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Isaac Gulliver would have remained just another Dorset smuggler, had it not been for his great speculating genius. He wisely invested the proceeds of his smuggling activities, particularly in property, much of which was used for further smuggling activities.
In a report from the Custom House, Poole, to His Majesty's Commissioners of Customs in London [1788] it is mentioned that: "Gulliver was considered one of the greatest and most notorious smugglers in the west of England and particularly in the spirits and tea trades but in the year 1782 he took the benefit of his Majesty's proclamation for pardoning such offences and as we are informed dropped that branch of smuggling and afterwards confined himself chiefly to the wine trade which he carried on to a considerable extent having vaults at various places along the coast and "in remote places" .
Most of these 'remote places' were on his own property, these land acquisitions including Howe Lodge, Kinson, Bournemouth, near his eastern beach-heads and Gulliver's Farm, West Moors, close to the principal cart-route inland. On the foothills of Cranborne Chase, as well as Thorney Down, he owned Thickthorn Farm, Long Crichel, and nearby North-East Farm.
As has been previously mentioned Gulliver's 'kingdom' stretched the entire length of the coast. When he opened up a Western connection, he used the beaches of Burton Bradstock to unload his contraband. He bought a North Eggardon Farm, Askerswell at the foot of Eggardon Hill and his Poole associate John Fryer named a boat, Eggardon Castle, for its hill-fort upon which Gulliver planted a clump of pines as a landmark for his ships, (where they can still be seen today), his farm being a useful center for the customers in Bath and Bristol.
Lilliput, on the edge of Poole harbour naturally reminds the visitor of of that other Gulliver and his travels, however there is no record of Dean Swift, the author, visiting these parts. In Gullliver's time, Lilliput was called The Saltings, after the trade that was carried on there, and the new name is thought to be an oblique reference to Isaac.
It might be thought that an elegant residential area would not have taken its name from an apparently disreputable character, but we do know that he owned Flag Farm in the district, and it must be taken into account that having made his fortune from smuggling, Gulliver became a respected citizen, gentleman, and banker. He retired to the brick-built Gulliver's House, West Borough, Wimborne and died there on Friday 13th September 1822, leaving an estate of £60,000, with properties in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as those in Wimborne, which would be worth multi-millions on modern values. His gravestone is in the floor of Wimborne Minster.
His only son, Isaac Gulliver [1774-98] died unmarried, but the daughters married into the Fryer family whose interest and abundant monies ranged from the Newfoundland fisheries to banking.