A pirate known for kindness

the library – Marlowes Myths and Legends, a guide to the spirits and dark corners of the Caribbean. I convinced a frantic Kate to detour to the library, claimed my prize and on leaving ran into Chalky just outside. Davy appeared moments later and we made good our escape!

I have awoken to a ship at sea and an overly solicitous crew. I’m sure they’ll get back to normal soon, but for now it’s nice to know that I’d have been missed. My next task is the study of this text, to finally find what we need to end this wretched haunting once and for all. Till then, when the night’s dark and the winds blow, keep your blade sharp, let the rum flow.

In the ‘Manifest’ setting out the contents of the August issue, which listed the latest episode of Captain James Summer’s misadventures, his faithful Quartermaster Davy was wrongly referred to as the Bos’n.

His ship-board role as second in command to the captain gave him authority over Chalky (the Bos’n) and other members of the crew when the Captain was held in gaol.

In a way of life where harsh treatment was considered normal, English privateer Thomas Tew established a reputation for kindness, His career in piracy was short (169295), but successful. He made two forays as a pirate amassing a fortune of over £90 million, making him the third richest pirate in the history of those times after ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy and Sir Frances Drake.

In 1692, the Governor of Bermuda granted Letters of Marque to both Tew and Captain George Dew to sail on separate ships to the River Gambia and attack a French factory at Goorie. Dew’s ship lost its topmast and had to return for repairs, which gave Tew in his 70 ton sloop ‘Amity’ a golden opportunity to follow a different course. He convinced his crew that there was no benefit to them in attacking a French enterprise, but it would be less dangerous and more rewarding to become pirates. The crew agreed, with one man reported as having shouted, “A gold chain or a wooden leg, we’ll stand with you”.

The following year, Tew reached the Red Sea, coming across a richly laden ship travelling from the Indies to the Arabian Peninsula, which they took without a fight. Their haul included gold, silver, gems, ivory, silk and spices, from which Tew obtained the majority of his wealth. After this voyage, Tew sailed to the Province of New York, where he befriended the Royal Governor, Benjamin Fletcher. Being honourable, as well as kind, he also repaid those who financed his ship with a sum 14 times the vessel’s worth!

Tew obtained another Letter of Marque from Benjamin Fletcher and, in 1694, set sail for the Red Sea once again. At the mouth of the Red Sea, he encountered several other pirates, including Henry Every, and they sailed together in search of more riches.

In September, 1695, the pirate fleet encountered a 25-ship convoy from the Mughal Empire. Tew and his crew engaged one ship, the ‘Fateh Muhammed’ and it was in this battle that he died from being disembowelled by a glancing blow from a cannon ball.

Three years later, Benjamin Fletcher wrote the following tribute to him: “This Tew appeared to me not only a man of courage and activity, but of the greatest sense and remembrance of what he had seen of any seaman that I ever met with”.

Thomas Tew talking with Royal Governor Benjamin Fletcher.

Kiddlywink pub on the smugglers’ trail

Set among granite cliffs at the Western side of Mount’s Bay on the South Coast of Cornwall, Lamorna Cove was a favourite landing beach for smugglers and the late 18th century Lamorna Wink pub still stands at the head of the smugglers’ trail leading up from the cove.

The ‘Wink’ part of the pub’s name is derived from ‘kiddlywink’, an old name for a Cornish beer shop or beer house. These became popular after the Beer House Act of 1830, which liberalised the regulations governing the brewing and sale of beer. Unlike traditional public houses and inns, Kiddlywinks were licensed to sell beer or cider by Customs & Excise rather than by a magistrate’s licence.

Wink taverns were haunts of smugglers and landlords or ladies would use a kettle to keep smuggled brandy hidden from the law. Patrons in the know would wink at the kettle if they wanted to imbibe something stronger than beer!

Mount’s Bay is the most Westerly point in the country protected from Atlantic storms, and the natural shelter made the area especially suitable as a fishing base and, of course, for smuggling. It was also well-placed for trips to France, the Channel Islands and the Scillies, so was the haunt of several well-known smugglers or free-traders as they liked to be known.

The most famous smuggler in the area was John Carter, the selfstyled ‘King of Prussia’, so called because of childhood games in which he laid claim to the title. Together with two brothers, Charles and Harry, he ran an efficient and profitable smuggling operation from Porthleah Cove that continued for many years and it is a tribute to his success that Porthleah is now called Prussia Cove.

Smuggling continued for some years after John Carter’s abdication and local freetraders visited Lamorna Wink, concealing their contraband in a hiding place under the floor in front of the fireplace. These days, it is a welcoming family pub and restaurant in a beautiful rural setting – a few moments’ walk from the seashore – that offers Cornish ales and substantial country fare with vegetarian and vegan options.

A concession to its smuggling past can be found when the pub sign comes into view. It features the face of Robert Newton as Long John Silver in the 1950 RKO-Disney film of ‘Treasure Island’ and yes, he is winking! More information from www.lamornawinkpub.com

Pub sign (picture courtesy of Tom Gainey).