Gloucestershire is one of England’s most haunted regions. MICHELE EVE, from Mystical Times Blog, shares some of her favourite haunted tales with us.
The county of Gloucestershire sits in the South West of England and has some interesting landscapes, the rolling hills of the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean and the fertile valley of the River Severn. It has an abundance of history and many tales of ghosts that roam the county.
Dodington Park
At the edge of the south Gloucestershire village of Dodington, there is Dodington Park, a private estate which has a beautiful country house called Dodington House was built along with a church, St Mary’s, and several other large outbuildings.
It was in 1974 that rising damp was found in parts of St Mary’s church and to remedy the damp, the tomb of Lady Georgiana Codrington had to be opened. She died in 1881. It was after her tomb had been opened, that piano music was heard in her family home of Dodington House. The piano music was heard by her great grandson as well as visitors to the house and those who worked there.
During an International Police Federation dinner event at the house, the candles began to flicker and the sound of a piano playing Chopin was heard by all of the 80 attendees.
There are said to be underground tunnels that connected Dodington House to St Mary’s church and one of the openings of the tunnels was to be found in the family vault, where Lady Georgiana Codrington tomb was.
Lady Georgiana Codrington was also said to have been a gifted pianist during her life.
Garricks Head Pub, Cheltenham
The Garricks Head pub in Bath Street, Cheltenham (which is now a cocktail bar) used to have a broken and out of tune piano in its bar but visitors to the pub would hear piano playing, in pitch perfect tones.
It was often remarked that the pian0 was being played ‘magnificently’ and it was heard by the sober customers, not just the drunk ones.
But it wasn’t just the piano that was being played. There were also sea shanties, played by fiddles and concertinas and sometimes, there would be the sound of an orchestra playing. It was said that the pub was built on the land where a theatre once stood.
The Old Bell in Dursley, Gloucestershire
The Old Bell in Dursley, Gloucestershire is a 15th century inn and has a rich history so it’s no surprise it is said to be very haunted.
Room 6 is said to be haunted by a young chambermaid who is said to have hanged herself in that room. She had been pregnant and her soldier lover refused to marry her.
It was in 1970, when a male guest, who was staying in room 6, asked for an early call before he retired to his room, as he had an important meeting to attend that day.
He was woken up the next morning by a voice outside his door “It is 8 o’clock” but he didn’t get up straight away, just dozed a little. Around 15 minutes later. The voice outside his door said “It’s 8.15”, to which the guest got ready and went downstairs. He was a little confused as there was no one else around. He then found a wall clock and the time on the clock said it was 3am!
It was later that morning that the guest spoke to another guest who worked in Dursley and told him what had happened. The male guest didn’t stick around any longer than he had to and by all accounts, never attended the meeting.
The then landlord of the Old Bell was in the kitchen with his wife when the old fashion call bell system rang and it rang the room 6 bell. The strange thing was that none of the bells were connected to the system anymore.
The Mill Inn at Withington
The Mill Inn at Withington, near Cheltenham, is a picturesque pub near to the river Coln. In 1990, the landlord had locked up the pub and looked through the window and saw the ghostly figure of an elderly lady sitting by the fireplace.
He said he and his team had checked all over the pub before locking up so feeling a tad unnerved, he ran towards the passageway to his living accommodation and decided to take one last look.
The figure was now standing up but was not alone. She had two males figures standing either side of her. He said she was around 4ft 6” tall, wearing a wide brimmed hat that had a veil, which covered her face. The landlord ran even faster to his home and locked and bolted himself in.
A new landlord took over the running of the pub but hadn’t seen the ghostly woman figure but one of his staff stated she had seen an elderly couple, sitting at the bar and when she told the couple they were closing the pub, they took no notice of her, so she repeated it was closing time so they had to leave. It was then the couple disappeared from sight.
There had been reports of an elderly lady who sadly had drowned in the river Coln and it is thought it could be this lady that is said to haunt the pub.
MICHELE EVE is a blog writer of her own paranormal encounters and a collector of others spooky experiences. She has a deep interest of all things paranormal, especially in her adopted county of Gloucestershire. She also writes about folklore, strange deaths and burials, which can uncover some very strange backstories.You can find her at the Mystical Times Blog website www.mysticaltimesblog.com
