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Gloucestershire Ghosts
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The ghosts of Littledean
Littledean Hall, Forest of Dean
As one of England's oldest houses, Littledean Hall has seen its fair share of goings-on over the years.
The Pyrke family lived in the Hall for over two hundred years and in 1744 a young servant, murdered Charles Pyrke after discovering he had fathered the servant's sister's child.
The ghost of the young servant has been seen on numerous occasions since, outside his bedroom as well as outside the drawing room.
In the dining room of the Hall, a monk is said to walk from there to the library where a priest's hole led to a tunnel from the cellar to the Grange of Flaxley Abbey.
The monk would have used it to secretly visit the house to give Holy Communion.
And you won't get much sleep in the Blue Bedroom, earlier occupants said the room had a terrible atmosphere and heard the sound of a swordfight, which ties in with a story about two brothers who killed each other in a fight over a lady.
Another family that occupied the Hall for a long time was the Brayne family, Richard Brayne, who lived there in the 16th century is still said to haunt the drive in the form of a ghostly gardener.
Perhaps the Hall isn't the best place to spend a nice relaxing time!
Monk in prayer
Blackfriars, Gloucester
In the remains of the Dominican priory of Blackfriars in 1870, one Alice Godfrey saw the ghostly figure of a monk in prayer.
As she stared at the apparition she saw that he had fixed staring eyes and a grey lined face.
Almost 100 years later during restoration work, the skull of a man presumed to be a friar who died from a head wound, was unearthed in the church nave.
That same year a workman on a beam over the nave saw the ghost of a monk, one of his colleagues saw a friar with blood pouring out of his head running from the nave
Hunting dog
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, near Cheltenham
Although Henry VIII's last wife, Catherine Parr, was buried in Sudeley castle it is not her but Prince Rupert's favourite hunting dog that haunts the castle.
Prince Rupert had made the castle his headquarters during the Civil War when despite the majority of Gloucestershire siding with Parliament, the castle's inhabitants supported the Crown.
During the first of three sieges of the castle the dog was killed but returned to haunt the castle shortly afterwards.
His ghost, which is usually seen in the ruins of the banqueting hall, is seen as a bad omen that some misfortune is coming for the owners of the castle.
Charles I
Court House, Painswick and Chavenage House, Tetbury
The ghost of Charles I is said to haunt Court House in Painswick, where he was based when he ordered the Siege of Gloucester in 1643.
The gardens and grounds of the house have also been the location for sightings of ghostly Cavaliers who are thought to be preparing themselves for battle.
Not long after his execution, the headless ghost of the king appeared at Chavenage House near Tetbury, the home of Nathaniel Stephens, one of the county's two members in the House of Commons.
It appears that when Parliament went in to recess for Christmas 1648 they were still undecided as to whether King Charles should be put to death or put in prison.
Stephens wasn't sure what to do on his return to the house but was persuaded by a Cromwellian officer to vote for execution.
Just a month later Charles I was beheaded, and four months later Stephen fell ill and died, but not before he had expressed remorse for agreeing to the death of his king.
The mourners at his funeral at Chavenage could not in their wildest dreams have imagined what was to come.
As they assembled before church a coach drew into the courtyard pulled by black horses, the driver was dressed in attire only worn by Charles I, but they did not recognise him at first as his head was not there!
As if this wasn't scary enough, the main door of Chavenage House then opened and out stepped the ghost of Nathaniel Stephens in his shroud and climbed into the coach.
With a whip of the horses the two went off towards the outer gate, but just as they reached it they all disappeared in flames.
Romeo and Juliet
Goodrich Castle, Gloucestershire
There are always some heart-warming yet tragic tales that come out of conflicts of any kind, and the Civil War is no exception.
Two young lovers from opposing sides of the war tried to escape the horror that was unfolding around them so that they could be together.
On the one side was a young Cavalier known as Charles Clifford based inside Goodrich Castle, on the other was Alice Birch, the daughter of Colonel Birch who was leading the Parliamentary forces besieging the castle.
Through sheer will and determination Alice managed to infiltrate the castle to join her lover. When the castle was surrendered the two of them fled on horseback through the Roundhead lines to the Wye.
Unfortunately the storm that had helped them make their escape had also swelled the river that they needed to cross and they drowned in their desperate bid to get to the other side.
On stormy nights their cries can still be heard over the rushing river.
Echoes of soldiers betrayed
Aust, South Gloucestershire
Many of the West Country's ghosts are linked with the English Civil War, with the ghosts of Roundheads and Cavaliers being reported at several locations.
Aust cliffs, where the soldiers met their end.
A particularly tragic tale concerns a group of Parliamentarians who were led astray by the ferryman at Aust, where the Severn Bridge has now replaced the centuries-old ferry.
The ferryman, a Royalist, was forced to take the group across the Severn, but he set them down just away from the other side on some rocks which only show at low tide.
Using his knowledge of the river the ferryman was able to get away before the incoming tide poured over the rock and swept the group away to their deaths.
Their screams and shouts can sometimes still be heard at Aust.
The Blacksmith
Nether Lypiatt, Thrupp, Nr Stroud.
The main entrance to Nether Lypiatt, the Gloucestershire home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent could not be more impressive, gated as it is by two decorative wrought iron gates.
The gates at the entrance to the house have a ghostly story to tell
But there is a sad story behind the iron creations, and it is not surprising that the creator still haunts the gates.
In 1704 Nether Lypiatt was owned by Judge Charles Coxe who presided over the case of a blacksmith who had been convicted of murder, or perhaps sheep stealing, and sentenced to the gallows.
But Judge Coxe had a little idea in mind and offered to repeal the blacksmith's sentence if he could make a perfect pair of gates.
Seeing a chance to escape execution the blacksmith worked day and night for two weeks to create the perfect pair.
But the Judge found the tiniest flaw in the gates and refused the reprieve, the blacksmith was hanged on January 25th and at midnight on this date the gates are said to fly open and the ghost of the shabbily-treated blacksmith appears riding a white horse.
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