Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: United Kingdom

Apparitions / Hauntings / Other Mysteries

The Living Apparition of Rev. Dr. Hugh Astley, Vicar of East Rudham

On 26 December 1908 an apparition was witnessed outside the vicarage in East Rudham. The apparition, witnessed by several people was identified as Rev. Dr. Hugh Astley, the Vicar of East Rudham. Astley had recently been in a railway accident, bt was not dead, so this was a strange experience involving the apparition of a living person, known all three witnesses.

Apparitions / Hauntings

St. Wilfrid’s Parish Church, Calverley

St. Wilfrid’s Parish Church is a Grade II listed building, the earliest parts of which date from the 11th or 12th century, though there may have been an earlier structure on the site.

Apparitions / Hauntings

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)’.

Hauntings / Poltergiests

Monkton Heathfield Ghost (1923)

The following article entitled ‘Lively Christmas “Ghost”’ was published in the Dundee Courier on Monday 24 December 1923. ‘Occupants Driven From Their New Home. Owner Struck On The Neck With Orange.

December / Festivals

Hull Christmas Traditions

According to ‘County Folk-Lore Volume VI – Examples of Printed Folk-Lore Concerning The East Riding of Yorkshire (1911)’ edited by Eliza Glutch. ‘On Christmas morning in Hull the children come in droves, pealing at your door-bell in order to wish you "a merry Christmas." The following is a favourite doggerel:

Folklore

Church of St. Andrew, Bugthorpe

It has been suggested that burying someone face down is a sign of disrespect for the deceased and a way to possibly humiliate them. One such burial may have taken place in Bugthorpe (or Buckthorpe) Churchyard according to Rev. J. W. Appleford in his 1880 book ‘A Brief Account of the Parish and Church of St.

December / Festivals / Folklore

East Yorkshire News Year’s Traditions

The following New Year traditions from East Yorkshire were published in ‘County Folk-Lore Volume VI – Examples of Printed Folk-Lore Concerning The East Riding of Yorkshire (1911)’ which was edited by Eliza Glutch.

All peacock feathers must be thrown out before New Year’s Day, or else you will have ill luck.
 

English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales

Priory Church of St Mary, Bridlington

The Priory Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building and stands on the site of an Augustine Priory founded in 1113 and dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. There is a story associated with the Priory Church and the name for Bridlington folk, Bolliton (or Bollington, Burlington) Jackdaws”