Ghosts of S.E. England (Page 1)

GHOSTS OF THE SOUTH EAST

Part One

By TONY ELLIS

Index

Chicksands Priory, Clophill, Beds.

Willington Manor, Willington, Beds.

Ravensden, Beds.

Woburn Abbey, Beds.

Cumnor Place, nr Abingdon, Berks.

Ascot, Berks.

Bisham Abbey, Berks.

Church of All Saints, Farringdon, Berks.

Winklesham Road, Farringdon, Berks.

Coombe Manor, nr Newbury, Berks.

The Roebuck Hotel, Reading, Berks.

The George Hotel, High Street, Wallingford, Berks.

West Hendred, nr Wantage, Berks.

Windsor Castle, Berks.

The Chequers Inn, London Road, Amersham, Bucks.

Chenies Manor House, nr Amersham, Bucks.

Creslow Manor, nr Aylesbury, Bucks.

Claydon House, Middle Claydon, nr Aylesbury, Bucks.

Castle House, West Street, Buckingham

The Ostrich, Colnbrook, Bucks.

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ellesborough, Bucks.

Fulmer, Bucks.

Little Abbey Hotel, Great Missenden, Bucks.

Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks.

Haddenham, Bucks

Upton Court, Slough, Bucks.

Swanbourne, nr Winslow, Bucks.

George and Dragon Hotel, High Street, West Wycombe, Bucks.

Hughendon Manor, High Wycombe, Bucks.

Church of the Holy Cross, Basildon New Town, Essex

Borley Rectory, Essex

The Swan, High Street, Brentwood, Essex

The Golden Fleece, Brentwood, Essex

St Anne’s Castle, Scrap Faggott Green, Great Leighs, Essex

Chingford Mount Cemetery, Old Church Road, Chingford, Essex

St Osyth’s Priory, nr Clacton, Essex

The Bell Hotel, High Street, Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex

Langenhoe, nr Colchester, Essex

Ilford, Essex

The Bear Hotel, Stock, Essex

Beeleigh Abbey, nr Malden, Essex

Mersea Island, Essex

Rainham Hall, New Road, Rainham, Essex

Rochford Hall, Rochford, Essex

Tilty Abbey, nr Thaxted, Essex

Upminster Golf Club, 114 Hall Lane, Upminster, Essex

Wickford, Essex

Hinton Ampner, nr Alresford, Hants.

The Crown Inn, Alton, Hants. `

Bramshill House, Hartley Wintney, Hants.

Beaulieu Abbey, Hants.

Braishfield, Hants.

The Rufus Stone, nr Cadnam, Hants.

Crondall, Hants.

East Wellow, Hants.

The Royal Oak, Langstone, Hants.

Hook, Hants.

Itchells Manor, Hants.

Buriton Manor, Buriton, nr Petersfield, Hants.

The Blue Posts Inn, Portsmouth, Hants.

Moyles Court, nr Ringwood, Hants.

Netley Abbey, nr Southampton, Hants.

Victoria Military Hospital, Netley, Southampton, Hants.

Testwood House, Millbrook Road, Totton, Hants.

Vernham Dean, Hants.

The Eclipse Inn, Winchester, Hants.

The Vicarage, Abbotts Langley, Herts.

The Brockyet Arms, Ayot St Lawrence, Herts.

Hinxworth Place, nr Baldock, Herts.

The Manor House, Little Gaddesden, Berkhamstead, Herts.

Tewin, nr Bramfield, Hants.

Hatfield House, nr Colney Heath, Herts.

Bramfield Road, Datchworth, Herts.

Camfield Place, Essenden, Hatfield, Herts

The King’s Arms, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

The White Hart, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

Hitchin Priory, Hitchin, Herts.

Minsden Chapel, Minsden, Herts.

Knebworth House, Knebworth, Herts.

Scudamore, Letchworth Corner, Letchworth, Herts.

Markyate, Herts.

Markyate Cell, Markyate, Herts.

Salisbury Hall, nr St Albans, Herts.

Battlefield House, Chequers Street, St Albans, Herts.

Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth, Herts.

Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley, Kent

Sudbury Tower, Canterbury, Kent

St Mary’s Naval Barracks, Chatham, Kent

Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent

“Snob” Boutique, High Street, Chatham, Kent

White Horse Inn, Chilham, Kent

The Pest House, Frythe Walk, Cranbrook, Kent

Chiddingstone Castle, nr Edenbridge, Kent

Hever Castle, nr Edenbridge, Kent

The Shipwrights’ Arms, nr Faversham, Kent

Pennis Lane, Fawkham Green, Kent

Grafty Green, Kent

Southfleet Rectory, Southfleet, nr Gravesend, Kent

Lympney Castle, nr Hythe, Kent

Bayham Abbey, nr Lamberhurst, Kent

Scotney Castle, nr Lamberhurst, Kent

Ramhurst Manor, Leigh, Kent

Theatre Royal, Adlington Street, Margate, Kent

Steeles Lane, Meopham, Kent

Cleve Court, Minster, Kent

16 Waterdales, Northfleet, Kent

Downe Court, nr Orpington, Kent

Old Soar Manor, Plaxtol, Kent

Pluckley, Kent

Rochester Castle, Kent

Ightham Mote, nr Sevenoaks, Kent

Coombe Bank, nr Sunridge, Kent

Cardinal’s Error, Lodge Oak Lane, Tonbridge, Kent

Biggin Hill, nr Westerham, Kent

West Peckham, Kent

The Red Lion, Wingham, Kent

Chicksands Priory, Clophill, Beds.

Chicksands Priory dates back to 1150, when it was built by the Countess Rohese. It was to become the third largest house of the Gilbertine Order and in it’s ecclesiastical heyday could accommodate nearly 100 monks and nuns. However, when the Abbey was dissolved in October, 1538, only 23 were living there.

The house has had several owners since that time, certainly from 1540 to 1587, when it was bought by Sir Peter Osborn. It remained in the hands of the Osborn family until sold to the Government in 1936. In 1940, the Royal Air Force took it over for use as an officers’ mess.

The haunting of Chicksand Priory dates back to pre-Dissolution time. It was a certain fact that the temptations of monks and nuns led to some of them breaking their vows of chastity. In 1534, Thomas Cromwell received a report from Doctor Richard Layton stating quite clearly how much the vows were being broken. He found that at least two of the nuns were pregnant, one by a canon and the other by a servant.

It is one of these pregnant nuns who is thought to be the principal cause of the hauntings at Chicksands. It is known that at least one of the unfortunate girls was bricked up alive in one of the walls whilst her “lover”, believed to be the canon, was beheaded. She is thought to be still looking for the body of her decapitated lover.

However, although there have been many sightings of the lady, always on the 17th day of the month, there have also been varying descriptions of her. On occasions she has been reported as wearing what is thought to have been a normal nun’s habit. On other occasions she had been said to have been seen wearing white, with a white train flowing behind her. She has also been reported as having long black hair which covered her face. The witnesses, both British and American Air Force officers staying at Chicksands, plus many civilians, have given so many different descriptions over the past few years that it is more than likely that Chicksands is haunted not by one woman but three or possibly four.

Willington Manor, Willington, Beds.

Willington Manor was certainly in existence at the time of Henry VIII but after two major fires the house is now mainly Georgian in appearance. Two of it’s most famous occupants were Sir John Gostwick, Master of Hounds to King Henry in the 16th century and in more modern times, Sir Joseph Godber, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

There is no recorded sighting of a ghost at Willington Manor but there have been numerous reported incidents of heavy footsteps and the tinkling of a bell. Dogs have been particularly upset, especially in the early hours of the morning.

There is no story to account for either the identity of the man or the reasons for the hauntings but during the course of some reconstruction work, carried out in the early part of the 20th century, the skeleton of a man was found bricked up in a wall.

Ravensden, Beds.

The road between Ravensden and Wilden is haunted by the ghost of a witch, said to be dressed all in black and with an evil look on her face. Although she has scared the living daylights out of many people she is said to do no harm and promptly disappears when she is approached.

Two ladies, riding on a pony and trap in 1873, Mrs Goodhall and her daughter, were to describe the look on the witch’s face as “fiendish”. A Wilden man, who saw the apparition much later, told how she appeared to glide rather than walk.

It is supposed by the residents of Ravensden and Wilden that she was a witch, although nobody knows who she was originally.

Woburn Abbey, Beds.

This historical house must be one of Britain’s most Stately Homes. With a large collection of renowned oil paintings, antique furniture and silver, together with 14 state apartments and a 3,000 acre park containing wild animals, it attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Woburn was built on the site of a Cistercian Abbey. from which it took it’s name, and was originally built by Francis Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford, in 1626. Successive Earls and Dukes of Bedford have demolished and rebuilt the house. The present structure dates from 1744.

