How many of these haunting Nottingham Ghost Stories have you heard?
Take a ghostly walk with Cait Burton…
Newstead Abbey
Newstead Abbey plays host to numerous spirits, including The White Lady, The Goblin Friar, The Rose Lady and The Black Friar.
The White Lady is said to be the ghost of a devoted fan of Lord Byron. She can often be seen wandering through the gardens of the Abbey.
The Goblin Friar is described as a shapeless black mass with red glowing eyes. The Goblin Friar was said to speak to the head of the Byron Family before an unhappy event was to take place.
Whilst the Rose Lady has never been seen, her presence has been made felt through the scent of roses and lavender, particularly at the foot of the staircase in the Abbey.
The Black Friar was seen by a Doctor who was on the way to a house in Newstead Village, to aid a woman who was in labour. Lost on route, the Doctor stopped to ask for directions from a monk who was standing next to the fountains in the grounds of Newstead Abbey. The robed figure said nothing but pointed the Doctor in the correct direction. Upon explaining the experience, the Doctor was informed that there had been no monks at the Abbey for hundreds of years.
Nottingham Castle – Mortimer’s Hole
Mortimer’s Hole is a famous tunnel carved into the sandstone beneath Nottingham Castle. The passageway is said to play host to the ghost of Sir Roger Mortimer.
On October 19th 1330, Mortimer was staying at the Castle with his lover – Queen Isobel, following the pair’s murder of Queen Elizabeth’s husband Edward II. King Edward III entered the Castle through a network of tunnels, in search of revenge for his deceased father. Edward is said to have burst into his mother’s bedroom and seized Mortimer, who was then led away and kept imprisoned in the castle before taken to London and executed as a traitor.
George’s Hill, Calverton
Following a trip to Goose Fair, Mr Bardill was returning home at around midnight. Upon reaching the top of George’s Hill, Bardill noticed that ‘something’ came out of the shadows at his side. The figure is described as wearing a dark hat, which hid all of it’s features except for a large hooked nose. Round it’s neck was a large silver chain, below which there was nothing but a shapeless mass. Mr Bardill crossed to the other side of the road, but the figure followed him, moving in a strange gliding motion. Bardill quickened his pace, eventually breaking into a run, but the figure kept up with the pace seemingly effortlessly. The figure stayed with Mr Bardill for around three quarters of a mile, before disappearing into the night.
Since this occurrence, there have been numerous encounters with what appears to be the same figures, including an incident in which a lady saw the ghostly apparition sitting on the back seat of her car.
Galleries of Justice
Galleries of Justice is famed for being a court house which also saw many executions over the years. Numerous people have reported extreme drops in temperature, the sound of screams and strange lights all from within the building. The Galleries of Justice now plays host to many Ghost Walks and Vigils, during which, groups of people have reported seeing figures in doorways and noises coming from the caves beneath. It is no surprise that the building is seemingly haunted by tortured souls, considering the amount of misery and despair that the location has seen over the years.
