Ghosts of South West England. (Page 1)

GHOSTS OF THE SOUTH WEST

By TONY ELLIS

INDEX

The King’s Head, Altarnum, Cornwall

Jamaica Inn, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall

Penfound Manor, Poundstock, nr Bude, Cornwall

St Neot’s Church, Poundstock, nr Bude, Cornwall

Rough Tor, nr Camelford, Cornwall

Looe, Cornwall

Chapel Street, Penzance, Cornwall

The Dolphin Inn, Penzance, Cornwall

The Smugglers Cottage Guest House, Portreath, Cornwall

Perranzabuloe, nr St Agnes, Cornwall

Roche Chapel, nr St Austell, Cornwall

St Ives, Cornwall

St Just, Cornwall

Botathan, South Petherwin, Cornwall

Wadebridge, Cornwall

The Old Rectory, Warleggan, Cornwall

The Black House, Brixham, Devon

Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon

St Andrews Church, Chardstock, Devon

Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth, Devon

Cowick Barton Inn, Cowick Lane, Exeter, Devon

Chambercombe Manor, Ilfracombe, Devon

Lapford, Devon

Forde House, nr Newton Abbot, Devon

Lew Trenchard House, Oakhampton, Devon

Buckland Abbey, nr Plymouth, Devon

Kilworthy House, nr Tavistock, Devon

Tetcott, Devon

Sampford Peverell, nr Tiverton, Devon

The Old Spanish Barn, Torquay, Devon

St John’s Church, Torquay, Devon

Berry Pomeroy Castle, Berry Pomeroy, nr Totnes, Devon

Weare Gifford Church, Weare Gifford, Devon

Jay’s Grave, Widdicombe in the Moor, Devon

Athelhampton House, Athelhampton, Dorset

St Mary’s Church, Beaminster, Dorset

Eastbury Park, Tarrant Gunville, nr Blandford, Dorset

Bovington Tank Museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset

Cloud Hill, nr Bovington, Dorset

Forde Abbey, nr Chard, Dorset

Wolfeton House, nr Charminster, Dorset

Corfe Castle, Dorset

St Peter’s Church, Dorchester, Dorset

The Angel Inn, Coombe Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset

The Great House, Broad Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset

Bettiscombe House, nr Lyme Regis, Dorset

The Crown Hotel, Market Street, Poole, Dorset

St Mary the Virgin, Lytchett-Maltravers, nr Poole, Dorset

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset

Sandford Orcas, nr Sherborne, Dorset

The Garricks Head Hotel, Bath, Somerset

The Holman Clavel, nr Blagdon, Somerset

The Cloughs Hotel, Chard, Somerset

Higher Chilton Farm, Chilton Cantelo, Somerset

Heddon Oak, Somerset

The Plough Inn, Holford, Somerset

Locking, Somerset

Minehead, Somerset

Poynington, Somerset

Canard’s Grave Inn, nr Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Pinkworth Pond, nr Simonsbath, Somerset

Taunton Castle, Somerset

Allington, Wilts.

Avebury, Wilts.

Cholderton House, Cholderton, Wilts.

Wardour Castle, nr Fovant, Wilts.

St Michael’s Church, High Street, Highworth, Wilts.

The King and Queen Inn, High Street, Highworth, Wilts.

Littlecote House, nr Hungerford, Wilts.

Salisbury, Wilts.

Bower Chalk, nr Salisbury, Wilts.

Tedworth House, Tidworth, Wilts.

Longleat, nr Warminster, Wilts.

The King’s Head, Altarnum, Cornwall

The King’s Head, a 16th century coaching inn, is visited occasionally by the ghost of a former occupant, called Peggy Bray.

Jamaica Inn, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall

Jamaica Inn was made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name and reeks with atmosphere. It is not surprising that, amongst other things, Jamaica Inn has a ghost.

On the pretext that he was wanted outside, a seaman, journeying from Plymouth to Penzance, who had stopped for a drink, was lured out of the building, attacked and killed. Since then his silent ghost has been periodically seen, sitting on a stone wall outside, neither moving nor speaking. When approached the ghost invariably disappears.

Penfound Manor, Poundstock, nr Bude, Cornwall

An unhappy 17th century love affair has left its mark at Penfound Manor, in the form of the spectre of Kate Penfound, who was said to have haunted the manor certainly as late as the mid-20th century, as a result of the tragic death of both herself and her lover. Her ghost was certainly seen as late as 1920.

Penfound Manor was originally a Saxon dwelling and was given to Robert, Count of Mortain, by his half-brother, William the Conqueror, although the occupancy was still retained by a Saxon, called Briend. The Penfound Family, who took their name from the manor, moved in during the 12th century and remained there until the property was confiscated by the Crown as a result of the Jacobite Rebellion.

The Manor had a chimney built into the Great Hall as early as the 12th century, and was one of the first homes in the country to have a bedroom built in, solely for the use as a bedroom.

Kate Penfound was the daughter of Arthur Penfound, a prominent local Royalist during the time of the Civil War. It was her misfortune that she had fallen in love with John Trebarfoot, a member of another prominent family in the area. The Trebarfoot Family were staunch Parliamentarians. Had it not been for the Civil War it is almost certain that Arthur Penfound would have given his blessing to his daughter’s prospective marriage. Indeed it was only nearly 50 years previously, in 1598, that another female member of the Penfound Family had married another John Trebarfoot. However, the war had turned brother against brother, neighbour against neighbour, and there seemed to be only one answer to Kate’s plight. She and John Trebarfoot decided to elope.

On the night of 26th April, Kate climbed down a ladder from her bedroom window to the courtyard, where John was waiting for her. But before they were able to slip away, they were caught by her father. After a short struggle, John Trebarfoot was killed and Kate died later as a result of wounds inflicted by her father. Arthur Penfound was later to die of wounds inflicted in the same fight.

The ghost of Kate Penfound has been seen, sometimes gazing out of her bedroom window, sometimes wandering throughout the rest of the house, searching for her lost lover.

St Neot’s Church, Poundstock, nr Bude, Cornwall

Near Penfound Manor can be found the little Church of St Neot, reputed to be haunted by the ghost of William Penfound, a 16th century priest of the parish, who was murdered there in December, 1536. Whilst William Penfound was celebrating Mass, several of the parishioners entered the church and at the close of the service murdered him in the chancel.

At the time there was a lot of bad feeling in the parish as to the choice of William Penfound as parish priest. He had earlier been thrown out by one of the influential families of the area but had been reinstated on the orders of the Pope. It is suspected that he had been fraternising a little too closely with some of the local wives.

In his Register for 1537, Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, gave an account of what happened. During the course of Mass, on the Feast of St John the Apostle, several men, armed with swords and staves, entered the church, and on completion of the service, followed Penfound into the chancel, where they slew him. The two ringleaders of the mob were arrested. At their trial, both men, John Beville and Simon de St Gennys, were pardoned.

The ghost of the murdered priest still haunts the church, sometimes seen kneeling before the altar, sometimes being seen where he met his death.

Rough Tor, nr Camelford, Cornwall

In 1844, widowed Phillipa Peter made a hard living working the poor farmland, helped by her son, John, and three employees, John Stevens, Matthew Weeks and Charlotte Dymond. Life was very quiet, especially during the Winter months, and 18 year-old Charlotte was flattered by the attentions paid to her by Matthew, the lame labourer. Apart from the farm work, and the weekly visit to the chapel at Tremail, there was very little to do. Although she was very fond of Matthew, and was probably in love with him, she used to tease him about the other lads in the area. A deep jealousy brooded in Matthew’s mind.

On Sunday, 14th April, 1844, Charlotte and Matthew went for a walk across the Tor, which was blossoming with Spring flowers. Charlotte was dressed in her “Sunday Best” and was very happy. She told Matthew about one of the local lads who she said had flirted with her. She invented other boys, who she said were always making eyes at her.

What she did not know was that Matthew was carrying a knife in his jacket. They walked on, she completely unaware of the jealousy in Matthew’s heart, until they reached the ford in the stream, at the foot of the Tor, where he picked an argument with her. It was then that she realised that she had gone too far and that this was no longer a joke.

Matthew returned to the farm alone. He told Mrs Peters that he had left Charlotte at a farm in nearby Brown Willy, saying that she had decided to get a job at nearby Blisland. Her body was found, by the local constable, almost a month later and Thomas Good, a surgeon from nearby Lewannick, examined the body and said that the stab wounds could not have been self-inflicted.

A few days later, Matthew Weeks was arrested in Plymouth, attempting to board a ship. He was tried at Bodmin on 9th August, 1844, and found guilty of the murder. He was hanged three days later. A stone monument was erected at the spot where Charlotte’s body was found.

Her ghost has been seen on many occasions since that time. Soldiers, standing sentry at a nearby camp, reported seeing her ghost walking down the path from the summit of the Tor to the stream. A man on a fishing trip also saw her and called out to her, but she ignored his call, appearing to be looking for somebody.

It has been reported from Spiritualist sources that Charlotte Dymond has stated quite categorically in seance that Matthew Weeks did not kill her. In that case who did, and why did Matthew Weeks invent the story of Charlotte leaving the Peters Farm to find a job in Blisland?

Looe, Cornwall

A white hare is said to haunt an old inn at Looe. The form is thought to be the spirit of a girl who committed suicide on the premises. The hare runs down the hill at Talland and vanishes at the door of the Jolly Tar Inn.

The apparition is said to be a sign of impending misfortune.

Chapel Street, Penzance, Cornwall

Leading down from Queen Street to the South Pier, Chapel Street in the olden days housed a small orchard, which was owned by Mrs Elizabeth Baines. It seems that she was quite concerned about her fruit and employed a guard to protect it from being stolen.

Nearing harvest time, she went to check that the old man was doing his job. Thinking that she was a thief, he fired a shot and hit her.

Her ghost, wearing a bonnet and dark cloak, has been seen on many occasions near the top end of the street, where she has been observed disappearing through a wall.

The Dolphin Inn, Penzance Cornwall

Standing on the quayside, the Dolphin Inn was used by Sir John Hawkins when enlisting local Cornishmen to fight the Spanish Armada, in 1588. The infamous Judge Jeffreys is said to have held one of his equally infamous courts there, and in the cellars there are still reminders of the prisoners that were held in custody before attending his “Bloody Assizes”. It was also the local haunt of smugglers and was used as a hiding place for illicit spirits and wines. In the 1960’s, two casks of brandy were found hidden in the cellars from those far-off days, and were found to be still in good condition,

Penzance was the first port of call for ships making their way from the New World to England and it is almost certain that the first pipe of tobacco to be smoked in this country was smoked at the Dolphin.

There are two ghosts at the inn. One is that of an old English sea-captain, in lace ruffles and three-cornered hat, who is said to have died there. The second is the ghost of a fair-haired young man, who fell to his death from the loft to the cellars in February, 1873. Both have been seen, but more frequently heard at the inn.

The Smugglers Cottage Guest House, Portreath, Cornwall

A smuggler haunts this aptly named guest house, which was built in the 16th century. The ghost is that of a small man in his twenties, dressed in 18th century clothing, who emerges out of the wood panelling on the first floor corridor, and walks in a surreptitious manner towards the staircase, where he disappears. The spot where he appears through the panelling is the entrance to a tunnel which leads down to the beach. This entrance was sealed up in the 20th century for security reasons.