The Cistercian Abbey originally on the site was suppressed in 1538 during the Dissolution. The Abbot is supposed to have said at the time. “It is a marvellous thing that the King’s grace could not be contented with the noble Queen, his very true and undoubted wife, Queen Katherine” at the time when Henry VIII was marrying Anne Boleyn. They were fatal words in those days and he, his Sub-Friar and another monk were hanged from an oak tree which still stands near the South Front of the house. To this day there is a bare patch of earth on the lawn directly under the branch from which the monks were hanged.

When the 12th Duke of Bedford was found shot dead on his estate in Devon in 1953, his son become the 13th Duke at the age of 36. On taking over Woburn he had serious problems to contend with. The house was practically falling down and there were death duties amounting to £4 1/2 million. Added to that was an annual maintenance bill of £150,000 so one can imagine that it was a very brave decision on the part of the new Duke and Duchess to save Woburn at all costs. Save it they did and they did so by opening it to the public.

Their was a persistent manifestation which caused the Duke and Duchess to move the site of the television room. Whilst the family sat and watched television the door of the room would open suddenly, together with a facing door at the other end of the room, with just sufficient time in-between to allow a person to walk from the one door to the other. New locks were fitted to both doors but this did not stop the phenomenon. The doors were locked but they still opened “by themselves” and in the end the Wing was reconstructed, being turned into bedrooms with a passage where the two doors used to be.

Since the reconstruction of the Wing the ghost has changed his location and now opens bedroom and communicating doors in the Wing. This phenomenon has been witnessed not only by the Duke and Duchess but also by other members of the family, servants and guests. It has also been reported that something that feels like a cold hand passing over people’s faces and certain poltergeist phenomena have been witnessed in the bedroom area but this seems only to be experienced by female members and guests of the household, not by males. It does not seem to be too frightening for humans but it terrifies the dogs of the household.

This particular ghost would appear to be that of a young Negro boy who was a servant to the 3rd Duke of Bedford. Housebreakers strangled him into a state of unconsciousness, locked him in what is now known as the Masquerade Room and then, later, threw him from a window, dragged him through the park and drowned him in one of the lakes. A portrait of the boy can be found at Woburn showing him in attendance upon the 3rd Duke.

The Summer House in the park is said to have an unhappy and depressive atmosphere. It is said to be haunted by the wife of the 11th Duke of Bedford - The Flying Duchess. She loved the isolation of this Summer House, especially towards the end of her unhappy life.

She was not made welcome when she met her parents-in-law and when she moved into Woburn in 1891, as the Duchess, she was allowed no say in the management of the house nor even the upbringing of her own son. In desperation she turned her thoughts to other matters and took up the scandalous profession of nursing and having qualified built her own small hospital at Woburn, performing valuable work there. In her later years she developed a keen interest in flying and in 1934, at the age of 64, took part in a record-breaking flight to South Africa, which itself was not without incident.

On 22nd March, 1937, having been forced to give up her nursing work on the insistence of her husband, she set off on a flight in her Gypsy Moth aeroplane. Six days later the wreckage of the plane was found washed up on the East Coast, and it is her spirit that frequents the Summer House, the place where she found so much happiness in solitude away from the unhappiness she found at Woburn.

Other ghosts have been reported at Woburn. These include a whitish-grey streak, a figure in a brown habit that has been seen in the Crypt and in the Sculpture Gallery, and the figure of a tall gentleman wearing a top hat.

Cumnor Place, nr Abingdon, Berks.

The death of Amy Robsart in 1560, created a sensation at the time and was quickly followed by stories of hauntings at Cumnor Place.

Robert Dudley, the future Earl of Leicester, married Amy, a Norfolk heiress, in 1550. In 1558, when Elizabeth came to the Throne of England, Dudley soon began to neglect Amy in favour of the Queen and it was widely believed that Elizabeth wanted to marry Dudley and would certainly have married him if he had not already been married. When Amy became ill it was widely rumoured that she was slowly being poisoned. Elizabeth was reported as saying at the time that she “would be married to Dudley ‘ere six months were up”.

On 8th September, 1560, Amy sent her servants to a fair at nearby Abingdon. When they returned they found their mistress dead at the foot of the stairs with her neck broken. Despite a verdict of “Accidental Death” rumour linked Amy’s death with the affair between Dudley and Elizabeth, the feeling being that Amy had been first poisoned and then thrown down the stairs by hired assassins to make her death look like an accident.

In spite of her death, Elizabeth and Dudley did not marry. Elizabeth was shrewd enough to realise that if she had married her lover after the suspicious death of his wife it would have provided confirmation to the rumours.

The ghost of Amy Robsart was seen very soon after her death near the fatal staircase. She continued to haunt the house until it was demolished 250 years later in 1810. She is also said to have appeared to her husband at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, in 1588, where she warned him, whilst he was hunting in Wychwood Forest, that he would be dead within ten days. He suddenly contracted a mysterious illness and true to prediction died on 4th September, 1588.

She has also been said to roam Cumnor Park well into the 20th century and her appearance was said to be a warning of sudden death to the person that she met. An attempt was made by a group of Oxford clergyman to “lay her ghost” in what is known as Lady Dudley’s Pond. From that moment the pond has never frozen over.

Ascot, Berks.

The ghost of an old-time policeman. with a terribly mutilated face and wearing a high-buttoned tunic, haunts a stretch of the A 329 between Ascot and Bracknell.

Bisham Abbey, Berks.

Dame Elizabeth Hoby, wife of Protestant diplomat, Sir Philip Hoby, was a scholarly lady, well-versed in Greek and Latin. A formidable character, her weakness was a passion for funerals. Married twice, with five children, she attended Queen Elizabeth at Court. She was as ambitious for her children as she was for herself and only had one great disappointment, her son William, who was a poor scholar and infuriated her with his blotted handwriting.

One day, when there were more than the usual number of blotting and scratch-outs in his books, Dame Elizabeth locked William in a small closet as a punishment. Shortly afterwards a courier arrived from the Queen saying that she was required at Court immediately and in her haste to begin her journey she completely forgot about William and did not warn the servants of his being incarcerated in the closet as a punishment. It was only upon her return to Bisham Abbey a few days later that the tragedy was discovered and poor William was found starved to death, his body at his small desk, his books blotted and stained by tears. Dame Elizabeth never forgave herself.

She herself died at Bisham Abbey in 1609 at the age of 91 and her ghost is still said to haunt the Abbey, with a basin floating immediately before her, continuously washing her hands.

It is a great mystery as to who exactly William Hoby was. Dame Elizabeth had four children by her first marriage, two sons and two daughters. She had a son by her second marriage but none of the boys were called William. As Dame Elizabeth was 40 years of age at the time of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth to the Throne in 1558, it is highly unlikely that any child who was studying to write whilst she was in attendance at Court could have been born before the late 1570’s and almost certainly would have been born in the 1580’s. As Dame Elizabeth was already 60 years of age in 1578 it is more than likely that William Hoby was a ward and it is therefore quite understandable that his name would not appear on the Hoby family lineage.

An important discovery was made in the 19th century which helped to corroborate the story, for it had been felt that at one time Dame Elizabeth had thrashed him so unmercifully that he had died of his beating. In 1840, during structural alterations to the Abbey, workmen discovered some old copy books on which William Hoby’s name was written. They had been pushed behind some skirting boards in the same room in which William had starved to death. The pages were filled with untidy handwriting and were also heavily blotted. The last page of one of the books was also found to be smudged with what could only be dry tears.

The ghost of Dame Elizabeth was seen by Admiral Vansittart, who later lived at Bisham. He had ridiculed the idea of ghosts until the night he saw Dame Elizabeth. He is said to have fled from the room.

Since 1946, Bisham Abbey has belonged to the Central Council of Physical Recreation and loud weeping has been heard at night together with footsteps that have also been heard walking along what is now a non-existent corridor. Dame Elizabeth has been seen on many occasions and is recognised from the portrait of her which hangs at the Abbey, with one unusual difference. The ghost is always seen in the negative, that is with a white dress but with black hands and face.

Church of All Saints, Farringdon, Berks.

In the graveyard, nearest Farringdon House, the ghost of a headless man, wearing a cloak, has been seen walking at dusk slowly along the north wall of the Church. He is believed to be Sir Robert Pye, a Parliamentarian who besieged Farringdon House, the local Royalist stronghold owned by his father.

