The beautiful farmhouse that Slippery Sam bought for himself at the age of twenty, can still be seen on the Stone Street Road at Petham, between Canterbury and Hythe. To this day, it is still known as "Slippery Sam's". Not bad going for an individual that had a short, criminal career well over two hundred years ago.
© N.E.Blanche 1998This is the farmhouse once occupied by "Slippery Sam". It has been used for several purposes over the years and most recently as a restaurant although it is again presently (1998) up for sale again.
Samuel Jackson was born in 1730 and was the son of a smuggler. He was well known for receiving and distribution as well as being involved in the actual smuggling runs. The farmhouse that he bought soon had a 'warren' of tunnels underneath which were used for storage and for hiding places. They also enabled Jackson to come and go from the farmhouse without being observed. He earned his name after overpowering a guard at Maidstone Gaol and having covered himself in axle grease managed to slip through a small window to freedom. In 1760, after shooting and killing a Revenue officer, Jackson was caught, hung and gibbeted for two days at the age of thirty.
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