In the 1950’s, alterations being made at the guest house exposed a secret room, in which was found a small table with a skeleton seated at it. Remnants of a black cloak were still found round the seated frame. In the corner of the room was found an antique sea chest and a rusting sword. There is no evidence to show why the man was incarcerated there, although he was probably imprisoned for some disagreement with the local smuggling fraternity.

Perranzabuloe, nr St Agnes, Cornwall

Walking in Perranzabuloe Churchyard one day, an old woman was said to have spotted a pair of false teeth protruding from the soil. Thinking that she might have a use for them, and feeling sure that the previous owner would not, she dug them up and took them home. That night the poor old woman was terrified to be awoken by an unearthly noise outside her cottage.

“Give me back my teeth”, came the unearthly wail, “give me back my teeth”. Shivering with fear and not daring to look outside, she hurled the false teeth out of the cottage window and the noise ceased. She heard the faint sound of footsteps retreating in the direction of the churchyard.

Next morning, though she fearfully trod the grounds of her cottage, the old woman could find no sign of footprints, and there was no sign of the false teeth.

She never heard the voice or the footsteps again.

Roche Chapel, nr St Austell, Cornwall

In this ruined 15th century chapel the sounds of an unseen entity have been heard moving about, and on several occasions a “fleeting shadow” has been seen darting within the chapel.

The ghost is thought to be that of a 19th century Cornish miner who, after a severe drinking bout of the local cider, thought he was being chased by demons and fled to the chapel for protection. He was fell and killed in the accident.

St Ives, Cornwall

One day the port of St Ives was aroused by the sound of horns and distress rockets coming from the westward of St Ives Head. Local fishermen launched their boat and proceeded towards the spot from where the sounds had come from. They reached the stricken vessel and noticed that, to their astonishment, her masts and rigging were covered with ice and there was nobody visible on deck. When they hailed her there was no reply.

The man in the bows of the St Ives boat stood up and tried to grasp the side of the ship, but as soon as he touched it the vessel vanished, leaving the man grasping at thin air, and only the presence of mind of another member of the crew saved him from falling into the sea and being swept away.

The men returned to St Ives convinced that they had gone to the aid of a phantom vessel. Shortly afterwards, they again heard the sound of horns and distress rockets. This time it was a real ship, the Neptune, an outward bound vessel from London, and to the amazement of the fishermen, it was identical to the ship that they had previously rowed out to and had vanished so mysteriously when it had been touched. The Neptune was wrecked in exactly the same spot where the original encounter had taken place. In some strange way the men had witnessed a spectre of the future, rather than a spectre of the past.

The phantom ship has been seen since at St Ives Head, always before a local sea disaster.

St Ives, Cornwall

An unfortunate victim of a shipwreck has been seen wandering along the beach and cobbled streets of St Ives, searching by the light of a lantern for her lost baby, who was swept from her arms and away into the darkness by the raging seas, while she was being rescued by a lifeboat. Although she herself was saved from the wreck, she never fully recovered from the shock of losing her baby, and it was the shock that finally killed here. During her funeral, her figure was seen to drift from the churchyard towards the beach.

It was believed that to see the pitiful wraith of the Lady with the Lantern was a warning that a ship would soon be wrecked.

St Just, Cornwall

A Cornish ghost was the means of helping a living man in distress. Without spectral help, John Thomas would certainly have died, trapped in an old clay-pit.

On Sunday, 21st December, 1783, John Thomas, who lived at Sancred, a man of 64 who had lost his wife 15 years previously, notorious for his drinking habits, went to St Just for another night at the pub. After yet another bout of heavy drinking he was staggering home, when, he fell thirty feet down a clay-pit in the pitch dark. When he was reported missing a thorough search was made of the local area but John Thomas was not found.

The following Sunday, James Thethewy, a friend of John Thomas, looking for some of his sheep, noticed a rather strange figure standing on the edge of the clay-pit. As he drew near the pit, the figure walked round to the other side and vanished. James Trethewy heard a voice from the pit but took fright because he thought he had stumbled on a smugglers’ lair. However, he returned a short while later and heard the voice again. Upon investigation he found it to be that of a much-weakened John Thomas. He had only survived by drinking the water at the bottom of the pit.

Several other people had also seen the strange figure on the top of the pit but had taken no notice of it.

Botathan, South Petherwin, Cornwall

The ghost of Dorothy Dinglet was seen on a number of occasions in a field, then known as Higher Brown Quartils, and also on a nearby road. Although she has been seen again in the 20th century, the main interest of her hauntings is centred around the period shortly after her death, in 1662.

Dorothy Dinglet was well acquainted with the Bligh Family, of Botathan House. It was about the time of Dorothy’s death that the elder son of the Bligh Family moved away. It is thought that Dorothy died in childbirth and that the elder son was the father of the child.

Three years after her death she appeared to the younger son of the Bligh Family, who was crossing a field on his way to Launceston. He could see the woman coming towards him, pointing her finger at something distant. She appeared to take no notice of the lad and passed him by, gliding rather than walking. This apparition occurred several times whilst the lad was crossing the field, but Dorothy Dinglet was not seen by anyone else at this time.

The lad was upset by the constant appearances and in desperation his parents called in the parson, John Ruddell, then Curate of Launceston. The priest accompanied the Blighs back to their house and heard the full story from the boy. The next day he went with the boy to the field and they both saw the apparition coming towards them, over the grass, in the early January light. Mr Ruddell had intended speaking with the apparition, but when he saw her he was powerless to speak. He had no doubt, however, that he had seen a ghost and he applied to the Bishop for permission to exorcise her.

Having obtained the necessary permission, he prepared to meet Dorothy alone in the field. He wore a ring, on which was engraved the “Scrutum Davidis”, and he carried a rowan stick. On 27th July, 1665, he awaited the arrival of Dorothy Dinglet in the field, and she in due course appeared. There followed a rather lengthy conversation and the ghost said that she haunted the field because of an unconfessed sin she had committed on this Plane. After her confession, she asked John Ruddell not to divulge the secret of their conversation, and in turn agreed not to haunt the lad, or the field, again. This promise she kept for over 300 years. However, quite recently she had once more appeared in the field, and on the nearby road.

What can have provoked her into once more being seen?

Wadebridge, Cornwall

Edmund Norway was captain of the “Orient”, a merchant ship that was proceeding from Manila to Cadiz. On 8th February, 1840, the Orient was sailing west of St Helena, and Edmund Norway was just finishing writing a letter to his brother, Nevell, in Cornwall. Captain Norway retired to his bed and fell asleep. He had a vivid dream that he brother had been killed. He recorded the dream as follows:-

“About 7.30 pm, the Island of St Helena N.N.W. distant about 7 miles; shortened sail and rounded to with the ship’s head to the eastward. A 8, set the watch and went below; wrote a letter to my brother, Nevell Norway. About 20 minutes, or a quarter before ten o’clock, went to bed, fell asleep and dreamt I saw two men attacking my brother and murder him. One caught the horse by the bridle and snapped a pistol twice, but I heard no report. he then struck him a blow and he fell off his horse. They struck him several blows and dragged him by the shoulders across the ground and left him. In my dream there was a house on the left hand side of the road.

“At four o’clock I was called and went on deck to take charge of the ship. I told the second officer, Mr Henry Wren, that I had a dreadful dream - namely that my brother was murdered on the road from St Columb to Wadebridge but I felt sure that it could not be there as the house would be on the right hand side of the road; so that it must have been somewhere else”.

By the time that the Orient had reached England, two brothers, William and James Lightfoot, had been arrested for the murder of Nevell Norway. After conviction they were hanged at Bodmin on 13th April, 1840. Before going to the scaffold, William Lightfoot made a confession, describing how they had met Nevell Norway on the road to Wadebridge and the confession tallies in essentials with Edmund Norway’s dream. William Lightfoot made light of his own part in the affair, placing the blame on his brother, James.

William described how James had grabbed Mr Norway’s horse and had fired at him twice with his pistol. However, the pistol had not gone off and he had then knocked Nevell Norway down to the ground with his pistol, where they attacked him further. After robbing the body they dragged it to a stream on the left hand side of the road to Wadebridge, where it was eventually found.

Captain Norway was right in supposing that the house had been seen on the right hand side of the road when he last saw it. However, during alterations to the roadway during his absence, the house was now actually changed to the left hand side of the road.

The Old Rectory, Warleggan, Cornwall

The ghost of the Rev Frederick Densham, the last incumbent, has been seen walking through the grounds of the rectory, and the house itself. He is not an old ghost, for he did not die until 1953, but the story of his life is one of the oddest tales of a man, who at the very least was certainly eccentric.

Rev Densham was the incumbent at Warleggan from 1931 until his death. As soon as he arrived the parishioners found him very strange and treated him with a great deal of mistrust. He very quickly established himself as an “odd un” when he painted the rectory and the church in glaring colours, and it is recorded that the Bishop of Truro made him remove all the paint at the cost of £25, which Rev Densham had to pay for himself.

Fewer and fewer people turned up for his services, so to make up for the spaces which were rapidly increasing every Sunday, he cut out cardboard figures and propped them in the pews so that he could still preach to a full church.

In 1933, the Bishop of Truro was forced to order an inquiry into complaints made by the parishioners, who were getting more and more concerned at the decreasing number of people attending the church, and felt that the only way to stop the church becoming completely empty was to remove the vicar.

There were five complaints. The parishioners complained bitterly that the vicar had closed the Sunday School and that he had refused to hold services at times convenient to themselves. He had put up a barbed-wire fence around the rectory gardens, had threatened to sell the organ, which was a memorial to the Fallen of the First World War, and that he had misappropriated church property for his own use.

The Bishop listened to the Rev Densham’s explanations and found that he had no reason to remove him from his post. With that, the Church Council resigned in a body and the whole congregation refused to enter the church again. This did not deter the Rev Densham, who merely cut out more cardboard figures and placed them in the remaining empty pews; the local congregation switching their allegiance to the Methodist Chapel. The services at Warleggan Church still continued.

In 1953, many years after he had preached to his last “live” congregation, Frederick Densham’s body was found in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs at the rectory. There was a dreadful expression of horror on his dead face.

The Black House, Brixham

The Black House was built in the 14th century and was used by monks when they were building the nearby St Mary’s Church. The ghost is not one of the monks come to return to the scene of his earthly life, but that of Squire Hilliard, who lived in the 16th century.

Squire Hilliard’s son fell in love with a country girl from Cheriton. However, the Squire forced her to marry another man. Young Hilliard, riding through the woods, saw his true-love leaving the church on the arm of the other man and was so distraught that he hanged himself.

Strange things happen at Black House. Doors are locked quite inexplicably and on several occasions the owner has been locked out of his house. Unexplained noises and footsteps have been heard, both inside and outside the house and the sound of horses’ hooves have been heard on the lawn, as if they are clattering over cobblestones. Mysterious lights are seen from the house. Traces of an old cobblestone stableyard have been found nine feet under the present lawn.