Winklesham Road, Farringdon, Berks.

During the period 1963 to 1974, strong poltergeist activity was reported associated with Oriel Cottage, in Winklesham Road. The police were called to investigate but said that they could do nothing about it.

A Spiritualist medium, called in to investigate, was able to contact the poltergeist and discovered that it was the spirit of a lodger who had lived at the cottage some years previously and who had committed suicide.

Coombe Manor, nr Newbury, Berks.

Originally a priory, Coombe Manor was one of the retreats to which Charles II brought his beloved Nell. Figures in Caroline dress have been seen in the garden and the sound of chanting nuns has been heard. A short while ago a small skeleton was found under the stairs.

The Roebuck Hotel, Reading, Berks.

The Roebuck Hotel is haunted by the sound of footsteps which pace corridors at night, hammering on doors and the mysterious opening of locked doors and windows.

All these happenings are thought to be caused by the unseen ghost of a naval officer who died at the Roebuck in the 18th century.

The George Hotel, High Street, Wallingford, Berks.

Originally the George Hotel was the dower house to Wallingford Castle and was used at that time for the families of deceased guardians of the Castle. During the Civil War the Castle was besieged by the Parliamentarians. After a siege lasting four months the garrison commander agreed to surrender the Castle to Cromwell’s troops and the Castle was destroyed; the only remains today being some ruined walls.

The George Hotel was one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of Wallingford in 1675, and is one of the few examples of Mediaeval architecture in the town.

The hotel is famous for it’s Tear Drop Room, so-called because of the tear-drop pattern that has been drawn on one wall of the room. The tear-drops are pear-shaped, crudely drawn and have been painted on the plaster of the wall. The Tear Drop Room is haunted.

The ghost is the daughter of Samuel Pearse, a 17th century landlord, who killed the girl’s lover, a Sergeant John Hobson, at the inn in March, 1626. It is said that the shock was too great for the girl, who became insane and was locked up in the room at the inn now known as Tear Drop Room.

She never stopped crying. It is said that she mixed soot from the chimney with her tears and drew the tear-drop design on the wall. It is not known why Samuel Pearse killed her lover but in 1626, Wallingford was an unruly garrison town full of soldiers and martial law had to be declared in February of that year.

The ghost of the unhappy girl has been seen as late as 1968. A guest woke up in the early hours of the morning to find the girl standing by her bed. At first the guest thought that the girl was a maid, then she noticed that the girl was crying and that the tears were streaming down her face. There was a deep sense of sadness in the room. Then the figure turned and went straight through the wall into the Tear Drop Room.

In another room the ghosts of two children have been seen standing by a wash-basin and many guests have said that they have had the sensation that they were not alone in the room.

In the cellar, invisible forces have been known to tap the bungs of beer barrels, although it was known at the time that the cellar was empty and the door to it was locked.

West Hendred, nr Wantage, Berks.

The ghost of a man killed in a road accident haunts the village of West Hendred. The figure, wearing a cap and an overcoat, has been seen by several unfortunate motorists, dashing in front of their carts. On all occasions, however, there was no bump and when the shaken motorists investigated, there was no sign of the man.

Windsor Castle, Berks.

Windsor Castle has many ghosts including Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Charles I and George III - the Mad King.

Queen Elizabeth haunts the Royal Library. She has been seen there by, among others, the Empress Frederick of Prussia. A Lieutenant Carl Glynn, of the Grenadier Guards, was in the Royal Library one evening in 1897, when he heard the tapping of high-heeled shoes on the floorboards. He saw a lady dressed in black, wearing a black lace scarf over her head and shoulders, walk across the Library floor and disappear into a side room. He followed the figure but he found that it had vanished when he entered the side room himself, even though there was no other exit. He was told by attendants that the figure was that of Queen Elizabeth and that she had been seen many times in the Library and had also been seen less often walking the castle walls.

Charles I haunts the Canon’s House and witnesses have described him as having exactly the same expression on his face as in the famous portrait by Van Dyke.

The Royal Library is also one of the places at Windsor haunted by George III, whose ghost has also been seen at Kensington palace. George was confined to Windsor for the last few years of his life owing to mental illness.

The ghost of Henry VIII has been seen and more often heard in the vicinity of the Cloisters near the Deanery. Groans and sounds of slow dragging footsteps have been heard in these passages. It should be remembered that Henry suffered very badly from gout and he also suffered badly after falling from his horse in a hunting accident.

In 1977, two soldiers saw Henry’s ghost walking along the battlements of the castle. They followed the spectre and watched it vanish into a wall. Later inspection of the plans of the ancient castle revealed that a door, long bricked up, had once existed at the precise spot where Henry’s ghost had disappeared. More recently a young guardsman, on duty at Windsor Castle, collapsed after he had seen the same ghost.

Besides being haunted by royal; ghosts, Windsor Castle is also haunted by the ghost of a soldier who committed suicide there whilst on sentry duty in 1927. The soldier was a young recruit of the Grenadier Guards and was on duty in the Long Walk when he shot himself. A few weeks later a guardsman who had been detailed to relieve another sentry, saw the figure of the dead soldier, who was smiling. When he finished his duty and returned to his quarters he learned that the guardsman he had relieved also had the same experience that night.

Windsor Castle was the scene of 17th century ghostly visitation when the ghost of the late Duke of Buckingham, dressed in armour, visited a Captain Parker, an officer of the King’s Wardrobe, on three separate occasions to plead with him to warn his son, Sir George Villiers, that unless he mended his callous ways he would “live but for a short time”. Sir George was warned by Captain Parker but did not listen to the advice and was knifed by an assassin six months later.

Perhaps the most famous of Windsor’s ghosts, however, is Herne the Hunter, who first appeared in the 17th century. Some say that he was Warden of the Forest to Henry VIII but it is more likely that he goes back to the time of Richard II, or perhaps even earlier. He appears with staring eyes, in his deer-skin clothes, his helmet made of a stag’s skull, riding a horse which is said to breath fire and is accompanied by a pack of hounds. He is said to appear at times of national disaster and was certainly seen several times in the 1930’s, including 1931, 1936 and 1939.

Herne was said to have committed suicide to escape being punished for a crime. The tree from which he was found hanged was called Herne’s Oak and this tree was standing until 1863, when it was blown down in a severe storm. One of his haunts is the Long Walk, where the Guardsman shot himself. Could the unfortunate sentry have committed suicide after seeing Herne the Hunter?

The ghost of the architect of the building, William of Wykeham, is still said to keep watch on his structure, especially the Round Tower, which in life was his particular pride and joy.

The Chequers Inn, London Road, Amersham, Bucks.

This 15th century inn is haunted by seven religious martyrs who were burnt at the stake in Rectory Woods, only a short distance away. Landlords have come and gone and very few seem to have enjoyed the regular inexplicable groaning sounds that have kept the entire household awake at night.

On one occasion the daughter of the then landlord was awakened and scared by the apparition of a white-hooded figure floating around her room.

In 1971, a barman reported that he had seen the figure of a man wearing a long cloak trying to climb up a chimney. This particular figure is well-known to the locals and is thought to be a man called Osman who was the warder in charge of the party of religious martyrs who spent their last night imprisoned at the Inn before they met their deaths at the stake.

The white-hooded figure is thought to be the tormented soul of the daughter of William Tylsworth, one of the seven men burnt in Rectory Woods. It is thought that she was forced to light the fire which killed her father.

Chenies Manor House, nr Amersham, Bucks.

Chenies Manor House has had its share of Royal visitors. King Henry VIII brought two of his wives to Chenies - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. - and Elizabeth I also spent a short time there. When Charles I was captured by the Cromwellians he was taken as prisoner to Chenies for a while and the house was also used to billet 200 Parliamentary soldiers during the time of the Civil War. Chenies is haunted by the sound of a ghost with a limp. The sound of the limping was traced to an area in which the Roundhead soldiers slept.

Certain structural alterations were made to the Pink Room in the 1970’s when it was discovered that there was no place to fit a wardrobe. It was known that there was a small bricked-up room in the one wall of the room and workmen were engaged to fit a door between the two rooms. The bricked-up room at one time had been used as a prayer room and when opened it was found to be a Priest’s hide-hole. Inside the room was an inscription dated in the 1660’s. From that time it has been found impossible to keep doors and windows shut in the Pink Room on 9th September.

The actual date of the inscription in the prayer room is - 9th September.

Creslow Manor, nr Aylesbury, Bucks.

The name “Creslow” is said to be a corruption of “Christ’s Low” (or meadow) and in 1120 the land was owned by the Knights Templars, later passing to the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem. At the Dissolution the property passed to the Crown.

