Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Monthly Archive: January 2015

Anniversary Ghosts / Apparitions / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

1 Yardley Road (Formerly The Castle Inn)

Now an Indian restaurant called Amaya, 1 Yardley Road was once The Castle Inn. This 17th century, Grade II listed building was described in Oliver Ratcliff’s almanac ‘Olney, Bucks’ (1907) as ‘one of the oldest inns of Olney and is supposed to stand upon the site of the old castle of Olney which stood in feudal times’.

Devil / Legends

The Two Brewers

The Two Brewers public house is a Grade II listed building which according to the 1907 ‘Olney, Bucks’ almanac by Oliver Ratcliff has a Devil legend associated with it. ‘There is an inn, called the Two Brewers, which he used to visit frequently, causing the host to play the fool and dance at his bidding.

Devil / Legends

Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Olney

According to ‘A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4’ (1927) ‘A church existed in the parish from a very early period, probably long before 1273, the date of the first known reference, but the present structure was built during the middle of the 14th century, the chancel being erected first and the other parts of the building some few years later.

Devil / Legends

Whirly Pit, Olney

Oliver Ratcliff gives the following legend concerning this pond in his ‘Olney, Bucks’ Almanack (1907). ‘At the north end of the town there is a pond known as the Whirly Pit. This was supposed to be bottomless and to be fed by some mysterious spring. It is a curious fact that it never show’s any signs of becoming dry.

Ancient Sites / Fairies / Folklore / Folktales / Scottish Fairies / Scottish Folktales / Wells

Tobar-na-glas a Coille (The Well in the Grey Wood)

‘This well lies near the old military road, near the top of the hill that divides the glen of Corgarff from Glengairn. In a small knoll near it lived a spiteful Spirit that went by the name of Duine-glase-beg, i.e., the Little Grey Man. He was guardian of the well and watched over its water with great care.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Hauntings

Dinton Castle

In 2012 the folly known as Dinton Castle was sold at auction and some newspapers (including the Daily Mail and

Ancient Sites

Aiggin Stone (Aigin Stone), Blackstone Edge

Roughly 600 years old, the Aiggin Stone is thought to be a medieval marker on the boundary between Yorkshire and Lancashire on what may have been a Roman road. Now standing about 4 foot in height, it was said to have originally measured 7 foot. There a few carvings in the stone, a cross and the letters I and T.

Folklore / Hauntings

St Bartholomew’s Church, Fingest

St Bartholomews Church is a Grade I listed building and dates back to the 12th century. There is a folk good luck custom associated with weddings at St Batholomews, where the groom is expected to lift his bride over the church gate after the ceremony. To ensure this is done the church gate is usually kept locked on such occasions.

Hauntings

Near Burnham Abbey

Burnham Abbey was originally a house for Augustinian nuns dating back to 1265. It was surrendered on 19 September 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then passed on through private ownership. The Abbey was a farm by 1719 and in 1916 was bought by The Society of the Precious Blood, Augustinian nuns in the Anglican Communion who remain there to this day.