It is thought that Squire Hilliard’s ghost still searches for his son to beg his forgiveness.

Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon

Buckfast Abbey is said to be haunted by a group of pre-Reformation monks, wearing white habits.

A procession of these monks was seen by a small boy, out fishing, in 1872, and he described them as walking in single file and in perfect silence. They slowly disappeared in front of his eyes.

This particular apparition manifested itself ten years before the present occupants returned to the abbey.

St Andrews Church, Chardstock, Devon

Nobody knows who the ghost of St Andrews Churchyard is. She appears in such a vague form that witnesses have difficulty in determining that she is in fact a female.

The only thing that witnesses can swear to is that she would appear to be wearing a greyish-coloured dress. She has been observed coming from the vicarage and gliding down the pathway to the church. Just before she reaches the church she vanished.

Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth, Devon

The Royal Castle Hotel began as a tavern in 1587 and became a coaching inn in 1639. There have been many famous guests there, including Queen Victoria and her son, Edward VII. Charles II and Sir Francis Drake were also guests there, a fact borne out by their names having been given to certain rooms at the hotel. However, the sounds that are heard there are of horses’ hooves and the crunching of wheels, accompanied by the opening and closing of carriage doors, said to be associated with William of Orange and his wife Queen Mary.

In 1689, when William of Orange was planning to land in England to take over the Throne, he had originally intended to land at Dartmouth, a town even then with strong naval associations. Queen Mary, who deplored the idea of a long sea journey, owing to sea-sickness, travelled overland to await the arrival of her husband.

Owing to thick fog, the ship carrying William and his entourage put into nearby Brixham. As it was the Queen’s wish to receive her husband personally, a coach was sent to the inn to take her to meet him on his arrival. For some unknown reason, it is the sound of the coach, and the courier who preceded it, that has come down into modern times.

The sounds are mainly heard during month of October, and invariably at 2 o’clock in the morning. They have been heard by guests and hotel staff alike, coming from the direction of the hallway, which in 1689 was actually part of the cobbled courtyard. The sounds have never been heard before the middle of September and never after the month of November.

The hotel is also haunted by the ghost of Darkie Chase, who was once an ostler there and lived over the inn stables. He has been seen several times walking down the stairs.

Cowick Barton Inn, Cowick Lane, Exeter, Devon

Built on the site of a monastery dedicated to St Thomas, Cowick Barton Farm, practically in ruins, was converted into a pub in 1963. The introduction of more earthly spirits to the building has not distracted the apparition of a phantom monk, who is still seen walking the grounds, and by the nearby river bank.

He has also been reported being seen in bedrooms of adjoining houses.

Chambercombe Manor, Ilfracombe, Devon

Built in 1385, Chambercombe Manor was certainly known to Lady Jane Gray, who spent some time there before the death of Edward VI, and before her short-lived reign as Queen of England. Her room at Chambercombe is still called the Lady Jane Gray Room, but it is not her ghost that visits the old manor.

In 1865, the tenant of Chambercombe Manor House discovered that there was an extra window in the house, for which no door could be discovered. After a wall had been demolished, a low, dark corridor was discovered, which led to a room in which were found the remains of tapestry and Elizabethan furniture, which was falling to pieces. In the middle of the room was a four-poster bed, with it’s rotting curtains still drawn. With much trepidation the tenant farmer pulled back the curtains and there, in the candle-light, he saw the skeleton of a young woman.

William Oatway was an Ilfracombe wrecker and smuggler in the early 17th century. It is thought that his daughter, Kate, had discovered her father’s activities and threatened to report the matter to the authorities. In order to prevent discovery and arrest, William Oatway sadistically bricked her into her room and she starved to death.

Kate Oatway has never been seen, but her footsteps have been heard since the discovery of her remains, in the area around that room and also walking towards the chapel and the cobbled courtyard.

Lapford, Devon

In the 1860’s the Rev John Arundel Radford, rector of the parish, murdered his curate, but at the subsequent trial was acquitted because his parishioners, who formed the jury, could not bring themselves to hang their parson. He returned to his church duties for several years before he died on 18th May, 1867.

Before he died he expressly wished that he wanted to be buried in the chancel of the church and insisted that if he wasn’t, he would return to the village to haunt it. However, because of the scandal attached to him, the church authorities refused permission. He was buried outside the vestry door.

Since then John Radford has kept his word and his ghost has been seen several times prowling around the village at night. It is said that the cross on his grave cannot be kept straight, and there is a small hole in his grave that cannot be filled in.

On 27th December, at midnight, the ghost of Thomas a Becket is said to ride his horse through the village, on his way to the home of Sir William de Tracey, one of his murderers, who is said to have built the church as part of his penance for his part in the slaying. Why he rides on 27th December is a bit of a mystery, for Thomas a Becket was killed at Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December, 1170,

Forde House, nr Newton Abbot, Devon

The heavy footsteps heard clattering around Forde House, are said to be those of William III, who slept there on his first night in England, after landing at Brixham in 1688

Lew Trenchard House, Oakhampton, Devon

Mrs Margaret Gould, known locally as “Old Madam”, was the wife of William Drake Gould. In 1766, when her husband died, she was left with two children, Edward and Margaret Gould. Edward grew up to be a rake and squandered away a lot of the family possessions before he died at an early age. His mother, undeterred by the losses incurred by her son’s gambling debts, set about recovering the estate, which had been dissipated. She was a strong-minded woman, who ruled her family, servants and tenant farmers with a firm hand and was reputedly fearless. Such was her strong will that even as she was dying, she refused to go to bed, and died, on 10th April, 1795, sitting in her favourite hard-backed chair. At the moment of her death all the shutters in the house flew open “of their own accord”, and a farmhand, who went to her bedroom to find the cause of the commotion, upon looking out of the widow, saw the figure of his mistress standing under a walnut tree in the garden, even though her corpse now lay on her bed, having been taken there to be laid out.

Seven nights after her funeral, a young man, called Symonds, saw her sitting on a plough in a field at Lew Valley. He had only just returned a few days previously from the United States, and did not know that Madam Gould was dead. He thought that it was very odd that she should have been in such a place at that time of the evening, but he waved to her in greeting and she waved back. When he told his family of his meeting with her, he was told that she had been buried just a few days previously in Lew Church.

Many people saw her after that, walking over Galford Down, standing by the Dew Pond or by the roadside, near an old mine-shaft. On one occasion a little girl, who had stolen some apples from the Gould orchard, was confronted by the ghost of Madame Gould, dressed in white, who would not let her go until she had emptied her pockets of all the stolen fruit.

In 1832, a local carpenter working at Lew Church, rashly opened the vault containing the bodies of William and Margaret Gould. At this outrage, Madam Gould is said to have risen from her coffin and chased the terrified man across the fields to his home. A bright light streamed from her and threw his shadow before him as he ran. In 1864, a man coming home from Tavistock at night, saw the white-clad figure of Madam Gould standing at the mouth of a mine-shaft. He broke his leg whilst hastily scrambling over the opposite hedge.

At Lew Trenchard House the sound of Madam Gould’s high-heeled shoes was often heard as she walked across the floor of the Long Gallery to a room in the West Wing. A visitor to the house once saw the figure of an elderly lady and a man wearing a wig, sitting on opposite sides of the fireplace in the drawing room. Madam Gould and her friend Parson Elford often used to sit there talking on Sunday evenings.

Sabine Baring-Gould, a descendant of Madam Gould, became rector of the village and succeeded to the family estate in 1872. When one of his children was ill, Madam Gould’s ghost knocked at the door of the bedroom to warn the sleeping nurse that it was time for the child to have some medicine. The nurse went to the door to investigate the knocking, but there was nobody there.

At a Ball, given by Sabine Baring-Gould for his daughter’s coming out party, several guests remarked about the strange woman that was standing at one side of the room, and the remarkable resemblance she had to the portrait of Madam Gould which was hanging in the room.

In 1918, two nurses, who were charged with looking after Baring-Gould’s grandchildren, whilst they were staying at Lew Trenchard, gave notice because they had see a woman bending over the sleeping children. They had previously been warned that the house was haunted and realised that this figure was that of Madam Gould.

The crunching of unseen carriage wheels was also heard on several occasions on the drive, followed by peals of laughter.

Buckland Abbey, nr Plymouth, Devon

Buckland Abbey was originally a monastery, built by the Cistercians in 1278. It was bought by Sir Francis Drake in 1581

Drake’s Drum, which was sounded when the Spanish Armada was coming up the Channel in 1588, was returned to the abbey in 1968, and hangs on one of the walls there. It is said that in times of national emergency, the drum will beat and summon Drake from Spirit, to come to England’s aid.

The drum was certainly heard during the First World War and also at the time of the Battle of Britain. It is thought that it was also heard at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Kilworthy House, nr Tavistock, Devon

Kilworthy House was built in Elizabethan times and was the home of the Glanville Family. It was rebuilt in the 1830’s and is now a school for maladjusted children.

The ghost of Kilworthy House is thought to be that of Elizabeth Glanville, daughter of Judge John Glanville, who owned the house in the late-16th and early-17th centuries.

Elizabeth Glanville was very much in love with George Stanwich, a local Tavistock man, who was a Naval officer. Her father strongly disapproved of the association between Elizabeth and George and forced her to marry a much-older goldsmith from Plymouth, by the name of Page, who was regarded as a miser. It is said that he married Elizabeth in order that he might have an heir to disappoint his relations, who had assumed until that time that they would inherit his wealth.

Elizabeth took her maidservant with her to her new home in Plymouth and, upon realising the amount of money he could save on servants’ wages, Page dismissed his own staff and made Elizabeth and her maidservant perform all the household duties.

After a short while, quickly disillusioned with the thought of being married to an old miser, Elizabeth met George Stanwich and together with her maidservant, they plotted to murder her husband. Page was found dead a week later, having been strangled by the maid. All three were arrested for the murder of the old miser. Elizabeth’s father was the judge and all three were sentenced to death.

It is only in recent years that the ghost of Elizabeth Glanville has been seen at Kilworthy House. Her outline, wearing a cloak and hood, but without a face, has been seen by the school staff, workmen and other people, but never by the children. She has been seen standing at the top of the stairs, in a bedroom, and also walking in the grounds. There have also been reports of poltergeist activity at the house, mainly the banging of doors. On several occasions, the rustle of silk has been heard on the stairs.

The conscience-stricken ghost of Judge John Glanville has also been seen walking in Kilworthy House, ever repentant for sentencing his daughter to death.

Tetcott, Devon

Much of the original manor house, home of the Arscott Family for many generations, still remains, and it is not surprising that the last of the Arscott’s, Squire John Arscott (1718 - 1788) still haunts the ruins.

John Arscott was an eccentric who went to church on Sundays to throw apples at the vicar and feed the church spiders on flies, which he carried in a bottle. He kept a tame toad as a pet. He lived with a woman called Thomasina Spry, who he is thought to have married on his deathbed “to do the decent thing and make her an honest woman”.

A keen sportsman, Squire John had a favourite mount, Blackbird, which his ghost his still seen riding, with the pack in full cry.