In 1653 the property was leased to Cornelius Holland but he was forced to return it to the Crown on the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 and in the same year it was leased to Sir Thomas Clifford. It is the ghost of Rosamund Clifford that haunts Creslow, or to be more precise one of the bedrooms there. She has sometimes been seen but more often heard, with her light footsteps and the rustle of her silk dress.

It was in the 1850’s that the most famous manifestation of the lady occurred. A former High Sheriff of Buckingham, who lived some distance from Creslow, rode over for dinner one evening. As the evening drew on a terrible storm blew up and he was invited to stay the night. However, the only room available was what was known as the Haunted Chamber. Rather than being disturbed at the prospect the gentleman, being rather sceptical, was intrigued at the offer. He declined a fire in the room or even a night light. He did take with him a box of matches, and more in mirth than seriousness, a cutlass and a brace of pistols, as a deterrent to any practical joker who might have decided to “play the ghost” that night.

The following morning all the other guests had joined their host at the breakfast table and the only one absent was the former High Sheriff. A servant was sent to his room to summon him but quickly returned to say that he had knocked loudly at the door but had received no reply. A jug of water left outside the door earlier in the morning was still standing unused.

Several gentlemen then hurried to the room and after knocking loudly several times entered the room, to find it empty. None of the servants had seen the missing visitor but it was thought that he had left early to carry out his duties as a magistrate. However, the horse his was still in the stable. The gentlemen returned to the breakfast table and were in the middle of breakfast when the missing guest walked in. He explained his experiences of the previous night.

Having got to his room he had locked and bolted the two doors to the room and had proceeded to thoroughly examine the whole place. Being satisfied that there was no other person in the room and that all entrances were sealed he went to bed, expecting a good night’s rest. Shortly after midnight he was awakened by the sound of a woman’s soft tread and the rustling of a silk dress. He sprang up and lighted the candle but could find nothing to account for the noise, which had ceased as soon as his feet had touched the floor. He looked under the bed, searched the fireplace and even looked up the chimney but without result. The doors were still locked and bolted. All seemed perfectly quiet and he returned to bed and was soon asleep.

He was awakened a second time, this time the sounds were much louder and he pinpointed by the sound what he thought was the exact location of the figure. He sprang out of bed and flung out his arms to tackle the intruder but could feel nothing. The noise passed to another part of the room and died away at the doorway to the adjacent crypt and all was quiet again. The following morning, not being able to sleep, he had gone for a long walk, which accounted for his absence when the servant and the gentlemen went to summon him from his bedroom.

Claydon House, Middle Claydon, nr Aylesbury, Bucks.

Claydon House was built in the 15th century and for centuries was the home of the Verney Family. It has been haunted for the last three and a half centuries by the ghost of Sir Edmund Verney, killed in 1642 at the Battle of Edgehill, and is said to be looking for his lost hand, which is buried in the family vault.

Sir Edmund Verney was Standard Bearer to King Charles at the first battle of the Civil War. When he was captured by the Roundheads he refused to give up the Colours, saying: “My life is my own but my Standard is my King’s”, so he was killed. But when Cromwell’s men came to take the Standard from his hand they could not unlock the death-grip. and were forced to cut the hand from his arm. When the Standard was later re-captured by the Cavaliers, Sir Edmund’s hand, easily recognised by his signet ring bearing a miniature of the King, was still clasped to it. His body was never found but the hand was returned to Claydon House for burial.

He is described as being a tall and slender man, wearing a black cloak under the hem of which peeps the tip of his sword. He carries a black hat with a white feather gracefully curled round the crown. He has been seen mainly on the Red Stairs near the entrance to a priest’s hole.

A lady in grey has been seen in the Rose Room. It is known that Florence Nightingale’s sister, Penelope, married one of the Verney Family and it is also known that Florence, herself, paid many visits to the house and loved the place. Many of Florence’s relics can be found in the room that was used as her bedroom.

Could the Lady in Grey actually be Florence Nightingale?

Castle House, West Street, Buckingham

Castle House was built in the 12th century from stones taken from an ancient castle that had been destroyed by the Danes. It was originally owned by the Barton Family but in the mid-15th century it was taken over by the Fowler Family and Edward Fowler owned the house when it was used to imprison Katherine of Aragon whilst Henry VIII was arguing with Cardinal Wolsey and the Pope about a divorce from her so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Considerable alterations were made to the property in 1619 and later in the 18th century. King Charles I and Prince Rupert would hardly have recognised the same house that had sheltered Queen Katherine nearly 100 years before during the Civil War.

In 1965 Buckingham Town Council moved into the house, unaware that it had been haunted by a ghost for nearly 400 years. The ghost is that of a Jesuit priest who was the confessor to the Queen and had risked his life many times to celebrate Mass with her.

In 1908, when electricity was installed into the house, a priest’s hole was discovered over the entrance to the Great Parlour. It still contained a male skeleton, believed to have been the remains of the same priest who had been locked up in the hiding place whilst attempting to escape. The ghost has been seen gliding along the corridor leading to the priest’s hole, his eventual grave.

Witnesses to this apparition include Stirling Moss and John Surtees. Buckingham Town Council employees have seen nothing of the ghost but it is reported that it only appears after normal working hours.

The Ostrich, Colnbrook, Bucks.

Standing near Heathrow Airport, the Ostrich dates back to 1106 and was originally used as a hostelry for pilgrims and a hospice. The haunting of the Ostrich dates back to the 14th century when the landlord of the inn was a man called Jarman.

Jarman and his wife had a very profitable sideline in murdering certain guests for the sake of their money and valuables. They built a special bed which at the removal of two bolts dropped its occupant through the bedroom floor into a cauldron of boiling water in the kitchen below. After any valuables on the body had been removed the pair would then dump the body into the nearby river. They were later to confess to 60 killings, indeed rich pickings for the murderous pair.

The last of the victims, Thomas Cole, a clothier from Reading, had already spent two “safe” nights at the Ostrich before becoming yet another body to be dumped into the river. After disposing of Cole’s body Jarman went to the stables to get rid of the clothier’s horse, but the stable door had been left open and the horse had wandered off. When the horse was finally brought back by a servant, Jarman panicked and ran off. The servant, suspicious of his master’s strange behaviour, reported the matter to the local justices. Following the arrest of Mrs Jarman and the discovery of the specially-constructed bed, Mrs Jarman confessed and shortly afterwards Jarman was captured in Windsor Forest. Both were executed for the admitted 60 murders.

The ghost of Thomas Cole has been seen wandering in the inn where he came to such a sudden end.

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ellesborough, Bucks.

Several times a tall phantom in mediaeval clothing has been seen to glide into the church and move over to one of the memorial tablets where it vanishes.

In the late-1940’s the figure was seen by the church organist whilst he was practising. In the 1950’s the same phantom was seen by lady arranging some flowers and similarly by a visitor in 1970.

The visitor was interested enough to walk over to where the apparition had vanished and found that the only tablet there was the Hawtrey Memorial Plaque.

Fulmer, Bucks.

The sound of horses’ hooves and the crunch of wheels on gravel have been heard by many witnesses in the vicinity of a ford near the village. Witnesses have said that although the ghostly vehicle seems to be moving the sounds always remain at the one spot and never seem to advance. The sounds are described as being very distinct.

Little Abbey Hotel, Great Missenden, Bucks.

The Little Abbey Hotel at Great Missenden was originally built by the monks of the Benedictine Order in 1151. It became a convent for nuns of the same order in 1188 and gained its independence from Missenden Abbey, to which it was attached by a tunnel some 1,000 yards long. It is said that the monks from Missenden Abbey used the tunnel when they came to administer the sacraments to the nuns. There were several scandals concerning the monks of the Abbey and it was thought by the locals that the tunnel was used for more non-spiritual purposes, and probably they were right.

The Little Abbey Hotel still has many traces of the original building. Built in Tudor times, it still contains many ecclesiastical traces. It is thought that the secret tunnel at Missenden Abbey no longer exists. In the 19th century a secret entrance to the passage was discovered but was filled up and covered with a coating of cement.

In 1297 a monk from the Abbey committed suicide to avoid punishment after being discovered in a serious involvement with a nun from the convent. He is said to have cut his throat. It is the ghost of this monk that is said to haunt the hotel to this day, especially in Bedroom No 2, leading off the Minstrels’ Gallery.

In 1539, after many scandals, the Great Abbey and the Little Abbey were taken over by the Crown at the Dissolution, much to the relief of the local population, and the monks and nuns were sent on their way. All that is except for the ghost that they left behind.

