Pirates set to invade Dart castle

This Is South Devon -

Pirate fever is set to sweep through Dartmouth this jubilee bank holiday when the castle is laid siege to by the scourge of the sea on Sunday and Monday.

Back by popular demand, English Heritage's Pirates Invade event will see visitors come face-to-face with the ghastly crew of the pirate ship La Grande Derriere, as Dartmouth Castle is overrun with displays of musketry, cutlass, pistol and cannon.

Records show almost 1,000 people living in Devon share the same surname, and potentially the same blood line, as some of the most notorious pirates in British history.

Henry Morgan, William Kidd, 'Calico Jack' Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read plundered the high seas in the 17th and 18th centuries, capturing ships and waging war to secure their places in Britain's rogues' gallery.

With almost 400 Morgans, more than 300 Reads and close to 250 Kidds living in the county, the far-fetched and fantastical tales of re-enactor Captain Mad Dog Tregorran are sure to strike a chord as he conjures up thoughts of their potential piratical pasts.

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