On January 17, 1797 he was arrested for shoplifting in Seaford.

He may have tried to get away in heavy fog, as the whole of Seaford Bay was wreathed in fog for several weeks at this time, but he was arrested and placed in the cells under the Town Hall in South Street.

Only a few weeks earlier on December 16, 1796, the cells were described as the 'Black Hole of Seaford' and cannot have been very pleasant. How long Potter was held in the cells is not known, however he was duly tried by the Bailiff (mayor) Thomas Harben and sentenced to transportation for seven years.

As Seaford was a Cinque Port, the town had certain rights, which included being able to try its own prisoners.

In other East Sussex towns, the criminals would have to go to the Quarter Sessions at Lewes but Seaford had a measure of independence and the Bailiff had wide ranging sentencing powers, including the death sentence.

Seven years transportation appears to be a severe sentence for shoplifting but we don't know further details of the crime or any previous conviction Potter may have had.

It is also likely that Harben was not happy with crime in 'his' town. He had arrived in Seaford in 1783, when he had moved his house (Corsica Hall) brick by brick from Ringmer to Seaford and erected it on the site of a former windmill at the entrance of the old port.

He had become Bailiff of Seaford in 1792 and two years later was made Captain of the newly formed local defence force, the Cinque Ports Volunteers.

A few months before Potter was arrested Harben had himself been the victim of a crime when Ann Corsham was arrested for stealing four shillings from him. Her fate has not been recorded.

Unfortunately nor is Potter's fate. East Sussex County Records Office contains details of East Sussex criminals who were transported and Potter's name is not shown.

I suspect that the reason is that as Potter was tried under 'Cinque Ports' law he may have been sent to Dover rather than Lewes to be transported. Potter however was certainly not happy with his sentence.

On June 26 he tried to escape along with a fellow prisoner, John Steward. The two men managed to break through the ceiling of their cell and climb up into the town hall, which occupied the room above.

They were however, quickly apprehended.

Potter's fellow escapee, John Steward, was a soldier from the Royal Artillery and was probably based at the Seaford Battery, which once stood at the top of where the Causeway now meets the Esplanade.

Steward had been arrested on June 3 for stealing women's clothing (and three bottles of brandy) from the home of Mrs Washer.

The severe sentence meted out to Potter seems to have done the trick and had been a warning to other would be crooks; there is no further record of crime for a couple of years.

On November 20, 1799, 30 hens and 28 ducks were stolen from a roost at Exceat and a few days later on December 9, 39 hens were stolen from Hobbs Hawth and a shoemaker had a half-finished pair of shoes stolen from his workshop.

But these crimes could not have been committed by Samuel Potter – as he was probably well on his way to Australia by then.

I wonder if he was sent on the East Indiaman the 'Sir Godfrey Webster'. This ship was notorious for taking convicts to Australia and was named after the MP for Seaford between 1786 and 1790. Many criminals (maybe even Potter) subsequently took the name to use as an alias.

- This Sunday, October 4, I will be conducting an historic guided tour around Seaford in the company of our Mayor, Councillor Tracy Willis.

The cost will be £5 per person and all money will be donated to the Mayor's charities.

The tour will leave from the Police Station in Church Street at 2pm. Tickets are available today (Friday) from Seaford Town Council at 37, Church Street.