At the beginning of the 20th century it is said that none of the hotel servants would go near one particular room on the ground floor, now used as a lounge. It is believed that this was the room where the entrance to the secret tunnel was found and sealed up. Even today there are reports of a brown-clad figure being seen in the vicinity of that room.

In September, 1972, a hotel employee was engaged in the task of repairing a window on the half-landing of the upper stairs, when he saw a monk wearing a brown-hooded cloak walking up the stairs. Thinking that the monk was a guest the handyman wished the figure a “good morning” and then carried on with his work. It was only after a few minutes that he realised that there was nowhere for the “guest” to have gone except to the toilet, as all the rooms on the upper floor were staff rooms and were all locked. He checked the toilet and the landing corridor and could find no sign of the “guest” and there was no other way down from that floor. He was later told that it was the same figure that had caused so much concern to the hotel servants in 1905.

Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks.

Missenden Abbey, founded by Benedictine monks in the 12th century, was visited several times by Henry III, who is said to have given gifts of timber to rebuild the Abbey Church as a form of payment for the hospitality he received.

After the Dissolution the property was inherited by the future Queen Elizabeth I but shortly after she came to the Throne she gave it to one of her favourites, the Earl of Leicester, who in turn sold it to Sir William Fleetwood, the Recorder of the City of London. It remained in the hands of the Fleetwoods until the 18th century when John Oldham bought the Abbey and demolished most of the original 12th century building. The outline of the present building is mainly the result of extensive work carried out in 1806. In 1946 the property was bought by the Buckinghamshire County Council and converted for use as a college.

The history of Missenden Abbey before the Dissolution is a history of scandal. In 1286 the Abbot of Missenden tried to trick one Nicholas the Taverner into signing away his inn whilst he was sick in the Abbey Infirmary. The monks tried to evict the taverner’s wife but after being bodily thrown out she managed to re-enter by climbing through a window and was able to remain there until the return of her husband to claim his possession.

In 1297 one of the monks committed suicide by cutting his throat. This was done to avoid punishment for being involved with a nun in more than spiritual matters. The nun came from nearby Little Abbey, half a mile down the road.

In 1361 the then Abbot, Ralph Marshall, was sentenced to death for “clipping” coins. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and finally, after eight years, he was once again back at his old post.

In 1530 a monk named Roger Palmer was seen sneaking away from the house of a married woman in the early hours of the morning, dressed in doublet and hose and carrying a sword. It is little wonder that his Bishop issued orders saying that the brethren were to only wear ecclesiastical clothing after that.

Such incidents could hardly have endeared the Abbey to the local population and it was with little regret locally that the Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and handed over to Princess Elizabeth.

Over the years several apparitions have been seen in the building but only one would have appeared to survive into the 20th century, the figure of a woman who has been seen on the main staircase. She is usually seen wearing a black crinoline, although there have been reports of a woman also having been seen wearing a grey Victorian dress. There is no known explanation for her appearances.

In 1961 and 1972 the female figure in light grey was seen in the vicinity of what is now the ladies’ cloakroom, which is in a different part of the house. In 1958 one of the college teachers reported that a vase had been thrown down the stairs by unseen hands and in July, 1971 a heavy glass ashtray was found resting on a carpeted floor in one of the bedrooms, neatly split in two.

Haddenham, Bucks.

The side roads of Buckinghamshire, near the village of Haddenham, are haunted by the ghost of a farmer, Nobby Edden, who was murdered by two local ruffians called Tylor and Sewell in 1828, whilst he was returning home from Thame market.

Nobby Edden owned a small piece of land at Crendon and one day, whilst he was working there, he noticed Tylor and Sewell entering a neighbouring field and kill a sheep. In those days sheep-stealing was a capital offence and Edden should have reported the matter to the authorities but he decided to keep silent.

However he could not resist the temptation of scaring the two thieves and he took to making sheep’s noises whenever he met them. They decided that the only thing that they could do to protect their necks was to murder him. They decided to meet him on his return from market the following Saturday and silence him for good. Eddon had a presentment that something terrible was going to happen but still continued with his journey and at Anxney Bushes, near Haddenham, he was waylaid by the men and brutally murdered by repeated blows from a roadmender’s hammer.

As that evening drew on Mrs Edden become more and more concerned at her husband’s failure to arrive home. She went to the door to see if you could see her husband coming. Instead she had a terrible vision, that of her husband and Tylor standing together. Tylor had a heavy hammer in his hand and he struck repeated blows on her husband’s head and chest. Then the vision faded.

The terrified woman rushed to her neighbour’s cottage screaming that her husband had been murdered. A thorough search of the area was organised and Edden’s mutilated body was eventually found by a farmhand who was taking his horses to graze on common-land. His head had been terribly mutilated and his chest had been caved in. It was obvious that he had been murdered. However there was no evidence to show who had killed him and the inquest recorded a verdict of “Murder by person or persons unknown”. However, many people in the area were convinced that Mrs Edden was connected with her husband’s killing since she knew the cause of his death before his body had been found.

The result of the inquest did not satisfy Mrs Edden, who was convinced that her husband had been killed by Tylor. In those days it was common belief in rural areas that a corpse would bleed if touched by it’s killer. Tylor was asked to come and touch the body on several occasions before the funeral but he repeatedly refused. Suspicion in certain quarters was already becoming strong against Tylor and his refusals did nothing the alleviate it.

Some time later Nobby Edden’s son was waylaid by two men who threatened to do to him what they had done to his father. However, the boy beat off his attackers with a whip. It was too dark to recognise their features but he swore that he had heard the voices of Tylor and Sewell.

In 1829, Sewell was sent to prison for a minor offence and whilst there he let slip that Tylor was connected with the farmer’s death. Tylor was quickly arrested but soon released through lack of evidence. He celebrated his release by adorning himself with coloured ribbons and dancing outside the houses of his accusers. However the jubilation was somewhat premature for Sewell was released a few days later but immediately re-arrested on a charge of chicken-stealing.

He was sentenced to 14 years transportation. In an effort to get the harsh sentence reduced he confessed all he knew of the Haddenham murder, that he had been present at the time of the crime and that he had seen Tylor strike Nobby Edden repeatedly with the hammer.

It did not help Sewell for he was charged with Tylor with the murder and having been found guilty was hanged outside Aylesbury Gaol on 8th March, 1830, before a crowd of 5,000 people. Tylor protested his innocence to the last.

Upton Court, Slough, Bucks.

Upton Court is haunted by the ghost of a woman wearing a bloodstained night-dress. It is not known who the woman was or why she haunts the place, but the apparitions have been reported for many years.

Swanbourne, nr Winslow, Bucks.

The village of Swanbourne is haunted by the ghost of a Green Lady, thought to be that of Elizabeth Adams, whose husband, Thomas, was murdered by thieves in October, 1627, leaving her with four children to support. Elizabeth is said to have died of a broken heart shortly afterwards.

Is she still searching for the men who destroyed her happiness?

George and Dragon Hotel, High Street, West Wycombe, Bucks.

The George and Dragon was built in 1720 on the site of an older inn dating back to the 14th century. It has one of the most unusual inn signs in England, a large oval sign depicting St George slaying the dragon, a sign which is probably as old as the inn itself. It is not very far from the Hellfire Caves, the site of Sir Francis Dashwood’s diabolical orgies in the 18th century. The George and Dragon is haunted by more than one ghost but Sukie is the most famous.

Sukie was a young and very attractive serving wench with long golden hair, who, at the age of 16 was an outrageous flirt with an insatiable appetite for men. She was also very ambitious. She detested having to wear long voluminous dresses that hid her perfectly shaped legs but she did her best to show off her outstandingly beautiful figure. The other hotel servants referred to her as “Your Ladyship” because of her high aspirations.

Sukie had many admirers, especially three local lads who rivalled each other for her attentions. However, her ambitious nature made her scorn them, even more so when a handsome stranger came into the hotel for a meal and a drink. She fell for him straight away and was totally determined that she was going to be his wife.

From his clothes he was obviously rich and could have been either a nobleman or a highwayman. It was probable that Sukie was rather hoping that he was the latter. He was certainly well-confident and good-mannered, which was in contrast to the three lads who had played each other off for her attentions. Before the stranger had arrived they had been rivals but now the presence of the man who had turned Sukie’s head united them in a common purpose. As they got drunker and drunker one night they decided to play a trick on Sukie which would bring her down to earth again.

A hotel servant was bribed to tell Sukie that her lover wanted to meet her in the chalk caves at midnight, dressed in a gown of white. When Sukie received this message it could only mean one thing to her - her lover wanted to take her away and marry her.

