Wow, so delighted to have found this thread. I have an ancestor who was an Excise Officer, and we have his qualification certificate from 1819, the date and location of the birth and baptism of all his children as he and his family moved around the country, and even a letter from his wife to him in one place. But I'd still value any information on him or more detail on how he would have worked.
His name was George Penny, born and Christened in Colton, Lancs, in 1797 and qualified in Lancaster, for 'Surveying a Soapery', in 1819, married Margaret Marsh in Hanmer, Flintshire, whilst living in Ellesmere. His children were born and/or Christened at Manchester, Ardwick, Chester, Rusholm, Birmingham, Worcester, and Alcester. He died at Stourbridge in 1850.
I know he travelled by horse, with pistols, a lantern and a tinderbox, and I assume that Excise officers were not the most popular of people with some folks. Did they stay in an area and keep an eye on several places, did they 'survey' several types of manufacturers and did they have standard report forms, in fact any information that people can supply, I'd be very interested to receive.
I do hope some of those in the know are still checking into this thread, and would be delighted to hear more from you.
Many thanks,
Flo