Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Greater London

Other Mysteries

Elizabeth Siddal’s Grave

Elizabeth Siddal was an artist and a model, who posed for many of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. A mystery arose following her death, as her grave in Highgate Cemetery was opened and her body, though dead for seven years, was said not to have decomposed at all, which has even led to speculation in some quarters that she was undead.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Pond Square Chicken, Highgate

Pond Square in Highgate has the reputation of being haunted by the apparition of a chicken. Not just any fowl though, this chicken is rumoured to be the worlds first frozen chicken which participated in the final fatal experiment of Sir Francis Bacon, Viscount of St.

Apparitions / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Gatehouse, Highgate

There were three main entrances each with a tollhouse leading into the Bishop of London’s Park of Haringeye and The Gatehouse was the tavern at the Highgate entrance. (The Spaniards Inn ,Newgate and East Finchley being the others).

Apparitions / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Flask Tavern

The Flask Tavern dates back to the 17th century and has served the likes of Karl Marx (born 5 May 1818 – died 14 March 1883), William Hogarth (born 10 November 1697 – died 26 October 1764) (painter) and Dick Turpin (born 1705 – died 7 April 1739) (highwayman) who is said to have been hidden there for a while.

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Folklore

Swearing on the Horns

Between the 17th and 19th centuries there was a folk custom in the Public Houses and Inns of Highgate known as the ‘Swearing on the Horns’.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Walpole House, Chiswick Mall

Walpole House on Chiswick Mall was the home of the courtesan Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (Barbara Villiers) (born November 1640 – died 9 October 1709), former mistress of King Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685).

Anniversary Ghosts / Apparitions / Hauntings

St Batholomew the Great Parish Church

Founded in 1123 by Rahere, a jester/minstrel in the court of King Henry I (1068 – 1 December 1135), making this one of the oldest churches in London. Originally established as an Augustinian Priory Church, its nave was demolished in 1539 when King Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monastery’s.

Apparitions / Hauntings

The Nun of Covent Garden

Covent Garden (or Convent Garden) was a 40 acre area owned by the Abbey of Westminster that was used as a market garden in the Middle Ages. It was managed through the issuing of leases by the Abbot of Westminster until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VII between 1536 and 1541, when it was taken by the state and eventually passed into the private ownership of the Earl of Bedford.

Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

Ye Olde Axe, Hackney Road

Managing to cater for multiple tastes by being a combination of a traditional pub, nightclub and a strip joint, Ye Olde Axe at 69 Hackney Road is a Grade II listed, three story, Victorian pub (circa 1850) which has been described as one of the ‘odder venues’ in Shoreditch. However, in 1979, buried bodies were discovered by workmen and it also gained a reputation of being haunted.

Apparitions / Haunted Hotels / Hauntings

Dean Street Townhouse

69 Dean Street is a Grade II listed, 18th century four storey Georgian Townhouse. It is currently called the Dean Street Townhouse, a new nine bedroom hotel and restaurant, which opened on 24 November 2009. Prior to being opened as a hotel, 69 Dean Street was home to the Gargoyle Club which had a reputation of being haunted by one of King Charles II famous mistresses, Nell Gwyn (Gwynne).