That night, having completed her duties for the day, with much excitement she prepared herself. Borrowing a white gown from one of the other servants she arrived at the caves half an hour before midnight. But as the time dragged on there was still no sign of her lover and she was getting very anxious. Then all of a sudden the three lads appeared, very drunk. They started to tease and make fun of her. Sukie, full of anger, started to throw stones at them and in the ensuing struggle she fell and struck her head on the cave wall, fracturing her skull. She was carried back to the inn by the three lads, now very much more sober and extremely frightened. The following morning she was dead. She was buried in her beautiful white dress.

It was only a few days before strange things started to happen in the room where she had lived with two other girls. Both girls became so terrified that they were moved to other rooms. Sukie has been seen many times in the room and also gliding along the corridor outside, mainly in the early hours of the morning. She is still seen, wearing her beautiful white dress and there is a strange coldness in the room where she breathed her last.

There is also another ghost at the George and Dragon, that of an 18th century traveller who was rob bed and murdered at the hotel. His footsteps are said to be heard in the upper part of the building.

Hughendon Manor, High Wycombe, Bucks.

Hughendon Manor became the home of Benjamin Disraeli after he married Wyndham Lewis’s widow in 1839 and is now the property of the National Trust. It is here that he started his political career and it is said that his first big speech was made from the balcony of the Red Lion Hotel in High Wycombe. The house contains many mementoes of Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Minister. His study is exactly as he left it at the time of his death in 1881.

His ghost has been seen on a number of occasions walking the upper floors of the house and he has also been seen at the bottom of the steps leading to the cellar, carrying a bundle of papers in his hand.

Church of the Holy Cross, Basildon New Town, Essex

The Church of the Holy Cross is haunted by the ghost of a man dressed in a reddish-brown robe who has been seen walking through solid material. It is thought that he is one of two rectors who were expelled and possibly murdered at the time of the Reformation.

Footsteps and voices have been heard coming from the inside of the church when it is empty at night. The last recorded witnessing was in February, 1972.

Borley Rectory, Essex

Borley Rectory was once justifiably described as being the most haunted house in England. Its name became an overnight national sensation in June, 1929, when the Daily Mirror published an article about it. Its fame has even earned it a mention in the Guinness Book of Records. Yet there are still people who claim that Borley Rectory was not haunted at all, although the reported facts do not confirm this belief.

The Rectory was built in 1863 by the Rev. Henry Dawson Ellis Bull. Almost immediately after he and his family moved in strange things began to happen. Whispers were heard around the house accompanied by footsteps and tappings and one of the Rev. Bull’s daughters was woken up one night by a slap on her face. Several people reported seeing the figure of a nun being seen walking along the path which was named “Nun’s Walk” and others reported seeing the figure of a tall dark man in the grounds. A black coach was seen being driven into the grounds and then disappearing.

In 1892 the Rev. Henry Bull died and the house passed to his son, the Rev. Harry Bull. Within weeks of his passing, Henry Bull’s ghost was seen at the Rectory. Other unidentified ghosts were seen at Borley including a young girl dressed in blue.

Harry Bull remained at Borley until 1927 and during this time it was noticed on many occasions that a locked kitchen door was found open early in the morning. The phantom coach was seen on several occasions and the figure of the nun was seen walking in the grounds, along “Nun’s Walk”, any times.

Harry Bull died on 9th June, 1927 and the next incumbent was the Rev. Eric Smith, who took up residence with his wife, Mabel, in October, 1928. Mrs Smith was very worried by the curious phenomena that took place at Borley and contacted the Daily Mirror, who in turn printed the sensational article which turned Borley into the national sensation.

As a result of this article, Harry Price, the well-known psychic investigator, came to Borley to conduct a thorough examination. During the course of his investigations, whispering, mysterious footsteps and the ringing of bells were regularly heard, accompanied by poltergeist activity. Vases were smashed as they dropped to the floor and candlesticks hurled themselves down the stairs. Keys shot out of their locks in the doors.

All this was too much for the Smiths and they left Borley in April, 1930. On 16th October, 1930, the Rev. Lionel Foyster, a cousin of the late Rev. Harry Bull, moved in with his wife Marianne and they lived there for five years.

It was during this later period that the psychic phenomena became really powerful and messages began to appear, written on walls, addressed to Marianne, pleading for “Mass, Light and Prayers”. Marianne also saw the ghost of Henry Bull. She was injured one night by a poltergeist as she was walking along an upstairs corridor. As she was passing the bathroom she felt a strong blow under her eye and the resulting wound bled for a long time. The following, night, as they lay in bed, the Foysters were bombarded by a cotton reel and a hammer head, both of which struck the wall near their heads and dropped on to the top of the bed.

The house was mysteriously gutted by fire in February, 1939, but even then the manifestations continued. At one point during the Second World War, wardens were frequently called to the gutted house to investigate lights which appeared at windows. It would seem that the ghosts held little regard for wartime blackout regulations.

In 1943 the house was demolished and during the course of the work fragments of a woman’s skull were found buried four feet deep, together with some religious pendants. Romantics linked this find with the popular story of a nun from the convent at Bures who had tried to elope with a monk from the monastery which was supposed to have occupied the site in earlier days. Having been caught in the act of elopement, the nun had been bricked up alive in the monastery.

However, as a result of a series of seances, a different story came to light. In the 17th century a young French nun, by the name of Marie Lairre, was induced to leave her convent at Le Havre to marry Lesley Waldergrave, a member of one of Borley’s local influential families. On 17th May, 1667, he strangled her and buried her body in a cellar of the house that stood on the site of the later rectory.

The Swan, High Street, Brentwood, Essex

The inn was originally called “The Argent” and its name was later changed to “The Gun”. It was renamed “The Swan” in 1783. The inn’s unseen phantom is that of William Hunter who was held there for two days before his execution for Protestant beliefs at The Butts, on Shenfield Common, on 26th March, 1555. He was just 19 years of age.

On the night before his execution the young man had a vivid dream. In it he foresaw the events of the following morning, including his being blessed by his father, and how the Sheriff would show him a letter from Queen Mary saying that if he would recant he would be spared. In his dream he refused and was chained to the stake.

On the 26th March everything happened as William had dreamed it. William refused to recant, was chained to the stake and the next minute was hidden from the crowd by flames and smoke. It is probable that he died of suffocation through the dense smoke given off by the green reeds and wet faggots.

In 1963 the daughter of the then licensee of The Swan reported that she saw the figure of a man, wearing a hat, follow her mother across the landing one night. The daughter of another landlord, in 1969, was given a bedroom at the pub but the supernatural activity so alarmed her that she left and has refused to spend a night at the pub ever since.

Copper plates, bearing religious inscriptions, have been hurled from shelves onto the floor, bumping sounds have been heard coming from the cellar and furniture has been moved about mysteriously during the night. Lights have been inexplicably switched on and off and doors have “locked and unlocked themselves”. A telephone in a locked room fell from its mounting on the wall. Papers have vanished only to be found in another part of the building. A dog kept by one landlord refused to enter certain parts of the building.

A strange cold sensation and the feeling of a cold presence have been experienced on the stairs leading from the cellars.

The Golden Fleece, Brentwood, Essex

The Golden Fleece stands on the site of the 12th century Priory of St Peter’s and is haunted by the figure of a monk which has been seen on many occasions.

Once a guest in one of the bedrooms saw the figure of the monk with his arms crossed, reflected in the mirror looking at her. Turning in amazement, she saw that the room was empty. Looking back at the mirror she saw that the reflection of the monk was still there looking at her.

Minor poltergeist phenomena have also been experienced at the Golden Fleece. Glasses and cooking utensils have been inexplicably moved in both the bar and kitchen areas.

St Anne’s Castle, Scrap Faggott Green, Great Leighs, Essex

St Anne’s Castle Inn is claimed to be one of the oldest inns in England. In 1170, at the time of the murder of Thomas a Becket, it was already a well-established hostelry and was used by pilgrims on their way to visit the martyr’s shrine at Canterbury. The inn sign shows a mitre representing the Archbishop together with the date of his birth.

The haunting of the inn stems from the time of the Second World War. An unknown woman, suspected of being a witch, had been executed in the 16th or 17th century and had been buried with the customary stake through her heart at the nearby fork junction in the road which is now known as Scrap Faggott Green. On top of the grave had been placed an enormous boulder, supposedly to keep the “witch” from being able to leave her grave.

In 1944, during the course of road widening to enable heavy military vehicles to proceed to and from the nearby U.S.Army base, a bulldozer was moved in to remove the boulder from Scrap Faggott Green. The spirit of the “witch” is said to have been released and almost immediately strange things began to happen.