Sampford Peverell, nr Tiverton, Devon

In 1810, one of the most famous of all poltergeist cases recorded was at Sampford Peverell, at a house that was rented by a Mr John Chave, who lived there with his family and servants. Prior to the Chave tenancy, the house was already known to be haunted. The Rector of Sampford Peverell., the Rev Caleb Colton, published details of the activity in his “Plain and Authentic Narrative of the Sampford Ghost” in the same year.

Prior to the Chave tenancy, an apprentice had reported seeing the figure of a female ghost and hearing peculiar sound there, but nobody had taken this report seriously. However, in April, 1810, the sceptics were forced to think again.

In that month, extraordinary noises were heard in various parts of the house, particularly in the upper rooms. People stamping their feet on the floor of the upper rooms would find their sounds being imitated, but very much more loudly. People, walking from room to room, heard their footsteps echoed in a supernatural manner, and the thunderous noises continued at all hours of the day and night.

In the beginning, these phenomena were comparatively harmless, but in May, 1810, matters took a turn for the worse. There were six female servants in the Chave Household, and they all, in turn, were attacked and beaten as they lay in bed. One of the maids, Ann Mills, had a large swelling, the size of a turkey’s egg, as a result of one of these attacks, and swore that she received the blows as a result of an attack from an invisible hand. Two other servants, Mary Dennis and Martha Woodbury, said that they were beaten so severely that they were numb and sore for several days afterwards. During the course of his investigations, Mr Colton heard more than 200 blows rained on a bed one night, and said that the sound was like that of a strong man beating the bed with his a clenched fist.

The terrified maids refused to sleep in their room after these incidents and Mr and Mrs Chave allowed them to move into their bedroom with them. However, they were not to be left alone. On one occasion a heavy iron candlestick began to move about by itself and narrowly missed Mr Chave as he got out of bed to summon assistance. Mr Colton tells us that the bed-curtains were often violently shaken, accompanied by a loud and almost indescribable motion of the rings.

Loud knockings, rappings and rattling noises continued to be heard, and also the sound of a man’s slippered feet coming downstairs and passing through a wall, were repeatedly experienced. On one occasion, Mr Colton was in the act of opening a door when he heard a violent rapping from the other side. Opening the door, he peered out with the aid of the light from his candle. There was nobody there and nothing to see.

Mr Colton asked two of his friends to help him with his investigations, a Mr Taylor and a Mr Searle, the latter being a former governor of the county jail. One night, Mr Searle placed a sword at the foot of the bed in the bedroom which seemed to be most affected by the poltergeist phenomena, and a Bible on the bed itself. Both were flung seven feet through the air and struck the wall opposite. Mr Taylor was not in the room at the time but rushed to the scene to investigate the commotion, finding the sword suspended in mid-air, pointing towards him. After a moment it clattered to the floor.

A short time afterwards, the poltergeist activity ceased completely. It was suggested by sceptics that the poltergeist activity was an invention of Mr Chave, in order that he could buy the house more cheaply himself. However, Mr Chave never indicated that he wanted to buy the house.

The Old Spanish Barn, Torquay, Devon

The Old Spanish barn is situated on the waterfront, near the railway station. It was originally used by the monks of the abbey as a store-place for their produce. In 1588, it was used as a temporary prison for the crew of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, which was captured by the English Navy in 1588, and towed to Torquay. The whole of the ship’s complement of 397 were imprisoned in the barn, but with overcrowded conditions and a plague of rats, sickness and disease spread through the prisoners’ ranks, and very few Spaniards survived the ordeal.

However, one of the Spaniards was not a seaman at all, but a young Spanish girl who had been smuggled aboard the ship, disguised as a page, to be with her lover, Don Pedro de Valdez. In the appalling conditions she was one of the first to die, and it was not until she was being given the last rites by a local priest that her sex was discovered.

Her ghost has been seen reappearing in the park near to the waterfront, drifting slowly and wearily, with a down-cast face, to the entrance of the Barn.

St John’s Church, Torquay, Devon

Henry Ditton-Newman was organist at St John’s Church, until his death, from pleurisy, on 19th November, 1883. He was a dedicated organist and composed a number of hymns. His “Hymn Tunes and Other Music” was published after his death. He is buried in Torquay Cemetery.

The first report of the Haunting of St John’s by Henry Ditton-Newman was at his funeral, when the organ is said to have played “by itself”. In 1956, the local choral society had to cancel rehearsals because of the sudden apparition of Henry, and on many occasions, whilst the church was empty, the organ was heard to be played. On numerous occasions, the shadowy figure of a man was seen in the vicinity of the organ.

In 1956, after complaining to the vicar about a figure that had joined him whilst he was playing the organ, the organist left and refused to enter the church again. In the Autumn of that year, the organ was changed for a new one, since which time, Henry’s visits have been rare.

It is thought that the reason for Henry’s visits to the church, and to the organ he loved so much, was that he was in the middle of writing some more music when he dies.

Montpelier House, the former choir school and vicarage of St John’s, is also haunted. During his lifetime, Henry Ditton-Newman visited Montpelier House many times, and the footsteps that have been heard there could be his, although they could be those of a young man who committed suicide there in 1953.

Berry Pomeroy Castle, Berry Pomeroy, nr Totnes, Devon

Only two families have lived at Berry Pomeroy Castle since the Norman Invasion, the Pomeroys and the Seymours. The de la Pomerais Family came over from Normandy with William the Conqueror and built the original mediaeval manor house, which was completely demolished and replaced by a 14th century castle, the gatehouse of which stands to this day. In 1548, the castle was sold to the Lord Protector of Somerset by Sir Thomas Pomeroy, and it was the Lord Protector’s son, Edward Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour, who built most of the Tudor mansion which still stands, ruined and gutted, within the precincts of the original castle walls. The Seymours lived at Berry Pomeroy until the beginning of the 18th century, when the mansion, which had already been damaged during the Civil War, the Seymours being ardent Royalists, suffered further damage from fire in 1708. A steward was left behind to look after the house.

Sir Walter Farquhar, the noted 18th century surgeon, tells us in his memoirs, of how he encountered the ghosts of Berry Pomeroy. When he was a young doctor, living in Torquay, he was called to the castle to visit the wife of the steward, who was extremely ill. Whilst waiting to see the sick woman, he was shown into an oak-panelled room, which had a flight of stairs leading, in one corner of the room, to the room above. As he looked around the room, he noticed a beautiful young lady enter the room, wringing her hands in despair, and completely ignoring the young doctor, walked up the stairs to the room above. As she reached the top of the stairs, she paused, looking directly at the doctor in a complete state of anguish. She then when through the door and out of the doctor’s sight.

Doctor Farquhar did not know at the time that he had seen the ghost of one of the female members of the 14th century Pomeroy Family, who was said to have borne a child as a result of an incestuous relationship with her father, and who had killed the baby in the very room into which she had disappeared after being seen by the doctor.

Sir Walter was finally called in to see the patient, who he found extremely ill, but he was satisfied that she would completely recover. After assuring the steward that his wife would get completely better, he told him of his strange experience in the oak-panelled room. The steward became upset. He told the doctor that the figure was that of a ghost and that her appearance always preceded the death of a person closely associated with the household. The apparition had been seen shortly before his son had drowned. In spite of the doctor’s assurances that his wife would become better, the steward was convinced that she would soon die, and indeed she was dead by the following noon.

The other ghost of Berry Pomeroy is that of Lady Margaret Pomeroy. Lady Margaret, and her sister Lady Eleanor, were both very beautiful young women. However, they were both in love with the same man and so jealous was Eleanor of her sister Margaret, that she had her imprisoned in the castle dungeons, where she was left to starve to death. The ghost of Margaret Pomeroy has been seen many times in the vicinity of the gatehouse where she was incarcerated, and it is also said that there is an atmosphere of absolute desolation and horror surrounding the area.

The sound of an infant crying has also been heard on many occasions, and this has been attributed to the poor infant that was murdered at Berry Pomeroy in the 14th century.

There are two known photographs of ghosts at Berry Pomeroy Castle. One is of a woman, possibly Margaret Pomeroy, the other is of a man, wearing a tricorn hat. It is a complete mystery who this man is.

Weare Gifford Church, Weare Gifford, Devon

Weare Gifford Church has two ghosts. The first is that of a Crusader, Sir Walter Gifford, who died in 1243, and who walks from the gatehouse of the Hall to the church, looking for his wife, who vanished before he died. He has been seen, and heard, rapping the ancient knocker on the south door of the church. The door is then seen to creak open and Sir Walter disappears inside.

The other ghost is that of a rather objectionable woman who orders visitors to “Get you gone”.

Jay’s Grave, Widdicombe in the Moor, Devon

Two miles north of Widdicombe in the Moor, stands a roadside grave, where fresh flowers have mysteriously appeared for years.

Jay’s Grave is the last resting place of a young girl called Mary Jay, who hanged herself in a barn which stood on the site of the grave in the middle of the 19th century. Mary was a poor workhouse girl, who had been deserted by her lover, and as a suicide she could not be buried in consecrated ground.

Ever since, fresh flowers have appeared on her grave. Several witnesses have described seeing the figure of an old man, hunched up, wearing a dark blanket over his head and body. Although the blanket appears to stop a foot above the ground, witnesses have been alarmed to observe that there were no legs to the figure, and no face was visible.

Could this be the apparition of her lover, trying to make amends to the girl who died so tragically?

Athelhampton House, Athelhampton, Dorset

Athelhampton House was built in 1485 by the Martin Family, who remained there until 1595. Standing on the banks of the River Piddle, on the main road to Dorchester, it is one of the finest examples of a Mediaeval building in England. It is said to stand on the site of the legendary palace of King Athelstan. It has several secret passages and priest holes, and also has at least five ghosts, all of whom are described as being gentle and friendly.

The most unique ghost at Athelhampton is the ghost of a pet monkey, which became accidentally trapped inside the walls of one of the secret stairways, when they were being panelled in the 16th century. Although not heard recently, the scratchings of the pathetic wraith of the monkey have been heard down the ages, still trying to escape from it’s prison.

The Grey Lady of Athelhampton has been seen on many occasions by various members of the household. Mr Robert Cooke, the owner of Athelhampton, said that he once saw her in the early hours of the morning as she passed the open door of his bedroom. She was also seen by a maid, sitting in a chair in the Tudor Room, and when asked to leave - the maid thought that she was a visitor to the house who had overspent her time - promptly faded into one of the walls. On another occasion, she was seen by a housekeeper, but on being spoken to, faded into thin air. The Grey Lady has also been seen in one of the bedrooms.

Athelhampton is also haunted by the ghost of a Mediaeval cooper, who has been heard frequently hammering away at long-disappeared wine barrels in the wine cellar adjoining the Great Hall.

Connected with the Great Hall are two phantom duellists, who at least up to the First World War were seen frequently fighting there, until the one was wounded in the arm. After this act, they would both walk away from the Hall. On one occasion, a woman guest was sitting reading in the Great Hall when the two phantom duellists burst in. She is said to have been so disturbed by their sudden appearance that she asked them to leave, and take their troubles elsewhere. They are said to have ignored her and carried on with their duel.

In 1957, Mr Cook heard the padding of a cat’s feet on the bare boards of the Great Stairway. Knowing that the gardener’s cat had been ill, he decided to follow it, but could find nothing. The next day he mentioned the incident to the gardener and said that he was pleased that the cat had recovered, only to be told by the gardener that the cat had been killed the previous week, crossing the main road, outside the house, and was buried in the garden.

St Mary’s Church, Beaminster, Dorset

St Mary’s Church is haunted by the ghost of a pathetic boy, John Daniel, who died in May, 1728, at the age of 14. His body had been found in a field a short distance from his mother’s home. He had regularly suffered from bouts of fits, and it was thought at that time that he had suffered another fit and died. He was buried without there being any further investigation.

John Daniel had attended the local village school, which was attached to the church, and it was a month after his death that his ghost was seen by four of his former classmates, standing in the church. After several separate apparitions over a period, always in the presence of his former schoolmates, one of the boys threw a stone at his ghost, but as the stone left the boy’s hand, the ghost disappeared.

As a result of reports received from the schoolboys, the local magistrate, Colonel Broadrep, conducted an investigation, in which he questioned all the boys. As a result, the body of John Daniel was disinterred and the subsequent inquest disclosed that he had been strangled.

Nobody was ever charged for the murder of John Daniel. He still visits St Mary’s Church every 27th June.

Eastbury Park, Tarrant Gunville, nr Blandford, Dorset

Eastbury was built by Lord Melcombe, and in it’s very short heyday ranked third in size to Blenheim and Castle Howard. Building started in 1718, but owing to many difficulties the house was not finished until 1753, yet only ten years later, Lord Temple, who took over the latter part of the construction, had half the house pulled down because he could not afford the cost of it’s upkeep. At one time he had even offered free residence and £200 a year to anyone who could keep it in good repair. By 1775, only the North Wing remained and this had been let off to labourers of a nearby estate, as tenements.

Lord Temple had a steward called William Doggett, and it was during the last part of the construction of Eastbury that Doggett began to defraud his master of large sums of money that was supposed to have been used for the building work, and also stole building materials for his own financial gain. Lord Temple discovered the misuse of funds and thefts, and demanded repayment of a very large sum of money. Doggett could not pay, and on the eve of his arrest, shot himself in the house. His blood is said to have left a stain on the floor which could not be removed. Rather surprising for a suicide, he was buried at Tarrant Gunville Church.

On certain nights a coach with a headless horseman is said to drive from Eastbury and return, carrying Doggett to the house, where he alights, enters the house and proceeds to the same panelled room where he killed himself. The sound of a pistol shot is heard and the phantom episode ends.

The ghost of William Doggett is recognised by the yellow silk ribbon which is tied round his breeches. It is interesting to note that when Tarrant Gunville Church was rebuilt in 1845, Doggett’s coffin was exhumed, and when opened his legs were found to be tied together with yellow silk ribbon. More ominous was the fact that his face was found to be rosy and there was no sign of decay to the body, which caused the superstitious villagers to assume that he was a vampire.

Bovington Tank Museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset

The Tank Museum at Bovington Camp is haunted by the ghost of a German officer, who has been seen frequently by night, peering into a Second World War Afrika Korps Tiger Tank, in which he is thought to have been killed during the North African Campaign.

The ghost is well-known to soldiers who have been stationed at Bovington, and is affectionately known as “Herman the German”.

Cloud Hill, nr Bovington, Dorset

T.E. Lawrence’s cottage, a mile from Bovington Camp, is haunted by the ghost of Lawrence of Arabia, dressed in his Arab clothing, and the sound of his Brough Superior motor cycle has been heard often at dead of night.

It is said that, like Drake, Lawrence always returns when Britain is in danger.

Forde Abbey, nr Chard, Dorset

Thomas Chard was the last of the Abbots of Forde Abbey, originally built in 1142 - 1148 to house 12 Cistercian monks. At the Dissolution, Thomas Chard was thrown out of the Abbey and took up the post of Vicar of Thorncombe. and he died peacefully enough in 1544.

However, death could not part him from the place that he loved, and which he had painfully restored before the Dissolution, and his ghost still visits the Abbey from time to time, where he has been seen standing in the Great Hall, near the high table.

Wolfeton House, nr Charminster, Dorset

Built by Sir Thomas Trenchard in 1505, Wolfeton House is haunted by three ghosts. One is that of one of Sir Thomas’ descendants, who won a wager by driving a coach and four up the Great Staircase, and is obviously that pleased with his achievement that he has repeated it many times since, certainly well into the 20th century.

The second ghost was the wife of another member of the Trenchard Family, who committed suicide by cutting her throat, and has ever since roamed the house, especially the Grand Chamber, headless and dressed in grey.

The third ghost of Wolfeton House is that of a priest, who has been seen in the vicinity of the Gatehouse.

Corfe Castle, Dorset

It is at Corfe Castle, in AD 978, that the cruel Queen Elfrida murdered her step-son, King Edward, in order that her own son would become King. King John used Corfe Castle as a Royal prison in the 13th century, and it was there that 24 French noblemen were starved to death in the dungeons.

However, the ghost of Corfe Castle is associated with much closer times, that of the Civil War. In 1646, the castle was heavily defended by the Royalists against the Parliamentarians, and it was only the treachery of a local woman which led to the falling of the castle to Cromwell’s men. One can only imagine the feeling of bitterness and hatred in the hearts of the defenders towards the woman who betrayed them.

The headless ghost of the woman has been seen many times standing near the Main Gateway of the now-ruined castle.

St Peter’s Church, Dorchester, Dorset

St Peter’s Church is haunted by the ghost of the Rev Nathaniel Templeman, once rector of the church. His appearances have been limited, and he only appears when some wrong has occurred at the church, as a form of protest or reprimand.

On one occasion he literally put the fear of God into two church workers who, exhausted after putting up Christmas decorations in the church, put their feet up in the vestry and refreshed themselves with some communion wine. The stern-faced rector, whom they had both known well before he had passed over, appeared shaking his head in strong disapproval, causing the one to frantically recite the Lord’s Prayer, whilst the other fainted.

The Angel Inn, Coombe Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset

The Angel Inn is haunted by the ghost of a widow, Mrs Langton, who in 1926, was forced to leave the pub because her daughter had become an alcoholic, and she wished to remove her from the ready temptation at the Angel. However, she was very resentful of this and vowed that “no other person would do as well as she had done”. It is certainly a fact that succeeding landlords found great trouble in trying to break the so-called “curse”, although the Angel is now quite a thriving business.

Described as looking very much like Queen Victoria, both in looks and dress, Mrs Langton has been seen many times at the Angel. The son of one of the proprietors saw old Mrs Langton coming from a cupboard in the bedroom which had been here daughter’s. On another occasion, his brother saw the same apparition standing over his bed. A visitor to the Angel was startled to find what he thought was a figure of Queen Victoria bending over his bed, and did not learn the true identity of the ghost until the following morning.

The ghost sometimes manifests itself by opening the door to the bar. However, Mrs Langton does not frighten people, in fact she leaves the impression that she is trying to help them. A neighbour, who knew her well before she died, said “She was a lovely woman, very kind and old-fashioned. She never wanted to leave the pub”.

The Great House, Broad Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset

The Great House is said to be haunted by the ghost of “Hanging Judge” George Jeffreys, who has been seen in the house, wearing his robes, wig and black cap, and carrying a bloody bone.

Bettiscombe House, nr Lyme Regis, Dorset

Bettiscombe House is called “The House of the Screaming Skull”, because of the ageing skull which is preserved there, and the manifestations that have taken place when it has been removed from the house.

The legend of the Screaming Skull started when two brothers, Azariah and John Pinney joined the Monmouth Rebellion. They were both caught and tried at Dorchester Assizes on a charge of high treason in 1685, by the notorious Judge Jeffreys. John was hanged, but Azariah, thanks largely to the intervention of his sister, was reprieved and sent to the island of Nevis, in the West Indies, as a slave. After some years he was able to buy his freedom, settled in the West Indies and became a man of some substance. A descendant of Azariah, John Frederick Pinney, returned to Bettiscombe House in 1800, bringing with him a Negro servant, who alas died shortly afterwards at the house.

“Old Bettiscombe”, as the Negro servant was known, pleaded on his deathbed that his body be returned to the West Indies, saying that his spirit would never rest until his body was in the land that he loved. However, “Old Bettiscombe” was buried in the local churchyard, but soon the displeasure of his troublesome ghost was felt. Shortly after the burial there was poltergeist activity at Bettiscombe House, with doors banging and wild screams echoing through the corridors. The house seemed to rock to it’s very foundations and screams were also hear from the servant’s grave. Remembering the servant’s last wishes, the Pinney Family had the body disinterred and it was shipped back to the West Indies for re-burial.

However, the skull was kept at Bettiscombe House and all was quiet in the area. Then, on one occasion, a tenant of the house decided to get rid of the grisly relic and threw it into the pond. As a result, the disturbances at Bettiscombe House became that bad that the tenant spent half the night wading through the pond, dragging it for the skull. Once it had been replaced in the house, peace and quiet once more returned.

On another occasion, the skull was buried in a hole 9 feet deep. By the following morning it was found to have worked itself back to the surface again. After that the skull was carefully placed in a niche in the house, and there have been no reports of any disturbances since that time.

The Crown Hotel, Market Street, Poole, Dorset

Originally a thatched cottage, the Crown Hotel became a coaching inn in the 17th century and was reputed to be a regular stopping-place for the infamous Judge Jeffreys. It was reputed to be the scene of strange happenings not very long ago.

In June, 1966, one of the old stables was converted into a discotheque, and this work started a series of hauntings in the pub. An old piano was heard to be played in an empty room and the sound of a body being dragged over bare floorboards was heard coming from an upstairs room. A misty figure, described by some as a fluorescent mist, was seen gliding down the stairs and locked doors were said to have opened by themselves.

No natural explanation has ever been found for these strange happenings.

St Mary the Virgin, Lytchett-Maltravers, nr Poole, Dorset

Sir John Maltravers, who was involved in the murder of King Edward II, lies buried in the churchyard. It is there that a pathway runs direct from the village to the church, and at a spot called “Whispering Corner”, whispering voices are heard both in daylight and night-time, seeming to be discussing some rather urgent matter.

However, the words are completely indistinguishable. Could they be the re-enacted words of some plot to dispose of the King, so many years ago?

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset

The ghosts of two men, leading pack horses, have been seen many times labouring up cobblestoned Gold Hill, as they did in AD 979 when taking Prince Edward, the Martyr Prince, to his last resting place.

Edward was murdered by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, at Corfe Castle, and was buried at Shaftesbury Abbey at the top of the hill. He was later to become canonised and was known as St Edward the Martyr. Old chronicles report that miracles happened as the body was being taken to the Abbey from Corfe.

Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset

The ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey still hide the treasure of the Convent of St Edward the Martyr, that was buried by a Benedictine monk on the orders of the last Abbess, Elizabeth Souche, at the time of the Dissolution. Unfortunately the monk died of a heart attack almost immediately afterwards, and his ghost has been seen many times since, presumably trying to tell somebody where the hiding place is.

