The Ghost Wears Brown

Nothing much to report on the home front, Sunday was very quiet, a day for doing nothing in particular. Whilst Mike was out with Nathan on Saturday, they went into our small local supermarket and bumped into a close relative (close in the blood sense but not in other ways)   He peered into Nathan's stroller to say hello and Nathan promptly screamed the place down.  Takes after me that boy.  Everytime I see this relative, I want to scream the place down as well!

You left me in no doubts.  You want ghost stories!!!  I was amazed at how many of you asked me to continue in your comments so what better way to start a Monday morning.

This is Raynham Hall in Norfolk built in 1619:

For centuries this beautiful house has been haunted by the ghost of a woman dressed in brown. She is known as the Brown Lady of Raynham. She has been seen by a King and shot at by a well known author.

Nobody knows for sure who this spectre is but it is believed that it is the spirit of Lady Dorothy Walpole.  Dorothy was the sister of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister.

Dorothy's father was also called Robert and he was also a member of Parliament. He became guardian to a young Viscount, Charles Townshend when the boy was around thirteen years of age.  Charles and Dorothy grew up together and they fell in love.  However, they were forbidden to marry.  Dorothy's father was afraid that people would think that they were after the Townshend family money. All pleas failed. Dorothy's father would not be moved.

Charles left the Hall and later on he married the daughter of a baron.  Dorothy was distraught.  She left the Hall  and went to London and then on to Paris where she engaged in an endless whirl of parties before setting up home with a French Lord (a scandal in those times when a woman lived with a man without being married to him) and became the talkof society.

In 1711 news reached her that Charles Townshend's wife had died and she hurried home to Raynham where, at last, the lovers were reunited. One year later they were married.  For a while it would seem that nothing could mar their happiness but then Charles began hearing rumours of her past life which she had somehow managed to hide from him.  In a terrible temper he confined her to her rooms and ordered the servants to let no-one in to see her and not to let her out!

Dorothy remained in her rooms for ten years before dying at the age of 40. The official cause of death was given as smallpox but local rumour said she had been pushed from behind at the top of the hall's great staircase and died from her injuries.  These rumours grew stronger when servants from the hall revealed that her ghost was soon seen wandering the corridors.

In 1786, The Prince Regent, who was later to become King George IV was a guest at the hall.  He was awoken one night to find a woman wearing brown standing beside his bed.  Her face was ashen and she seemed distraught. The Prince fled and stormed through the house arousing everyone and trying to find out who she was and why she had awoken him.  No explanation could be given and the Prince refused to say one moment longer.

The family were very worried at having upset the royal personage and ordered that the servants undertake a nightly watch to see if anything occured.  A couple of nights later , some servants sighted the lady.  One of the men moved into her path to challenge her but she walked straight through him.  He said it was like an icy cloud passing through him.

At Christmas of 1835 the merrymaking at Raynham was cut short after several guests decided to leave early after seeing her. Colonel Loftus, brother of the then Lady Townshend bumped into her on several consecutive nights.  He said she was a stately woman dressed in a rich brown brocade dress and cap.  Her face, he said, was clearly recognisable from her portrait but instead of eyes she had black hollows.

The fame of the ghost spread and Captain Marryat wanted to see her. He did not believe, he scoffed at the very idea, but if she did exist, he wanted proof.  Captain Marryat was the author of "Mr. Midshipman Easy" and "Children Of The New Forest". On his first night he and two friends spotted her walking towards them down a corridor. They darted into a side room but the lady stopped directly opposite them and gave them a wicked grin. Marryat had brought his revolver with him and had it in his hand.  He fired a shot at the shape but it went straight through the still-smiling figure and smashed into the wooden door behind. Captain Marryat left the hall totally convinced.

The haunting continued.  Then in 1936 two professional photographers arrived at Raynham to take pictures of the house on the orders of Lady Townshend.  In September of that year they were setting up their cameras to take a shot of the grand staircase when one of them saw what seemed to be a cloud of mist or vapour which was taking human shape.  The other photographer could see nothing but acting on the instructions of his partner he immediately exposed the photographic plate.  When the picture was developed, the misty outline of a woman in a white gown and veil could be seen halfway down the stairs.

The plate was subjected to many tests to see if it was a fake but nothing could be found to suggest it had been tampered with in any way.  No explanation has ever been found for the picture.  Why should the lady have been wearing white?  It is suggested that Lady Dorothy had appeared wearing her wedding gown and veil exactly as she would have done all those many years earlier, on what was the happiest day of her life.

Is this her ghost?  Judge for yourself because here is the very picture:-

 

On a totally different subject.  Ladies, if you want to see some really hunky and handsome men then visit Suzy. She is doing a "top ten". She can be found at

An Average Life (and other stories)