Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Bermuda: Old Rectory - St. George, George's Parish, Bermuda

Old Rectory
St. George, George's Parish
Bermuda


N 32° 22.930 W 064° 40.654



Short Description: 

The Old Rectory is located in One Broad Alley, behind St. Peter's Church, in St. George, Bermuda. It is reported to be haunted by its builder, the pirate Captain George Dew.

Long Description:

According to the website reference: Haunted Bermuda: Five Ghosts You Might Meet On The Island

As a real-life pirate of the Caribbean, Captain George Dew spent his youth doing very, very bad things: looting, pillaging, smuggling and carousing. You know, the usual pirate stuff. But by 1699, when he built his home in St. George's Parish, Dew had renounced his wicked ways and was thought of as an upstanding island citizen. The lovely little building, nicknamed the Old Rectory, is now a bed-and-breakfast and Bermuda National Trust Property, and some say you can hear the Captain's ghost playing a gentle harpsichord there. It's usually open to the public on Wednesday afternoons between November and March if you want to listen in to some lilting sounds transmitted from beyond the grave.

Old Rectory was once the home built in 1699 by a not too successful pirate and slave trader Captain George Dew. It is one of the oldest buildings in Bermuda. Drew reformed and abandoned his former careers to practice law and become a member of the Bermuda House of Assembly. The home was later the home of Bishop Alexander Richardson the rector of St. Peter's Church from 1763 to 1805; hence the modern name for the house.

The limestone structure is a typical example of Bermudian architecture. The building has multiple chimneys on both sides of the house and a short staircase that leads up to the main door. The strangest feature is the asymmetric triangular structure above the door. The property is owned and managed by Bermuda National Trust.



A blue sign on the left side of the door explains the history of the Old Rectory. It is inscribed:

Old Rectory
circa 1699

One time privateer George Dew built the
Old Rectory after an unsuccessful career on the high seas.
Reverend Alexander Richardson, rector of St. George's
in the 18th century, owned the house for many years.

-¦¦-

Privately occupied - please respect resident's rights

HERITAGE SIGN SPONSORED BY ST. GEORGE'S FOUNDATION

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