Sandford Orcas, nr Sherborne, Dorset

Built in 1540, this rather delightful Tudor mansion is said to have been built on the site of a Saxon dwelling that was constructed at the time of Edward the Confessor. Since Borley Rectory was burned down shortly before the Second World War, Sandford Orcas must now hold the title of “The Most Haunted House in England”. It should be, it is haunted by at least a dozen ghosts.

The house was owned by the Knoyle Family until 1748, when the first of three tenant farmers, John Davidge, took up the tenancy of the manor house. In 1918, the house was passed to the Medlycott Family, who still own the property, leasing it to Colonel and Mrs Claridge.

At the back of the house there is a door with an observation hole cut into it. It was in this room that a young man, judged to be insane, was kept locked up during the times of the waxing of the moon. However, it would appear that at other times he was considered quite normal, certainly normal enough to be allowed to wander abroad through the village.

This young man had been sent to Dartmouth College at the beginning of what could have been a brilliant Naval career, but whilst he was there he had killed a fellow-cadet. Having been declared insane, he was sent back to Sandford Orcas, and it was in the room at the back of the house that he died in his late-20’s and was buried in the grounds of the manor. His piteous cries and screams can still be heard coming from the room that was once his prison, at the time of the waxing of the moon.

One young man, visiting Sandford Orcas with his girlfriend, asked if he could have permission to enter the room. Permission being granted, the young man walked in, more to impress his girlfriend, but almost immediately rushed out again in a state of shock. When he was finally able to speak, he said that a man had rushed at him and tried to kill him.

Another very unpleasant ghost, which now fortunately has left Sandford Orcas, was that of a seven foot tall giant of a man, who was thought to have been an 18th century footman at the manor. Known as “The Stinking Man”, because of the repulsive stench of decaying flesh that he always left behind him, he used to be seen moving from the Gatehouse to the Staff Quarters, where he knocked on the bedroom doors. In his earthly life, this man was a rapist, and is said to have seduced every female member of the staff at that time. It is said that this ghost only appeared to virgins and that his apparitions were always accompanied by the sound of a body being dragged along the corridor. This figure was photographed by a psychic investigation team with the aid of infra-red equipment, and the resulting print clearly showed a tall man in Georgian dress. Since a Judas tree in the grounds fell down, there have been no reports of the appearance of this phantom rapist at Sandford Orcas.

The phantom of a tenant farmer of bygone days, who is said to have committed suicide at Sandford Orcas, has also been seen many times at the manor. He is said to have hanged himself from a pulley in the archway of the Gatehouse, and has been photographed, although imperfectly, whilst walking across the front lawn, wearing a white milking-smock and an old-fashioned type of farmers’ hat. This figure, though quite clearly captured in the photograph, was not seen by the person taking the shot. It is almost certain that this is the ghost of James Davidge, the tenant farmer who took over the tenancy in 1748. A figure, matching his description, has been seen several times over the past few years, peering in through the kitchen window.

The Garricks Head Hotel, Bath, Somerset

Richard Nash, more commonly known as Beau Nash, went to live in Bath in 1705, after a brief career in law, and an even briefer career in the Army, when his love for gambling provided him with a very lucrative living. Whilst he had been studying law at the Inner Temple in London, he had lived so lavishly that he was even suspected of being a highwayman, because he appeared to be living way beyond his means.

At Bath his luck continued to prosper and his fortune rose until 1740, when two separate tragedies caused his complete financial downfall. In that year, Parliament passed an Act making games of chance illegal, and at the same time he lost all his money in one night’s gaming. In an effort to recoup his losses, he even wagered his beautiful house, but lost and the property passed to David Garrick, the actor. After that, Nash’s popularity waned and he was that poor, that when he died in 1762, the Bath Corporation had to give fifty shillings to help for pay his funeral expenses.

When David Garrick took over the house, which adjoined the Theatre Royal, where he himself often used to appear, to save him walking outside he had his own private entrance built through the walls, so that he could step from his living quarters straight into the theatre. The house later became the Garricks Head Hotel, and it is this hotel which is haunted by two ghosts that originate from the time before David Garrick took over the house, and Beau Nash used it as a gambling den for the local gentry.

In the days before Beau Nash lost the house to David Garrick, a man was sitting playing cards at the table, when Nash discovered that the other man was having an affair with his wife. In a rage, he stabbed the man to death. His wife, seeing the whole incident, ran upstairs to the top of the house and jumped to her death from the window.

The grey figure of the lady has been seen many times, hovering around the window from which she jumped in the 18th century, and has also been seen in a box in the theatre next door. The presence of the Grey Lady has also been felt in the cellars, when people have sensed a strong smell of perfume and felt that they were not alone.

The figure of a Regency rake has also been seen at the hotel, and it is thought that this Dandy is responsible for certain poltergeist activities that have occurred at the hotel. On one occasion a cash register was smashed onto a chair by invisible hands. On another occasion, two candles were seen to rise from their holders in the lounge and shoot towards one of the witnesses present in the room, just falling short.

Objects have been found to be missing, only to turn up again in another part of the hotel later on. The poltergeist has also a peculiar habit of flushing a toilet in the ladies’ lavatory.

It is not known whether the ghost of the Dandy is that of the outraged husband, Beau Nash, or the murdered lover.

The Holman Clavel, nr Blagdon, Somerset

This 14th century inn, near Blagdon, in the Blackdown Hills of Somerset, is haunted by the ghost of a defrocked monk, who has been named “Charlie”. He has a habit of taking things from one place and returning them to another later in time. He is also said to enjoy a game of skittles, much to the dismay of staff and guests alike, because he normally plays in the alley at the back of the pub at 2 am. He would also appear to have a strong liking for the local cider, as confirmed by the number of times that jugs of cider have been found emptied and overturned.

“Charlie” has been seen on several occasions, including once in 1970, when a guest spending a night at the inn, was woken up in the early hours of the morning, to see him in the full moonlight, standing by a washbasin. When the guest turned on the light, “Charlie” simply disappeared.

He has a habit of taking objects, like books, keys and anything else that he can secret away, and the objects inevitably turn up again in another part of the inn, sometimes the same day, sometime the following month, or as in the case of one key, nearly three years after it became missing.

The inn was known to be used 600 years ago as a resting place for clerics and pilgrims on their way to Glastonbury Abbey.

The Cloughs Hotel, Chard, Somerset

There is an upper room at Cloughs Hotel in which Judge George Jeffreys, the Hanging Judge, slept, and which his ghost is said to frequent. On the landing, near the door of the room where George Jeffreys stayed, a little girl was raped and murdered many years ago.

The ghost of the Hanging Judge was seen on one occasion by a retired policeman, sitting by the fireplace in the bar. The sounds of female laughter, and a man with a menacing voice, have been heard coming from the direction of the landing.

Higher Chilton Farm, Chilton Cantelo, Somerset

Higher Chilton Farm stands directly opposite the church where Theophilus Brome lies buried in the north transept. While his body lies buried in the church, his skull remains at the farmhouse, which he himself owned in the 17th century.

Theophilus Brome had been a very active supporter of Cromwell during the Civil War, and had moved from Woodlowes, near Warwick, to Higher Chilton Farm to escape the consequences of the part that he had played in those days of bitter conflict. He died at the farm on 18th August, 1680, at the age of 69, and his last request was that, after he died, his head should be removed from his body and kept for ever at the farm. This was not an unusual request for those times, for this was the period of the Reformation, when enemies of the Crown in the Civil War often suffered the indignity of having their bodies disinterred after they had died, their heads being stuck on display on a spike, whilst their bodies were hung on the local gibbet.

It was said that ill-fortune would strike if his head was ever taken from the farm for burial. Terrible noises were heard in the farmhouse on the occasions that the attempt was made. In 1860, whilst attempting to dig a hole to bury the skull, the sexton broke his spade in two places and vowed that he would never try again.

Earlier, in 1826, workmen busy renovating the farmhouse actually drank beer from the skull as an act of bravado, and this macabre act resulted in unusual noises being heard for some time afterwards in the farmhouse, showing Theophilus’s great displeasure.

During restoration of the church in the 18th century, Theophilus Brome’s tomb was opened, and the skeleton inside was found to be minus it’s skull, therefore the skull in the farmhouse is almost certainly that of Brome, kept in a special cabinet over a door in the hallway.

Heddon Oak, Somerset

Heddon Oak, some 50 miles west of Sedgmoor, is a tree that dominates the whole area around it. It has a great branch that juts out over the road, and it is from this large branch that several men, all caught escaping from the battlefield, were hanged by the King’s men, for their part in the Monmouth Rebellion.

The sound of hoof-beats and the pantings of men have been heard, followed by the terrifying noise of strangulation. There are local people who avoid passing the tree as much as possible because they feel a choking sensation there.

The Plough Inn, Holford, Somerset

The Plough inn was built in 1430, and is haunted by the ghost of a Spanish merchant, who was murdered there in November, 1555.

The merchant was travelling to Bristol, and broke his journey at the Plough and spent the night there. It was well-known that he was carrying a small fortune in gold coins, and when he was walking down the outside stairs he was waylaid by a couple of robbers and died in the ensuing fight. After the fight, the two men broke into his room, but the Spaniard had hidden his gold well, and it has never been found to this day.

His ghost has been seen many times over the years, walking down the stairs where he was murdered. When the stairs were dismantled in the 1960’s, his ghost transferred itself to one of the upstairs bedrooms, where the dark-cloaked figure has been seen on several occasions since.

Locking, Somerset

The distraught ghost of Lady Plumley has been seen many times, walking among the yew trees in the grounds of the old manor house, with a dog in her arms, before fading away at the edge of a long-disused well.

Sir John Plumley had fought with Monmouth at the Battle of Sedgmoor, and after the defeat, managed to escape and make his way home, pursued by the King’s troopers. To avoid capture, he hid near the manor house, only to be unwittingly betrayed by his favourite dog, who was so pleased with his master’s return, that he barked furiously, thus attracting the attention of nearby soldiers, who came running to the spot and captured the unfortunate knight.

Sir John was dragged to a nearby elm tree and hanged, while Lady Plumley was forced to look on helplessly. Overwhelmed, Lady Plumley took the dog into her arms and threw herself, and the unfortunate animal, down the well.

Minehead, Somerset

In 1636, the Leaky Family lived at Minehead, a ship-owner, his wife and daughter, and his widowed mother, who was a well-liked lady with a great number of local friends. Many people were sincerely shocked when she died, but she had already told them that she would return after her death, and return she did.

It was shortly after her death that reports were made that she had paid several visits, not only to her old house, but also to the local area. At first the reports were treated with a great deal of derision and scorn, but after the experience of the local doctor, Mrs Leaky’s ghost was treated with a great deal of respect.

The doctor was walking across the fields after visiting a country patient, when he came across old Mrs Leaky, whom he had never known whilst she was alive. Whilst helping the old lady over a stile, he found that her hand was very cold, which made him look a little closer at the woman. He noticed that when she spoke, she never moved her lips and did not appear to be using her eyes. This alarmed the doctor somewhat, but he was to be a lot more alarmed when he realised that the woman had all the symptoms of a person who was dead. At the next stile, he deliberately refrained from helping her over it. A race developed between the doctor and Mrs Leaky as to who could get to the next stile first, and Mrs Leaky won. Finally the doctor managed to get past her, whereupon Mrs Leaky gave him a kick up the breeches, and told him to be more civil to old women in future.

