Haunted Swintsy Hall in North Yorkshire is home to England manager Gareth Southgate and a terrifying ghost story, says RICK HALE
Regardless of your personal beliefs, the seven deadly sins have dominated human behaviour since before history began.
One of those sins, greed is quite possibly the most insidious of them all. As greed can lead normal men to commit dark deeds in the quest for money and power.
Take Henry Robinson for example, a 17th century London man, whose unbridled greed not only led him to commit unthinkable crimes.
But also may have led to one of the most unusual hauntings in the history of British ghostlore.
Henry Robinson’s Dark Deeds
According to legend, Henry Robinson took leave of his home in Fewston, outisde of Leeds, and set out to London seeking the only thing that could sate his wanderlust, wealth and power.
After a long journey, Robinson reached his destination, but instead of finding opportunity, he found a charnel house of death.
In 1603, London was in the throes of a great plague that killed tens of thousands of it’s citizens, from the great to the small. Not a single soul was safe from this killer.
Undoubtedly, Robinson was more than likely crestfallen by what he found.
Nevertheless, as he walked the stinking, disease ridden streets of the capital city, he came to the conclusion that he could turn all this death and misery to his advantage. In the most ghoulish way possible.
After night fell, Robinson went from house to house, and regardless of the putrefying remains he found in the darkness of the houses of the damned, Henry Robinson stole everything of value he could find.
Money, clothing, valuable gems and gold found its way into Henry Robinson’s cart.
And after looting the dead for everything they owned, Robinson fled to Washburn Valley in Yorkshire.
When he got there he took his ill gotten gains, purchased the Swintsy Estate and built Swintsy Hall.
However, old Swintsy Hall was not necessarily built out of want, but rather out of need.
Robinson Returns Home
With his new found wealth, Robinson returned home and discovered the disease that ravaged London had followed him home. And not just the plague, but the ghosts of the people he robbed as they lay dying a horrific death
The ghosts of his victims tormented Robinson night and day, never giving him rest from their onslaught of terror.
And rightly so, in my humble opinion. How could anyone not seek a little vengeance from beyond the grave?
Although wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, Robinson found himself homeless and slowly going mad.
His friends and family had discovered the horrific crimes he had committed and refused to give him any aid.
As far as they were concerned, Henry Robinson had brought this curse down upon himself and his people. Unforgivable to say the least.
Mad with desperation and probably a bit of guilt for good measure, Robinson did the only thing he could think of.
He took the gold and gems that his larceny obtained down to Greenwall Spring and did his best to scrub it clean of both disease and ghosts.
Satisfied this worked, Henry Robinson built Swintsy Hall.
Swintsy Hall Today
Today, Swintsy Hall sits as a gem upon the high banks of Swintsy Reservoir, a man-made waterway just west of Harrogate.
And although the house is certainly lovely, Robinson’s mad scrubbing couldn’t rid it of the psychic black stain that built it over 4 centuries ago.
A Most Unusual Haunting
Swintsy Hall is a private home and owned by Engand’s national football manager and former player, Gareth Southgate and his family.
Not long after moving in, the Southgates discovered they shared their sprawling estate with the ghost of the man who built it, Henry Robinson.
The apparition of Henry Robinson is regularly seen lugging a heavy sack over his shoulder as he makes his way to Greenwall Spring.
When he reaches the spring he dumps his burden into the spring and continues to try and clean away his evil.
If anyone approaches him they seem the look of lunacy in his eyes and he vanishes from sight.
Furthermore the wispy ghost of Henry Robinson is seen wandering the Halls of Swintsy Hall. A feeling of desperation and guilt is said to follow him wherever he goes.
