Haddon Hall, perhaps the most simple and understated of English stately homes, is also one of the finest medieval manor houses in Britain. Nestled in the heart of the Peak District National Park, it certainly enjoys a picturesque setting, two miles south of Bakewell (known for its eponymous tarts) on the banks of the River Wye. In the mid-twelfth century the hall passed from its Norman founders to the Vernon family, who owned it for four hundred years until the most famous event in its history occurred. In 1558 the sole remaining Vernon heir, Dorothy, married John Manners, scion of another powerful family who later became Dukes of Rutland. Their union is commemorated in their joint tomb in Bakewell church, but the romantic story of their elopement may be apochryphal. Dorothy Vernon was 18 at the time and it is said that the couple eloped during the wedding of one of her sisters. There must have been some sort of reconciliation, as Dorothy and John later became owners of Haddon Hall. The hall has been owned by the Manners ever since then, but curiously enough has never been sold. The mansion fell into two hundred years of neglect from the start of the eighteenth century until the 9th Duke began restoring Haddon Hall when he moved there in 1912. No one quite knows the reason for the building’s neglect and seeming lack of interest to buyers – although this may have something to do with the fact that the ghost of Dorothy Vernon is said to appear there on a regular basis, usually seen on the steps leading up to Haddon Hall, as if being chased.
The Ghosts of Haddon Hall
7 Jun
- Comments 4 Comments
- Categories Haunted Houses, Haunting, History, Unexplained Mystery, Urban Legend
Welcome message
Thanks for stopping by!
I'm a writer and on this site you'll find samples of my work (which spans lots of genres including horror, comedy, mystery, thriller and fantasy) as well as book/film/music reviews, true stories, tall tales, urban legends and news of forthcoming publications. To follow me on Twitter or Facebook click on one of the links below.
Blog Stats
- 843,675 hits
Twitter Timeline
My TweetsLiddell’s Ghost
First Date
Ghost Walk
M R James
-
Ghosts of Christmas Past
‘There must be something ghostly in the air of Christmas,’ wrote Jerome K. Jerome in the introduction to his darkly comic collection Told After Supper (1891), ‘something about the close, muggy atmosphere that draws up the ghosts, like the dampness of the summer rains brings out the frogs and snails’. Dickens would no doubt agree, […]
-
M R James’s Suffolk
The macabre beneath the landscape is not dispelled by nearness to the sea. What Henry James knew, and described in English Hours (1905) – the strangeness present on a flattened seashore – M R James (no blood relation, although the two were acquainted) expressed in two of his best-known ghost stories: Oh, Whistle, and I’ll […]
-
A Warning to the Curious
Here’s a real festive treat. In 2000 the BBC produced a series called Ghost Stories for Christmas, with Christopher Lee in which Lee played M R James reading four of his own stories. Lee, who actually once met James, obviously enjoyed making this series and A Warning to the Curious is a real highlight – enjoy!
-
Lost Hearts
I have been haunted by the writings of M R James since childhood but when asked what is my favourite of all his ghostly tales I’ve never fully been able to answer. Lost Hearts, an early tale which apparently James didn’t much care for, and which only appeared in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary to […]
-
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Tractate Middoth
Here’s a real treat to conclude the series of Christmas ghost stories that I’ve been posting for the last few weeks – the BBC adaptation of The Tractate Middoth from just a couple of years ago. Fingers crossed they do another one this year!
Recent Posts
- The Haunted and the Haunters
- The Myth of London Stone
- Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected
- The Most Haunted Places in Dorset
- The doppelgänger effect
- The Highgate Vampire
- Mystery of the Mothman
- T G Jackson – Architect of the Gothic
- The Hollow Earth Theory
- The Black Reaper
- Kraken, Demon of the Abyss
- In Ghostly Company
- Ghosts of Christmas Past
- Shakespeare’s Dark Lady
- The Legend of Stingy Jack
- A Plague on Both Your Houses
- The Enid Blyton Affair
- The Mozart of the English Ghost Story
- The Three Investigators
- The Case of Gervase Fen
- The Travelling Grave
- The Demon Barber
- Lupercalia
- The Curse of La Llorona
Pages
Archives
Categories
M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |