws and levies which had accrued over time.

In 1796 a committee examining the state of trade and shipping in the Port of London concluded that the provision of legal quays was vastly inadequate and was causing frequent delays and congestion on the river.

The pattern continued under William Gladstone with a further 140 items being freed from duty, leaving just 48 on the tariff (most notably rice, tea, coffee, sugar, wine, timber and tobacco).

In 1866, proposals were made for a more extensive amalgamation: combining HM Customs and the General Post Office with the Inland Revenue to form a new government department headed by a Secretary of State.

Thus, in his preamble to the 1908 Finance Bill, H. H. Asquith announced his intention 'to transfer the Excise Department from the Inland Revenue to the Customs' citing 'administrative economy and efficiency' as the reason.

They were painted black with a red trim and with the royal arms displayed on the transom; from 1721 they were required to wear the distinguishing flag of the relevant revenue service when on duty.

Initially eight in number, based in the notorious owling towns of Folkestone, Hythe, Lydd and Romney, their task was to patrol on horseback the stretches of open coastline between the ports.

Named the Industry, it seized a cargo of 'quicksilver and drugs' from a merchant ship the following year (the first recorded seizure of illicit goods by a Customs vessel).

[1] By 1666 there were four Customs smacks, operating out of Dover, Southampton and London; in 1685 there were ten, based in Gravesend, Bristol and a series of ports along the south coast.

[1] Very soon, though, it became clear that the Riding Officers could not cope alone, and seven new vessels (now termed 'sloops') were acquired, to be based at Leigh, Gravesend, Dover, Rye, Shoreham, Cowes and Poole.

[1] In 1816 however, after a post-war review, the Treasury Commissioners took the decision to place the Revenue cutters under direct Admiralty control for greater efficiency (though the crew's pay and victuals were still provided by HM Customs).

A Captain (RN) was appointed to the new post of Controller General of the Waterguard (on a salary close to that of a full Admiral) and he reported directly to the Lords of the Treasury themselves (bypassing the Customs Commissioners); subsequently, the Water Guard provided a much-needed employment opportunity for ex-naval officers and men.

With a large number of other naval vessels lying idle after the Napoleonic Wars, the Admiralty did not find much use for its newly-inherited Revenue Cutters, and most of them were soon scrapped.

It was recognised that this situation could not be allowed to persist, and in 1822 all these different branches were amalgamated, placed once more under the oversight of HM Customs and named the Coast Guard.