A swashbuckling tale passed down through generations on Portland of a pirate's grave above Church Ope Cove is sadly just an old wife's tale.
This stone tomb, with a Jolly Roger-style skull and crossbones on the end, stands in a graveyard next to the ruins of St Andrew's Church, in the shadow of Rufus Castle.
It is said that it marks the resting place of a pirate who terrorised the Caribbean before returning to ravage his native shores in the south coast of England.
But local historians, including Portland author Stuart Morris, have rubbished the story.
They say that the grave is that of a local person, and probably someone who was actually quite well respected.
It was common to place the skull and crossbones on a well-to-do person's headstone in the 16th and 17th century. The skull and crossbones were just an indicator of death.
But there have been plenty of proper pirates and buccaneers hailing from Dorset.
They include Henry 'the Rover' Strangeways and William Dampier.
William Dampier
Dampier sailed from Weymouth in the late 17th century on his way to plunder ships in the Caribbean.
He wasn't a typical pirate. Like most pirates he was motivated by the desire for material gain.
But Dampier had a hunger to see and describe what was then a little-known world. He journeyed around the world three times, visited places few people had been and kept a detailed journal of what he saw.
He published his own observations in his best-selling books, and he left his own mark on the golden age of piracy.
In between pillaging and plundering, Dampier spent every spare moment exploring the natural environment and meticulously documenting everything in sight.
He was charmed by all the new animals and plants he came across.
His passion and detailed descriptions would one day inspire scientists, writers and British armchair travellers alike.
Three years later, as a ship’s captain, he captured several Spanish and English vessels, storing some of the plundered goods in Portland Castle, where George Strangeways was in command.
He worked with the Killigrews out of Le Havre in 1553 but came to England in 1554. Imprisoned several times, he was always released, possibly through bribery.
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In 1559 he was engaged by merchants to capture a Portuguese fortress in west Africa. The Privy Council forbade it but the Lord Admiral, Edward Lord Clinton, was an investor in the enterprise, so Strangways was allowed to leave aboard the Salamander. He immediately returned to piracy in the Channel, taking four rich Spanish and Portuguese ships.
Captured in July 1559, Strangways was tried in London and sentenced to death. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton interceded with Queen Elizabeth I and Strangways was pardoned. In 1562, he was employed as a captain of English soldiers in France.
With two vessels he fought his way up the River Seine, through a fortified barricade, to relieve the city of Rouen. Strangways was mortally wounded and died in Rouen, something of a hero.
With thanks to the Smithsonian Ocean Team and English Heritage.
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