The clock on the parish church started to chime backwards and the church bells started to peal by themselves. Hens in the district stopped laying and squawked all night. Cows stopped giving milk and geese disappeared without trace. Haystacks collapsed for no reason whatsoever. On one occasion hens from a chicken coop on one farm were mysteriously transferred to a duck pen some distance away and the startled farmer woke up to find his chicken coop full of ducks. Sceptics suggested that this was the work of a practical joker but had this been the case both the ducks and hens would have made a great deal of noise whilst being transferred by mortal agency during the quiet hours of night.

After the initial disturbances in the area the full force of the released spirit settled itself at the inn. The landlord of the time slept in a bedroom immediately above the bar. Clothes were found to be strewn across the floor and bedroom furniture was found overturned. Burglary was ruled out because nothing was missing. The landlord had been serving at the bar at the time and had heard no noise. The room was tidied up but again, without sound, clothing was found strewn across the floor and furnishings were again found overturned. After that the room was turned into a storeroom but still could never be kept tidy. Dogs would not enter the room but surprisingly a cat did.

Footsteps have been heard walking along upstairs corridors and door handles have been heard to rattle. Occupants have experienced knocks, bangs and chilly draughts on many occasions. Bedclothes have been pulled from beds and on one occasion curtains were pulled down from their rails. A black shape has been seen in one of the bedrooms and a strange figure seen in the cellars, much to the alarm of a delivery-man. who swore that he would never deliver beer to that inn again. One girl saw a figure standing in an old fire-place and promptly fainted. She has never entered the pub since.

There is a possibility that some of the psychic occurrences could be associated with the murder of a small child in the presence of her distraught mother, many years ago.

Chingford Mount Cemetery, Old Church Road, Chingford, Essex

Once part of Lady Hamilton’s estate, Chingford Mount Cemetery is haunted by the ghost of a man on a black horse, seen riding slowly over the grass. Footsteps have also been heard walking on the pathway at night, outside the Cemetery Lodge, and these footsteps have been accompanied by “eerie voices” and whining sounds.

Romantics suggest that this could be Lord Nelson or the overworked spirit of Dick Turpin but it is more generally thought that the ghost is that of a member of the Royal hunting parties that used to frequent the area many years ago before it was turned into a cemetery.

St Osyth’s Priory, nr Clacton, Essex

The remains of this 12th century priory have been the scene of nocturnal activity by a ghostly monk, who has been seen carrying a lighted candle around the ruins late at night before wandering down to the millstream, where, after a few seconds he disappears.

Wearing a white robe and black scapula, he was a regular visitor before the Second World War and has certainly been seen as late as 1969 and 1970

The Bell Hotel, High Street, Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex

The shadowy figure that haunts the Bell Inn and creates poltergeist phenomena there is believed to be the ghost of Kitty Canham, an 18th century bigamist who is buried in the churchyard next to the pub.

In the early 1700’s Kitty Canham married the Rev. Henry Gough, vicar of Thorpe-le-Soken, but was quickly bored with her life as the wife of a parish priest and bigamously married Lord Dalmeny, who not knowing of her marriage to the Rev. Gough, took her to Verona, Italy, where for three years she enjoyed life in high society.

Whilst in Italy, Kitty fell ill and realising that she was dying confessed her bigamy and asked to be buried in Thorpe-le-Soken. Full of forgiveness Lord Dalmeny brought her body back to England and both husbands helped to carry the coffin to its final resting place. It is said that as they left the churchyard after the service, the Rev. Gough and Lord Dalmeny walked hand in hand.

The hauntings of the Bell Inn seem to be recent and could coincide with the pillaging of her magnificent tomb in 1970. The apparition of a female figure, leaving a white glow, has been seen standing at the foot of a bed at the Bell. Bedroom windows have been heard to bang at night although when inspected the following morning have been found to be latched securely.

Late in 1971, the then landlord’s wife locked the door of one of the bedrooms after cleaning it but found the following morning that a heavy wardrobe had been moved away from the wall.

In August, 1972, a guest found on waking that during the night a heavy wardrobe had been moved from the wall and that, from the state of the bedclothes on a spare bed in the room, it would appear that someone had slept in it, although no one had entered the room all night.

Langenhoe, nr Colchester, Essex

Both the manor house and the church (the latter being demolished in 1962), were the scene of strange hauntings for many years. Until he came to Langenhoe in 1937, the Rev. Ernest Merryweather had experienced no psychic occurrences himself but he was to experience many strange phenomena whilst there, including being embraced by a naked female ghost.

The first phenomenon occurred in the church almost as soon as he had arrived. On 20th September, 1937, which was a quiet Autumn day, he was standing alone in the church when the big West Door, which had been standing open, suddenly crashed shut with such a force that it shook the whole building. On two occasions he found that his valise, which carried his vestments and books, was inexplicably locked whilst he was in the vestry and no amount of effort would unlock the case whilst he was there. However, as soon as he left the church the valise was unlocked on both occasions without difficulty.

On Easter Sunday, 1945, Mrs Gertrude Barnes and her daughter were in the church helping to decorate it with flowers before the congregation arrived. Having put some flowers in a vase, she laid it on a pew and went to another part of the church to arrange some more flowers. On returning to the pew Mrs Barnes found the flowers removed from the vase and placed on the pew. Later there were other inexplicable incidents concerning flowers when they either disappeared or appeared.

In the Autumn of 1947 the rector paid a visit to Mrs Cutting at the manor house. Showing him over the house they entered a rather charming bedroom at the front which Mrs Cutting said she had never personally used as there was something about the room that she did not like. After a few moments Mrs Cutting left the rector in the bedroom saying that she could stand the atmosphere no longer. He went over to the window to admire the view outside and, turning, he moved directly into the embrace of a naked young phantom lady. This phenomenon lasted only a few seconds.

In 1948, from July to December, thuds were heard coming from the vestry door during the course of church services and on 11th November, whilst raking coal at the side of the church, the rector sensed that something was near him. He stopped raking the coal and stuck the iron rod he had been using into the pile and hung his hat on it. To his surprise the hat started to revolve.

On 8th December, 1948, the rector and several members of his congregation heard strange noises which seemed to come from the direction of a blocked-up doorway which had once been the private entrance to the church from the manor house. The noises seemed to resemble a man’s cough and later a credence bell appeared to ring of its own volition . This credence bell was heard to ring on several occasions afterwards without anyone being near it. Lamps were seen to swing without reasonable cause.

On 21st August, 1949, the rector was celebrating Holy Communion when he saw the figure of a woman aged about 30, wearing a greyish-white dress and a flowing head-dress that reached to her shoulders. She walked from the north side of the church to a corner in the south-west, where she disappeared through a wall. She appeared unhappy and walked with a stoop. Also in 1949, mysterious knocks and footsteps were heard inside the church and the vestry door was found mysteriously locked with the door handle smashed.

On 14th September, 1950, the rector visited the church and found a strong smell of violets permeating the building. Later in the same month he heard the sound of a woman singing in the church. After the singing stopped the sound of a man’s heavy footsteps was heard walking through the building. The rector, who was in the vestry at the time, rushed out into the main church and the footsteps immediately stopped. He could find nothing to account for the singing or the footsteps.

The following week the rector entered the churchyard and was surprised to find two workmen peering through the keyhole of the West Door. Then he heard singing coming from inside the locked church. After a short while the singing stopped. The rector unlocked the door and a thorough search was made of the whole building but there was no sign of anybody. During the following months a cupboard, used by the rector to hold his vestments, was found open although it was always locked before the rector left the church.

On Christmas Eve, 1950, the rector saw another apparition in the church. The figure, which appeared to be a man wearing a tweed suit, glided from the Nave towards the Pulpit, where it disappeared. On 8th July, 1951, the rector once again saw the figure of the girl with the flowing head-dress. As he watched her she glided up to the bricked-up door and disappeared through the wall.

A former rector of the church in the late 19th century was said to have murdered his illicit sweetheart with a dagger. The girl had visited the church and knocked on the door of the vestry to summon her ecclesiastical lover, not knowing that she was walking to her death. In 1884, Langenhoe Church was badly damaged by an earthquake, the tremors of which lasted for 20 seconds. It was during the course of reconstruction of the church that a doorway, which had been used as a private entrance from the manor house, was bricked up and this was the location where the figure of the girl in the flowing head-dress was twice seen to disappear through the wall.

