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Severndroog
Castle in Greenwich tells the story of a wife's love for her husband,
and the heroics of a seafaring man.
Built
by the widow of Sir William James Bart to celebrate his achievements,
the building is triangular with three towers around the edge.
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| Sir
William James |
Originally
a museum to swashbuckling Sir James, it was also used as a summerhouse
and located on top of a hill opposite the James' house which was
in the valley below.
The house has now been demolished but the castle remains, though
in a dilapidated condition.
James's
heroic adventures began when he was just 18.
His vessel was attacked by the Spanish and he and his crew were
shipwrecked. They drifted for 20 days until they finally reached
Cuba and were saved.
But
it was James' tangle with pirates off the coast of Bombay that earned
him his reputation as a courageous seafarer and gave Severndroog
Castle its name.
For
a thousand years, pirates had been attacking ships on the important
trade route off the coast of India, and from the early 1700s had
their fortress based at Severndroog on the island of Vijayadrug.
In
1755 James headed for Severndroog with his warships and gave the
pirates a good trouncing, which led to the capture of the island
and of their mainland fort.
Sadly
James' life ended prematurely when he suffered a stroke at his daughter's
wedding.
Five years later, his wife commissioned Richard Jupp to build the
castle.
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