From then on the ghost of Mrs Leaky started to become more vicious, and she was regularly seen on her son’s ships, scaring the crews so much that several of the ships ran aground. It was said that she was capable of summoning up the wind sufficiently to wreck a ship, merely by whistling for it.

Her daughter-in-law would appear to have been one of Mrs Leaky’s chief victims. Often she would wake up in the middle of the night to see Mrs Leaky’s ghost in the bedroom, but before she could wake up her husband, the apparition would disappear. Mrs Leaky was even blamed for the death of the Leaky’s five year-old daughter, who was found strangled in her bed.

On the morning of the little girl’s funeral, her mother was tidying her hair, when she saw the figure of Mrs Leaky looking over her shoulder, through the hand-mirror. Turning round, paralysed with fear, she pleaded with the ghost of her mother-in-law to say why she was haunting her. Mrs Leaky told her that she must travel to Ireland to visit her uncle, the Bishop of Waterford. She was to tell him that unless he repented a certain sin, he would be hanged. Mrs Leaky then told the distraught daughter-in-law that her uncle had murdered a young baby in Barnstaple, when he was lodging there with Mrs Leaky’s sister. He had seduced her sister’s daughter, who had become pregnant and had died in childbirth. The child had survived but after baptising it, he had strangled the child and smoked the body over a pan of charcoal, before putting the remains in a silver pot.

Mrs Leaky’s daughter-in-law made the journey to Waterford to visit her uncle, who was extremely surprised to see her. She told him what Mrs Leaky had said to her, but he dismissed the whole story, saying that at least if he was born to hang, at least he would not drown. Obviously he was referring to the return trip that his niece was to make to England, as at that time sea travel was very hazardous.

However, she returned to England safely and was questioned by magistrates at Taunton regarding allegations against the Bishop regarding the killing of the child. It was decided that there was insufficient evidence against the Bishop, and no further action was taken at that time. New evidence was later to come, but not directly through Mrs Leaky. The man who was to provide this new information was an apprentice to the Town Clerk of Barnstaple, in nearby Devon. This young man’s name was Chamberlain, and he was visited by two ghosts whilst he was working late one night. The first ghost was that of a young woman, dressed in white, who was seen carrying a new-born child in her arms. The second ghost was that of an old man, who just sat there, staring at him but not saying a word. The old man was to visit him on several occasions before he finally spoke. He told the apprentice that he meant him no harm and that he had been sent to give him certain instructions. It was never said whether these instructions came from Mrs Leaky, but it is almost certain that she had a hand in it.

He was told that under the floorboards in the attic, in the bedroom which had belonged to Mrs Betty, the Town Clerk’s eldest and much-loved daughter, he would find four boxes. One of the boxes would be found to contain two silver pots. The one pot contained a fortune in gold coins, and this he could keep. However, the second one was not to be opened, and he was to take it to Mrs Betty, who lived on the other side of the Bristol Channel, in Wales.

Going upstairs to the attic, Chamberlain prised up the floorboards of the room in question and found the four boxes. He removed the two silver pots and pocketed the coins, said to be worth over £1,000, a small fortune in those days. The other pot he put on one side unopened until he had the chance of visiting Mrs Betty.

After a few days, he travelled to Wales and found Mrs Betty, and gave her the silver pot. Unknown to Chamberlain, Mrs Betty returned to Barnstaple on the same ship as him, and immediately went to her parents’ house, where she stayed just sufficiently in time to go to her old room, prise up the floorboards and hammer them down again. She then left the house and never returned. She died in Wales 14 months later, but before dying she told her maid that she was leaving her £700, on condition that she went to Barnstaple to retrieve the silver pot that she had hidden under the floorboards in her old bedroom there. The pot was to be taken to the Bishop of Waterford, and she was to warn him that if he did not repent, he would hang.

When the maid arrived at Mrs Betty’s parents’ house, with her unusual request to take up the floorboards in Mrs Betty’s old room, they became suspicious and recovered the pot from beneath the floorboards themselves. Inside the silver pot they found the skeleton of a young baby, the self-same baby that Mrs Leaky had mentioned to her daughter-in-law in Minehead previously. This new evidence was sent to London, and as a result, the Bishop of Waterford was hanged in Dublin on 5th December, 1640. It is said that just before he died be became fully repentant, but he was still hanged.

Poynington, Somerset

A young Royalist supporter, called Baldwin Malet, raised a patriotic band of local men to attack a troop of Roundhead cavalry, which had arrived in the area in June, 1646. The untrained farm labourers were no match for the experienced and well-disciplined Parliamentarians, and were massacred. All except Malet were buried where they fell, in a meadow near a stream, where the mounds of the graves are still visible. Baldwin Malet was carried back to Poynington Church, where he was buried.

In the 19th century, none of the locals would approach the mounds where the massacred men had been buried, for very often there had been reports of the appearance of the phantom band of men, together with one solitary girl, who is said to have been shot in the skirmish.

Canard’s Grave Inn, nr Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Giles Canard was the innkeeper of the inn that was be to be renamed after him following his death. He made a small fortune out of dealing with local highwaymen and smugglers, but his greed got the better of him when he took to forgery, and that was his undoing.

When the law finally caught up with him, he hanged himself to avoid the justice that was his due. As a suicide he was buried at the junction of five roads, one mile south of Shepton Mallet, just outside the inn. It was at this junction that his highwaymen accomplices obtained rich pickings during his lifetime.

The ghost of Giles Canard has been seen many times outside the inn, and his portrait swings from a gibbet on the inn sign.

Pinkworth Pond, nr Simonsbath, Somerset

The ghost of Farmer Gannon haunts the area between Exe Road and Pinkworth Pond. Farmer Gannon, a widower from Boyley Barton, drowned himself in Pinkworth Pond in 1889, because the woman he wanted to marry turned him down.

Taunton Castle, Somerset

The ghost of Judge George Jeffreys has been seen standing on the landing at Taunton Castle, wearing wig and gown, carrying a sword by his side and a pistol in his hand. It was in the Great Hall that the bloodiest Assizes of all were held, following the Monmouth Rebellion.

George Jeffreys also haunts a room which he used as a bedroom whilst staying at the castle for the Assizes

Allington, Wilts.

In the middle of the 19th century, the curate of the village had been spending a pleasant evening eating and drinking with some of his parishioners. He was very drunk towards the end of the evening, when he attempted to mount his horse. Falling over the other side of the animal, he fell to the ground and broke his neck, dying instantly. For some unknown reason, his companions, also severely under the influence, panicked and threw his body down the nearby well. It is not known whether the body was recovered and given proper burial.

Shortly afterwards, it was noticed that horses in nearby stables became extremely restless at night, and on occasions broke loose and ran through the village. Horses were also observed behaving very badly in the vicinity of the well. It is said that this odd behaviour was the work of the ghost of the curate.

It was some years later that some light was put on the mystery, when the woman who had been the curate’s hostess on that fateful evening, said on her deathbed that she wished to tell what had happened. However, before she could tell her story, she was seized with violent pains.

Was the curate’s death a case of murder, manslaughter, or was it an accident? The ghost can tell.

Avebury, Wilts.

Several parts of Avebury are haunted by the ghost of a Lady in White. Dressed in white lace and wearing a white hood, she has been known to turn people away from a gate leading into a field, for some unknown reason.

The manor itself is periodically strewn with petals, mainly on the floor of the Crimson Room. Doors and windows have been mysteriously opened, even though they have been previously checked as locked and secure.

Strange happenings have also occurred in cottages where stones from the original Avebury Circle have been built into their walls.

Cholderton House, Cholderton, Wilts.

Cholderton House is haunted by the ghost of a clergyman, who died in 1896 in suspicious circumstances. He was found drowned in a well, and it is not known whether he fell, jumped or was pushed down. His slippers were found placed neatly on the well-top, and it is this that gives people the impression that he committed suicide.

Whatever the cause of his death, mysterious noises have been heard, both in the house and near the well.

Wardour Castle, nr Fovant, Wilts.

It is at Wardour Castle that Lady Blanche Arundel, with 25 able-bodied men, held out against the Roundheads for five days in May, 1643.

During the siege, where the defenders held no less than 1,300 Parliamentary troops at bay, women reloaded the muskets and supplied the men with food, until finally Lady Arundel was forced to surrender. However, she managed to force the Roundhead commander to agree to an honourable surrender, although once captive, as was so often the case, her puritanical captors broke their word.

Lady Blanche Arundel still visits Wardour Castle, being seen quite often walking in the castle grounds, towards the lake at dusk.

St Michael’s Church, Highworth, Wilts.

St Michael’s Church, which is certainly as old as the Domesday Book, is haunted by the same hunchbacked figure of a monk, dressed in white robes, that has been witnessed on many occasions at the King and Queen Inn.

The monk was seen in 1910, standing by the south door. The two men who saw him said that there was no recognisable face to the figure, just a grey blank space where the face should have been. The space where the eyes should have been were described as being just dark shadows. This incident occurred in the morning, just before mid-day, and a lady, busy arranging flowers in the same area, did not see the figure.

The verger of St Michael’s in 1936, saw the same figure at 7.45, one November evening, when the monk was seen to walk up the centre aisle, through some curtains, to the west door. The figure was seen to pass through the heavy curtains without parting them.

In 1970, the same monk was seen walking in front of the altar, and on a separate occasion on the same say, walking outside the church in the churchyard. A few weeks later, he was seen walking down the road from the old monastery ruins towards the church.

The King and Queen Inn, High Street, Highworth, Wilts.

The King and Queen Inn is thought to be well over 500 years old, and the building was once part of the old monastery. There are traces of a passageway that once led from the cellars to St Michael’s Church. One of the upstairs rooms was used as a courtroom in the 19th century, ands many people have been sentenced to death in that room.

The ghost of the King and Queen is that of a hunchbacked monk, dressed in white robes, who is thought to have been killed when it was discovered that he had broken his chastity vows. He has been seen many times in the yard, walking towards the old stables, and also in St Michael’s Church.

One night in 1968, the then landlord was awakened by the sound of his dog’s whimpering, and during the course of his investigations, went into the yard where he saw a motionless form standing there, appearing to be the figure of a monk. Thinking that he had caught an intruder, he let his dog loose. However, instead of tackling the figure, the dog refused to move. The landlord approached the figure himself, but it glided straight through a wall.

The sounds of footsteps have been heard in a corridor that is situated just over the bar. The footsteps have been heard several times, walking along the corridor towards the old courtroom, but when investigated the area was found to be completely deserted.

Littlecote House, nr Hungerford, Wilts.