It was at Langenhoe Hall that the Rev. Ernest Merryweather was to encounter the naked ghost. The lady of the house was showing him round the Hall and he paused to look out of the window to admire the view. The next moment he found himself being embraced by what appeared to be a naked girl. He was later to describe the embrace as “frantic”. He turned round and found that the figure embracing him was totally invisible. The lady of the house was further down the house.

The girl, who was never actually seen to be naked, is thought to be Arabella Waldergrave, the sweetheart of the then vicar in the 19th century and it is thought that she was murdered by him when he discovered that she was pregnant. It is quite probable that the nude encounter at Langenhoe Hall could be a re-enactment of the happier time of her life with her lover.

Ilford, Essex

The old Broadway Fire Station was said to be haunted by the ghost of Fireman Godfrey Netherwood, who was stationed there during the 1890’s and who was very interested in Spiritualism and the Supernormal. His favourite past-time, whilst on duty waiting for calls, was to read books on his favourite subject, Spiritualism, and to polish his brass helmet which was always gleaming. It was this helmet that was placed on his coffin as his colleagues carried him to his grave.

Fireman Netherwood, complete with his beloved brass helmet, and wearing an old-fashioned uniform, has been seen many times in the Old Fire Station and he has also been seen standing under a flight of stairs in the new Fire Brigade headquarters in Romford Road.

The Bear Hotel, Stock, Essex

The ghost of Charlie “Spider” Marshall haunts the Bear and there is even a Spider Club which meets annually at the pub, eating and drinking to commemorate this rather friendly ghost.

Spider Marshall was an ostler at the Bear Inn at the end of the 19th century and earned his nickname by walking sideways like a spider-crab. For a dare, and presumably for ale as well, Spider would also perform his other trick, scrambling up the chimney of the tap-room fireplace and emerge from the chimney in the bar parlour. Occasionally, however, he would stay up the chimney for some time to un-nerve the customers and the only way to bring him down would be to light a fire in one of the fireplaces to smoke him down. There was a small loft at the junction of the two chimneys where Spider would sit listening to his friends entreating him to come down.

One Christmas Eve, however, Spider would not come down, even when fires were lit to smoke him out and he never did come down afterwards. It was assumed that he had died of suffocation at the junction of both chimneys but at no time did anyone make any attempt to remove his body and it is to be presumed that his remains are still up there in the chimney.

His ghost is often to be seen wearing his white breeches and boots and he would appear to have shrunk since becoming immortal, his ghost being described as being no larger than a handspan. Each year the locals drink his health at Christmas time.

The Bear is also haunted by the sound of footsteps in the night and there is often a suffocating presence felt in the private quarters. This is certainly not Spider, who is regarded as being rather a friendly ghost and who only appears in the bar and tap room.

Beeleigh Abbey, nr Malden, Essex

Beeleigh Abbey was founded by Premonstratensian Canons in 1180. It was here that Abbot Thomas Cok, who had previously successfully defended himself against a charge of plotting against Henry IV, was poisoned in 1403 by fellow-priest Canon Ultyng. In 1540, as a reward for services rendered, Henry VIII gave the property, for the sum of £300, to Sir John Gates, who became Captain of the Royal Guard during the brief reign of Edward VI.

Sir John did not live at Beeleigh for very long however. On the death of Edward VI he supported the lost cause of Lady Jane Grey and was beheaded at Tower Hill on 22nd August, 1553, on the orders of a very angry “Bloody” Mary.

There are two separate hauntings at Beeleigh Abbey. Annually, on 11th August, a short time before the anniversary of Sir John’s execution, haunting wailing sounds echo around the house and these are thought to emanate from Sir John himself, bemoaning his “forthcoming” appointment with the executioner’s axe. He has also been seen walking in the James Bedroom in the orthodox head-under-arm manner.

The second haunting is confined to the James Bedroom. The impression of a body has been seen on several occasions, lying on the four-poster bed. There is no clue to the identity of this second person.

Mersea Island, Essex

The area from the Causeway to the Peldon Rose Inn is haunted by the ghost of a Roman centurion who has been seen many times walking towards the old Roman encampment. The sound of men marching and fighting have also been heard many times.

In 1970, two sailors driving along the Causeway were alarmed when the figure of a Roman soldier appeared immediately ahead of them. Unable to avoid the figure the two men were surprised that there was no bump. When the car had stopped and both men investigated further they saw the misty figure of a man gliding away from the road.

Rainham Hall, New Road, Rainham, Essex

Rainham Hall is haunted by the ghost of Colonel Mulliner, who lived there in the early 20th century and died in 1910. He is seen in daylight, dressed in his grey tweeds and masher collar and is said to be a very friendly spirit.

Rochford Hall, Rochford, Essex

Rochford Hall, said to be the birthplace of Anne Boleyn, now an exclusive golf club, is haunted by the ghost of a headless woman, although it is unlikely that it is that of Anne herself.

The figure has been seen inside the house at the foot of the stairs, and also in the grounds outside, and is a regular visitor on the twelve nights before Christmas.

Tilty Abbey, nr Thaxted, Essex

A headless monk is the ghost connected with this old Cistercian abbey. He is to be occasionally seen walking down Cherry Lane.

In 1251, King John’s soldiers plundered the abbey and the monks were said to have put up a strong resistance to protect their property. As a result one of the monks was beheaded.

In 1942, some ancient graves by the side of the abbey were excavated. In one of the graves the skeleton was said to be minus its skull.

Upminster Golf Club, 114 Hall Lane, Upminster, Essex

900 years ago, monks built a monastery on the site of what is now the club house. The thickness of the walls certainly shows that the building was originally of Norman construction. The house is haunted but the ghost comes from the 17th century rather than mediaeval times.

In the 17th century, when the building was a manor house, the then owner fell in love with a very beautiful lady from Havering and for years he nursed a strong desire for her. However, although she appears to have liked him she did not love him and she told him so.

At first he was angry by her rejection of him but the anger turned to jealousy and he became obsessed with the idea that she would never shared with anybody else. He abducted the girl and carried her to the manor house, where he imprisoned her in a tiny room built into the thickness of the walls of what is now the club lounge. She never did leave him, for after dying an agonising death in the small, bricked-up room, her outraged ghost haunted him for the rest of his life.

The haunting has come down into the 20th century. She is seen as a figure in a white flowing gown, moving along the first floor hallway and sometimes in an area called the Secretary’s Flat. She has been affectionately named Mary by the club members.

Mary’s remains have yet to be discovered but it is believed that they are still incarcerated within the walls of the lounge.

Wickford, Essex

In the middle of the 1960’s, a young girl was riding on the back of her sweetheart’s motor-bike on the main road from London to Southend. As they were approaching the Wickford Roundabout there was an accident in which the girl was thrown from the bike and killed.

The following year, a young lad was having a spin on his motor-bike. Approaching the lay-by on the approach to the Wickford Roundabout he saw a girl, dressed in motor-cycle leathers, hitching a lift. He picked up her and as they were travelling towards Southend she gave him her name and address.

When the lad stopped at the first set of traffic lights in Southend he realised that the girl was no longer on the back of his bike. He travelled back as far as the Wickford Roundabout but there was no trace of the girl. He informed the Police.

A policeman was sent to the address given by the girl and was amazed to learn that she could not have been on the Southend Road that night because she had been killed at the Wickford Roundabout a year previously.

Hinton Ampner, nr Alresford, Hants.

The 17th century manor house, built by Sir Thomas Stewkeley in the 1620’s, on the site of a mediaeval manor house which itself had been destroyed by fire, was the scene of unexplained happenings for a period of 20 years, that reached such a terrifying climax that it had to be abandoned and finally demolished in 1793.

Hinton Ampner was passed down to Sir Thomas’s descendants, one of whom was Mary Stewkeley, who married Edward Stawell in 1719. Edward was to become Lord Stawell in 1742. On their father’s death, Mary’s younger sister, Honoria, lived with them and when Mary died in 1740 a secret intrigue was said to have developed between Edward and Honoria and there was a story that a child had been born as a result of their criminal liaison and that it had been murdered. At that time the law clearly stated that a man could not marry his deceased wife’s sister and that any sexual relationship between them was incestuous. Honoria died in 1754 and was buried in nearby Hinton Ampner Church.

On 2nd April, 1755, Lord Stawell died of a stroke at the age of 56, whilst sitting in the drawing room of the house at Hinton Ampner. A short while later his bailiff came to a sudden and dramatic end, breaking his neck after a fall. It is widely believed that the bailiff, a man called Isaac Machrel, had some form of hold over Lord Stawell, since even after catching Machrel misappropriating estate funds for his own personal pocket, Lord Stawell still kept him on.

A short whole after Lord Stawell’s death, a groom at the house said t