Seized! The Border and Customs Uncovered

The

Border Force Border Force (BF) is a law-enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its estab ...

National Museum (previously -

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

) is located in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and holds the national collection of

HM Revenue and Customs HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...

, one of the most important collections of its type held anywhere in the world. Originally HM Customs & Excise National Museum, the collection is now a gallery located on the basement floor of the

Merseyside Maritime Museum The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. It opened for a trial season in 198 ...

at the

Albert Dock Albert Dock may refer to: *Albert Dock, Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England *Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, a dock and warehouse system in Liverpool, England *Royal Albert Dock, London The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal ...

. The exhibits tell the story of

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

and

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

from the 18th century to the present day. They include an extensive display of tools of the job, prints, paintings and photographs relating to the work of the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs. Other items look at the ingenious and often dangerous world of smuggling, prohibited goods and concealment.Seized! The Border and Customs uncovered
National Museums Liverpool. Accessed 21 December 2010.

History

The museum was established in 1994 a partnership between

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

and

HM Customs & Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was th ...

, which in 2005 merged with the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

to form HM Revenue and Customs. The museum was designed to educate the public about smuggling and contraband from 1700s to the present day. The museum was named as

National Museum in May 2008 (known as 'Seized! Revenue and Customs Uncovered') and then became the

National Museum (known as 'Seized! The Border and Customs uncovered') following a new lead partnership with the UK Border Agency in 2009. Following the rename of the

in 2012 to

, the museum is now known as "Seized! The Border and Customs uncovered Border Force National Museum". Since May 2008 the collection has been located in the basement of

. Fraser Randall was chosen to carry out a refurbishment of the exhibition by National Museums Liverpool. The construction company created setworks, interactives, audio visual and graphics works. The exhibition designers updated the collection with the ability for visitor interaction and family-friendly displays. The cost of the refurbishment totalled £500,000.

References

External links

Merseyside Maritime Museum – gallery website
National Museums Liverpool Smuggling Law enforcement museums in England Museums in Liverpool Museums established in 1994 1994 establishments in the United Kingdom HM Revenue and Customs United Kingdom border control {{UK-museum-stub