A terrible crime took place at Littlecote House, an Elizabethan manor house that stands near Hungerford, on the Wiltshire side of the border with Berkshire. The crime took place in 1575, and the details are well-known because of a statement made by Mother Barnes, a midwife with few qualifications, who told the full story on her deathbed to the local magistrate, Mr Anthony Bridges, in 1589

One night, fourteen years previously, a stranger rode over to her house in the village of Great Shefford, just over the Berkshire border, and told her that her services were immediately required by a lady of noble rank. He told her that she would be well-paid for her services, but she was not to tell anybody of the confinement. Blindfolding her with a pocket handkerchief, he sat her on his horse and set off, riding cross country until about an hour later Mother Barnes heard the horse’s hooves clattering on the cobblestone of a courtyard. Here they stopped and Mother Barnes was let down and taken into a house, where her blindfold was removed.

The stranger led her down a dark passage, towards a chamber where she saw a masked woman lying on the bed in labour. She did not recognise the woman but immediately set about her work, trying to dismiss the strangeness of the situation from her head.

After the child, a boy, had been delivered, a gentleman dressed in a black velvet dressing gown, rushed into the room and ordered Mother Barnes to throw the child on the fire. When she pleaded for the child, offering to take him back to Great Shefford and bringing it up as her own, the man snatched the child from her arms, and despite pleas from the mother, threw it onto the open fire and held it down with the heel of his riding boot until it was dead. Mother Barnes, perhaps realising that there could be an inquiry into the murder of the child at a later date, cut a small piece of material from the bedcurtains. As she was led blindfolded down the steps from the chamber, she counted the number of steps from the landing to the ground floor. She was paid a large sum of money, and this was sufficient to keep her silent until she knew she was about to die, when her conscience forced her to tell the whole of the macabre story.

After Mother Barnes’ confession, “Wild”, or “Wicked”, Will Darrell of Littlecote Manor, a well-known Elizabethan rake, became suspect. When an investigation took place at the house, a hole was found in the bedcurtains, which fitted the piece of material that Mother Barnes had managed to secret from the house. The number of steps from the chamber also tallied with Mother Barnes’ statement. William Darrell was tried at Salisbury in 1586, but was acquitted, mainly on the influence of Sir John Popham, who at that time was Attorney General and a great friend of the Darrell Family. A grateful Will Darrell handed over the title to the estate at Littlecote to Sir John, though he continued to live there himself until the time of his death in 1589, when he was flung from his horse at Littlecote Park, whilst riding past a gate, known to this day as “Darrell’s Stile”, and which is haunted by the ghost of Darrell. The sudden appearance of a young baby, enveloped in flames, is said to have caused the horse to shy, throwing him to the ground and breaking his neck. Even today, horses are known to shy when they reach this spot.

Ever since the incident, 400 years ago, there has been a great deal of speculation as to the identity of the poor mother who saw her new-born baby so terribly killed. Will Darrell had a number of mistresses and there were several women who could have been the mother, including his own sister, Ada, with whom he was known to have had an incestuous relationship. There have also been suggestions that she could have been a Miss Bonham, or that she was the wife of Sir Henry Knyvett. Whoever the mother was, it is certain that Will Darrell was the father.

The pathetic-looking ghost of the mother, with fair hair and dressed in a pink night-dress, has been seen frequently in the chamber where the baby was born and killed. She has been seen carrying the new-born baby in her arms. Mother Barnes has also been seen in the same room on several occasions, once more trying to stop Will Darrell from murdering the child. Mysterious bloodstains have appeared on the floor of the chamber, and footsteps have been heard walking across the floor, followed by the screams of an obviously suffering woman. It is said that the floor of the chamber can never be kept in repair, but constantly rots away, no matter how often the floorboards are changed.

A photograph of the bed in the murder chamber, taken in 1970, showed an unusual transparent shape peering through the curtains of the four-poster. The negative was sent to the film’s manufacturers, who stated that, in their opinion, it had not been touched, or altered in any way.

Littlecote House is also haunted by the ghost of Gerard Lee Bevan, described as being a ghost with a limp, who lived there just after the First World War. At the age of 50, this once-respectable man turned to swindling, and to escape capture, fled to Europe where he remained fore several years before being arrested and returned to England. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and finally died in the West Indies in 1966. His ghost has been seen many times, walking in the Long Gallery.

The ghost of a woman dressed in brown has been seen several times in the garden where she has been seen admiring the herbaceous border. She has been described as being a rather beautiful woman and it was felt that she had been barred from the house for some reason. The lady has been identified as being Mrs Leybourne Popham, whose portrait hangs in the Regency Room.

Salisbury, Wilts.

White birds, said to be as large as swans, have been seen wheeling over the spire of the Cathedral at the time of the death of the then Bishop, and even more minor clergy.

Miss Mobberly, the daughter of the then Bishop, saw them in 1885, and Miss Edith Oliver saw them on 16th August, 1911. On both occasions, the bishops had died at the exact time the birds were seen.

Bower Chalk, nr Salisbury, Wilts.

A dip in the hills near Bower Chalk, called Pug’s Hole, is haunted by the ghost of a shepherd who became lost one night many years ago, and died of exposure in a snow drift.

People walking in the area at night have encountered the phantom of the old man and have heard him say “I’m lost! I want to go home”. He has then been seen to wander towards a thorn bush, where he disappears.

Tedworth House, Tidworth, Wilts.

Tedworth House was the scene of a classic poltergeist case in the 1660’s. In March, 1662, Mr John Mompesson, the local magistrate, was visiting nearby Ludgarshal, when he heard of an itinerant conjuror, who had been a former Army drummer, who was attempting to obtain money with forged documents. When the man’s documents were examined by Mr Mompesson, they were found to be fakes and the man, William Drury, admitted his fraud and his drum was confiscated. Drury was ordered to be held in the custody of the local constable until a report from the man’s former commanding officer had been received. However, Drury escaped from custody.

A few weeks later, the bailiff, who had been ordered to retain the drum, sent it to Tedworth House. Mr Mompesson was away in London on business and upon his return, his wife told him that there had been some very frightening noises outside the house, especially knocking sounds on the front door which could not be accounted for. That same night, Mr Mompesson heard the same sounds and went outside the house, armed with a pair of pistols. The knocking sounds continued on various doors of the house and being unable to find the cause, the Mompessons went to bed. Whilst in bed, they heard the knockings, this time seeming to originate from the roof of the house.

Together with the knocking sounds, the sound of drumming was also heard, and they were heard frequently, five nights in a row, followed by a period of three nights’ complete silence. The noises always appeared, in the early weeks, to come from the outside of the house, and always started when the family were about to retire to bed. Then the noises transferred themselves to the inside of the house. For two months, the disturbances continued to come from inside the house, especially from the room where the drum had been originally stored, in spite of the fact that by this time the drum had been smashed to pieces on the orders of Mr Mompesson, in the hope that by so doing, the noises would stop.

It would appear significant that at this time Mrs Mompesson was pregnant, and the night she was away from the house, having her child, all was quiet in the house. It remained quiet for the next three weeks after her return. After that, however, the noises returned and became more frequent, starting to follow the children all over the house, together with knocking sounds being heard coming from their bedsteads as they tried to sleep. By this time the regular sound of the beating of military tattoos was heard in the house, and this noise would go on for hours.

Scratching sounds were heard coming from under the children’s beds, and the beds would be gently lifted up and let down again. The servants complained of similar disturbances, and also the feeling of great weights resting on their legs as they lay in bed.

The only part of the house that had not been disturbed was the loft, and the Mompessons decided to put their children there, in the hope that they would get an undisturbed night’s rest. However, as soon as the children went to bed, the noises started in the loft as well.

During a visit by the local vicar, the drum was heard to beat loud and clear, and chairs and shoes were seen to fly through the air. Everything movable was seen to move and a bedstead was hurled at the vicar, which hit him on the leg with so little force that it could have been a ball of wool.

The Mompessons moved their children to the house of a neighbour, with the exception of their eldest, a ten year-old girl, whom they moved into their own bedroom. The disturbances began as soon as she went to bed and continued every night whilst she was in that room. When the other children were returned to the house, they were put into the parlour, which had been one of the least-affected rooms, but were plagued by an invisible “something” which tugged at their hair and bedclothes, although this was the only disturbance reported in that room.

The drumming sounds became less frequent, and another sound, the clinking of coins, was heard all over the house. Clothes were thrown about the bedrooms and bedclothes were tugged off the beds. The house was visited by the son of a former employer of William Drury, and as soon as he had gone to bed on the first night, the drumming sounds started again. He heard rustling sounds in his bedroom and felt something present at the side of his bed, although he could see nothing. Grabbing his sword, he leaped out of bed and the presence immediately left the room. A short while later a singing noise was heard coming from inside the chimney.

Lights were seen wandering throughout the house, and when these disappeared, footsteps were heard walking up the stairs. Children were lifted into the air, shoes were flung at a man’s head, chamber pots were emptied onto beds and a horse was found with one of it’s rear legs forced into it’s mouth. Then a series of grotesque apparitions were seen throughout the house at night-time, culminating in Mr Mompesson taking a shot at one of them, a grotesque form with red blazing eyes.

In 1663, William Drury was committed to Gloucester Jail to await trial for stealing. Whilst in prison he boasted to another inmate that he had plagued a man in Wiltshire, and was getting his own back for having had his drum confiscated. His boasting was reported to the prison authorities, and although found not guilty on a charge of witchcraft, for lack of evidence, he was sentenced to transportation for stealing a pig. Once William Drury had left England, peace and quiet returned to Tedworth House, after two years of nightmare.

Longleat, nr Warminster, Wilts.

Longleat is haunted by the ghost of Lady Louisa Carteret. Lady Louisa was the daughter of the Earl of Granville, and rather surprisingly married the Second Viscount Weymouth, who then owned Longleat. The marriage turned out to be a complete disaster and inevitably Lady Louisa fell in love with a man much younger than her husband. One day, Viscount Weymouth caught the couple in the upper part of the house, and a duel took place in the top floor corridor. The end of the duel resulted in her lover being killed and his body being buried beneath the flagstones of the cellar.

The corridor in which the duel took place, became known as the Green Lady’s Walk, because of the portrait of Lady Louisa which hangs there, in which she is seen wearing a long green dress. It is in this corridor that the ghost of Lady Louisa has been seen many times. The phantom re-enactment of the fatal duel has been seen by at least three people.

During the early part of the 20th century, the then owner decided to install a central heating system at Longleat, and workmen started laying the foundations for the system in the cellar. During the course of their work they lifted up some of the flagstones and discovered the remains of a young man dressed in tattered 18th century clothing.

Longleat is also haunted by the ghost of Bishop Ken, who in his lifetime incurred the great displeasure of King Charles II when he refused to allow Nell Gwynne accommodation. However, it would appear that King Charles softened towards the outspoken cleric, because he appointed him Bishop of Bath and Wells later on. Bishop Ken then incurred the great displeasure of King James II, and was subsequently deprived of his office. He was given a home at Longleat by the First Viscount Weymouth, remaining there for the last 20 years of his life, spending most of his time in the Old Library, where his ghost has been seen many times in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is said to visit the Library particularly on 15th March, which was his birthday.

The ghost of Sir John Thynne, who built Longleat in Elizabethan times, has been seen at the house. It is known that he had a great love for Longleat whilst he was alive, so there is good reason for him to return after his death.