Richard Cloudesley The Islington Ghost

The ghost of Richard Cloudesley is associated with the parish church of St Mary in Islington. The account of the haunting extracted below is taken from a publication entitled ‘The Islington ghost! A short account of the burial of a gentleman [R. Cloudesley] with a relation of several strange appearances which followed! (1842)’.

The ghost of Richard Cloudesley is associated with the parish church of St Mary in Islington. The account of the haunting extracted below is taken from a publication entitled ‘The Islington ghost! A short account of the burial of a gentleman [R. Cloudesley] with a relation of several strange appearances which followed! (1842)’.

‘Thus far concerning ghosts in general, we now proceed to speak of the Islington Ghost. When we consider that this was in our own immediate neighbourhood, we might well be filled with horror consternation and dismay, were it not for the assurance that this ghost is now laid. The name of the gentleman whose ghost caused such alarm was Richard Cloudesley. He was probably of the same family as William Cloudesley, an early benefactor to the parish and possibly descended from or in some way connected with William of Cloudesley, a famous archer and outlaw, who at an early period infested the northern counties of England. The aforesaid Mr Richard Cloudesley was an inhabitant of the parish of Saint Mary, Islington, and a considerable landed proprietor. He died in the year 1517 bequeathing to the parish an estate of fourteen acres (commonly called the Stonefield estate) which is situated in the Liverpool Road, Trinity Church standing upon a part of it. A window of this Church contains the portrait of Mr Cloudesley in painted glass, which we would respectfully urge our readers to examine upon the first opportunity. But we are imperceptibly diverging from our subject. Mr Cloudesley pursuant to the directions given in his last will, was buried in the yard of the parish church. The passage in which these directions are given reads thus. I bequeath my body after I am passed this present and transitory life, to be buried within the church yard of the parish Church of Islington, near unto the grave of my father and mother. The following epitaph was placed upon his tomb.

“HERE LYES THE BODY OF RICHARD CLOUDESLEY, A GOOD BENEFACTOR TO THIS PARISH, WHO DIED 9 HENRY VIII. ANNO DOMINI, 1517.”

All the provisions made by Mr Cloudesley for his repose, would seem from the testimony of a respectable writer, to have proved ineffectual. This author, after speaking of certain earthquakes, proceeds as follows:- “and as to the same heavings, or tremblements de terre, it is said that in a certain field, near unto the parish church of Islington, in like manner did take place a wondrous commotion in various parts, the earth swelling, and turning up every side towards the midst of the said field, and by tradition of this, it is observed that one Richard Cloudesley lay buried, in or near that place, and that his body being restless, on the score of some sin by him peradventure committed, did shew, or seem to signify, that religious observance should there take place, to quiet his departed spirit; whereupon certain exorcisers (if we may so term) them did at dead of night, nothing loth, using divers exercises at torch light, set at rest the unruly spirit of the said Cloudesley, and the earth did return near to its pristine shape, never more commotion proceeding therefrom to this day, and this I know of a very certainty”

The tomb of Mr Cloudesley, in consideration of his great benefactions, is kept in repair at the parochial expence. It was repaired, polished, and the letters restored in 1690, and again in 1733. In 1802 it is recorded to have been “repaired and reinsculpt”. The present inscription reads thus:-

We have thus endeavoured to lay before our readers the principal facts relating to the Islington Ghost; but our task Would be incomplete without “a practical inference.” Carefully guard, then, against incredulity on the one hand, and superstition on the other, always bearing in mind, that credulity is not the worst thing in the world, and that it is better to believe too much than too little. “In medio tutissimus ibis”.

Although the Islington Ghost was laid to rest, there was still talk of a ghost around St Mary’s at the end of the 19th century. The following article entitled ‘A Christmas Hoax’ was published in the Sheffield Evening Telegraph on Thursday 5 January 1899.

‘Some remarkable scenes were witnessed late on Tuesday night an in the early hours of yesterday morning outside St Mary’s Parish Church, Islington, in consequence of a rumour which had gained credence that a ghost was haunting the churchyard. Towards twelve o’clock a large crowd, the majority of whom were of the rougher class, assembled in Church Lane and the vicinity, and by shouts and cat calls managed to attract unwary passers-by, with the result that some of them lost their watches. Some police-constables tried to dissuade people from attempting to see the ”spook”, but the crowd instead of getting smaller, grew bigger. As many passers-by were molested a larger force of police were requisitioned to prevent a serious disturbance. The scene originated in a letter to a local paper, in which the writer said, “On Christmas night, while passing the old parish church, I was startled by seeing a figure in white standing in front of me. I stopped, when it seemed to vanish towards the church”.