england Gazetteer

St Mary-at-Hill is a Grade I listed building on Lovat Lane. The founding of the church dates from 12th century though it has been rebuilt and renovated many times since then. It was during one period of renovation that it became linked with Alice Hackney who’s body was found preserved after being buried for nearly two hundred years. Alice also reputedly haunts the church still. Read More »

31 December - A version of burning out the old year, locals walk down the street with blazing tar barrels on their heads. Some of these are then thrown to light a bonfire.

A holy well can be found here dedicated to St Non, as is a nearby church. As with many wells this one is reputed to heal, in this case madness.

The pub is reputed to be haunted by two ghosts. One is the tall ghost of a seaman, dressed in a naval coat, and the other is thought to be that of a coachman, who is seen standing looking out of the kitchen window. The hotel was an old coaching Inn, and was used by the local shipbuilders as a hostelry.

Appuldurcombe House is the impressive shell of a grand 18th century baroque style stately home of the Worsley family. Read More »

29th May - Is Arbor Day in Aston on Clun.  A Poplar tree in the town is bedecked with flags, they are left on the tree all year round.   The ceremony has been held each year at Aston on Clun since 1786 andprobablt dates back to 1660 when King Charles II declared a holiday in May called Arbor day following th erestoration of the monarchy.

Arbor Low is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Derbyshire. Surrounded by unspoiled countryside with fantastic views over classic Derbyshire scenery, it is not hard to image that one is thousands of miles away from the hubbub of modern life. Read More »

History, the ritual landscape and geometry once resonated very much as one. Faint traces of our ancestors whose silent whispers in the landscape once conveyed so much awe and splendour now sadly lie silent, their purpose and meaning largely forgotten, for in general there is a present day lack of any real sense of connectedness. Read More »

Armboth House was haunted following the drowning of the households daughter on the night before her wedding day. It is said that bells could be heard, a ghostly dog could be seen swimming in Thirlmere Lake (where she was murdered) and reception meal places laid out by some spirit, all taking place on the anniversary of that fateful night, which just happens to be Halloween. Read More »

Built as a home in 1760 by local merchant William Reeve, the seventy three bed-roomed Arnos Manor Hotel has a reputation of being haunted. The Arnos Manor has its own Chapel in which Nuns would ran a girls school. One of the reported ghost stories involves a nun who is suspected to have fallen pregnant. She reputedly committed suicide and was bricked up in a wall. Read More »

The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP) has been investigating the weird seriously (and the seriously weird) since 1981. Our main aims are paranormal research and education. Anomalous phenomena include psychic phenomena, UFOs, Forteana and earth mysteries. Read More »

The origins of Aston can be traced back to before the Domesday Book (1086-7) which shows the manor named as "Estone". Before the Norman invasion Earl Eadwin held the manor, then by 1086 it was controlled by William FitzAnsculf. This eventually passed into the hands of John atte Holte through marriage in 1367. The Holtes remained at Aston for the following two centuries. Read More »

There are still parts of this manor dating back 500 years, it was occupied early in its history by the Martyn family from 1350 to around 1600. The Martyn family were devoutly catholic and may have hidden priests within the house during the time England was under protestant rule. Priest holes, which are small secret recesses within walls, have been found which attest to this. Read More »

Raydale House is a 17th century building that has been largely rebuilt during the 19th century and, it was during the 19th century that it acquired a reputation of being haunted. Read More »

The stone circle and henge that surrounds the village of Avebury, is only one in a series of monuments concentrated in this small area. The site is a remnant of a ritual Neolithic landscape, which still survives although degraded with time and the actions of over zealous groups in past centuries. Read More »

This is a famous case within the annals of UFO history, but it must be stressed that the abduction scenario only emerged after hypnotic regression, which at best is highly unreliable.

On 27th October 1974 John and Alain Avis (pseudonyms) were driving home to Aveley with their three children, when they ran into a green fog. Read More »

On 11th January 1973, Peter Day, employed as a surveyor was driving towards Aylesbury when he witnessed an amber light near some tree tops about a mile away from his location, the object seemed to be pulsating.

Peter had a film camera with him at the time and managed to film the object, which was examined by Kodak and passed as genuine. Read More »

This concentric ring hillfort dates from the Iron Age, and according to archaeologists was built to stem an invasion from the Northeast of the country. Read More »

The hall is the oldest building in Whitby built in 1516. It is now a hotel said to be haunted by Browne Bushell, a former owner who was executed for piracy. He has been seen walking up the staircase, and has also been heard in the same place.

There has been other strange phenomena associated with the hall over the years, including poltergeist activity.

In Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain, By John H. Ingram, he mentions a paper by Miss Billington contributed to Merry England in 1883 concerning Bagley House near Bridport. The same article I am led to believe also appeared in the Dorset County Chronicle, August 1883. Her tale concerns Squire Lighte and his death. Read More »

Associated with a 700 year old tradition of horn blowing. The horn was sounded every night during the autumn and winter months. It was once a guide to travellers, who may have become lost in the great forests that surrounded the area.

Directions: Off the A684 to the East of Hawes. Or just listen for the horn.

The Laidly (Northumbrian for loathsome) worm was once a beautiful princess named Margaret, who lived in Bamburgh Castle. Her stepmother was a witch who, due to jealousy, cast a spell changing the princess into a huge worm. The worm’s breath caused vegetation to shrivel, and it demanded the milk of seven cows every day. Read More »

The Bank of England on Threadneedle Street is sometimes referred to as ‘The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’ and is reputedly haunted by the apparition of Sarah Whitehead, also known as ‘The Black Nun’. Read More »

The Bank-Monument Station complex is comprised of the two interlinked underground stations of Bank and Monument. The complex is the eighth busiest station on the London Underground network and it serves the Waterloo & City Line, Central Line, Northern Line, Circle Line, District Line and the Docklands Light Railway. Read More »

Does a phantom Avro Lancaster bomber haunt the skies over Barnoldswick? In 2004 a flurry of sightings were reported which led to a series of newspaper reports in The Craven Herald.  Read More »