Walked through the graveyard at St George-in-the-East, Wapping, today and spotted this really intriguing gravestone with a skull & crossbones carving.
The inscription reads "Here lieth interr'd the body of Mr Alex Wyllie who departed this life the 4th December 1741 aged 52 years".
Was he a pirate? Who knows... but the fantastically named 'Execution Dock' is also in Wapping and was the place where many infamous pirates, including Captn Kidd, met their maker... In fact, the Captn Kidd pub on the waterfront in Wapping still has a gallows in it's garden (charming!)...
Oh, that is an interesting gravestone. From studying the genealogy of my family, I have visited many cemeteries, and the artwork on gravestones is quite interesting. Sounds like the graveyard had lots of interesting history.
I have to fav it!! OMG that is sooo cool! Is the stone mounted on the wall? To preserve it I guess. By the symbols it sure looks like he was a pirate, even the lettering is amazing!
@shutterbugger yeah, the graveyard was heavily bombed in WWII so no longer used, all the stones have been moved against the walls surrounding the churchyard... yeah, reckon he was a pirate too...
November 3rd, 2011
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