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Blackbeard

Did the infamous Blackbeard hail from Stonehouse?

Edward Thache aka Blackbeard


Was the Revd Thomas Thache, rector at St Cyr’s, Blackbeard’s grandfather?

Was the Edward Thache, born in Stonehouse on June 14, 1659,

baptized two weeks later at St Cyr’s Church, Blackbeard’s father?

Did Edward Thache senior move to Bristol, marry an Elizabeth,

and have two children, Edward aka Blackbeard, and Elizabeth?


Did the family of that notorious pirate,

The legendary swashbuckler Blackbeard,

Really hail from Stonehouse?

Is St Cyr’s Church down by the canal,

Linked with the fearsome skull and crossbones,

That ploughed the waters of the Atlantic Ocean

And the Caribbean Seas?


The Blackbeard, killed near Ocracoke Island,

North Carolina, November, 1718?

The Blackbeard, pursued by Alexander Spotswood,

The Governor of Virginia?

Spotswood had authorized the expedition

that claimed Blackbeard’s head as a trophy.


So, the next time you visit St Cyr’s Church,

Nestling so peacefully down by the Ocean,

Gaze into the azure skyscape,

And track a windblown cumulus cloud,

For you might just glimpse the head of Blackbeard -

But beware of any inexplicable light

Flashing on the limpid flowing waters:

‘Teach’s Light’, the mariners call it:

Guiding Blackbeard in the ceaseless search for his head,

Desperate that the Devil will know him still,

And offer him respect and friendship.


Citizens of Stonehouse: You have been warned!

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