Newstead Abbey

http://www.newsteadabbey.org.uk/

Newstead Abbey is located 12 miles north of Nottingham on the A60 and is also close to Junction 27 of the M1. If coming from the M1, follow the signs for Sherwood Forest until you see the brown signs for the Abbey.

Grounds are open daily (except last Friday in November and Christmas Day) from 9.00 am until 6.00 pm - or dusk, whichever is the earlier - (Please note, last ticket sales and entry are by 4.15 pm when the main gate closes).

The House is open on Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday - 12 noon till 5 pm (last admission 4pm).

Now everybody who want to know about horrible history and gruesome ghouls flock to the nearby Annesley Hall (when it is open for an event), but they are in the wrong place!

Newstead Abbey is very well hidden in the wonderful grounds and is said to be one of Nottinghamshires best kept secrets. Not only do you get to see and wonderful house and gardens - you also have the Abbey itself.

Before I tell you about our visit and our finding - which by the way is very interesting, you kneed to know some of the back ground. We have taken the information from the Newstead Abbey website - http://www.newsteadabbey.org.uk/

Newstead Abbey, best known as the former home of the poet Lord Byron, was originally an Augustinian priory founded by Henry II in about 1170. A small religious community existed there until Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1539. In the following year, Henry granted Newstead to the poet's ancestor, Sir John Byron, who converted the priory into a house for his family

Sir John Byron and his successors kept much of the monastic structure and layout so that, to this day, the house retains its medieval character. The most famous survival is the west front of the church, which dates from the late 13th century, with its statue of St Mary, to whom the priory was dedicated.

The monastic chapter house also survives and has been used as a chapel since the time of the Byrons.

Newstead remained in Byron family ownership until the poet sold it to Thomas Wildman in 1818. Wildman had inherited a fortune from plantations owned by his family in Jamaica.

He spent this wealth repairing and restoring Newstead, which was in a very poor state when he bought it. Like the Byrons before him, Wildman preserved the medieval style of the house. He employed the architect John Shaw to carry out alterations which blend well with the oldest parts of the building.

Likewise, Wildman filled the house with fine old tapestries, ancient armour and antique furniture in keeping with its long history.

Great Hall in Victorian periodIn 1861 William Frederick Webb, African explorer and friend of Dr David Livingstone, purchased the Abbey from Thomas Wildman's widow. Under Mr Webb, the chapel Augusta Webb portraitwas redecorated but the rest of the house remained largely unaltered.

After Mr Webb died in 1899, the estate passed to each of his surviving children and finally to his grandson Charles Ian Fraser. Mr Fraser sold Newstead to the Nottinghamshire philanthropist Sir Julien Cahn, who presented it to Nottingham Corporation in 1931.

We visited Newstead on the 1st May 2009.

The following statements are from the Museum assistants which were wonderful and very helpful - the best set of staff I have ever encountered.

"Last Friday (24th April 2009) I was cleaning the Charles II bedroom, as I was signing away to myself while I was dusting - I suddenly felt a strong pressence behind me!

I turned around to see little dancing lights - they looked like shimmering diamonds, there was nothing that could had caused this to happen".

The staff have also reported the overwhelming bad atmosphere and foul smells.

"We also had a problem the very same day with the lights switching on and off"

"The folly is not a nice place either, orgies and the most dispicable things took place there!"

After speaking to another member of staff Trish we learnt about the White Lady of Newstead and who has seen her, here is the story..

The White Lady, a former resident, can now be seen wandering through her beloved gardens...

A devoted fan of the poet Byron and his work, Sophie Hyatt came to live at a nearby farm.

She was very shy, being deaf and unable to speak, and would always hide away from approaching strangers by diving into any nearby bushes to avoid having to communicate.She always carried a slate on which to write if necessary.When the Wildmans learned how fond she was of Byron’s work they kindly allowed her to wander around the grounds whenever she wanted.

She was even allowed to take a dog Byron had left behind, for exercise on her walks.Sophie became known as the ‘Little White Lady of Newstead’ because she always wore light clothing.Sophie, unable to support herself, lived on an income provided by a relative. In 1825 the relative died and the money dried up

However, Sophie had another relative in America and decided that she must try to make contact to ask for help. She left a note for the Wildmans to let them know what she was doing and set off for Nottingham aiming to catch the stagecoach to London. She did not realise just how kindly the Wildmans thought of her. When Mrs Wildman read the note Sophie had left explaining her situation she spoke to her husband and they immediately dispatched a rider to catch Sophie and offer her accommodation in the grounds of Newstead for the rest of her life.The horse and rider set off in hot pursuit and reaching the Market Square found a great crowd gathered around a horse and cart outside the Black Boy pub. Ntrigued, the rider dismounted and pushed through the people to find Sophie lying on the ground – dead. She had been run over by the cart, not hearing the drayman’s warning.She can now be seen wandering through her beloved gardens, especially along one path now known as White Lady’s Walk.

The residents of the Sables (across from the house) have seen this spectre Sophia.

The rooks of Newstead

The rooks of Newstead were believed to be the souls of the 'Black Monks' as they were seen to observe the Sabbath...Washington Irving, the author of the famous American ghost story 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' stayed at Newstead in the 1800s.

He noted with interest that each morning the rooks would fly away, en mass, to sweep the countryside for food.

They would return in a similar manner in the evening, where their discussion of the days events would echo around the estate.

Irving was told that the rooks observed the Sabbath; they set out every day except Sunday, when they stayed in the abbey grounds.

He didn't believe this until he saw it for himself. Indeed it appeared that the rooks visited their neighbours and friends, devoting Sunday to their nearest and dearest, but didn't leave the estate.

Irving tells us that the local tradition had it that the rooks at Newstead were the souls of the 'Black Monks' reborn as birds, still occupying their old abbey.

Indeed so strongly was this belief held that, contrary to common country practice, the Newstead rooks were not shot, and were generally left unhindered.

The Goblin Friar of Newstead Abbey

The "Goblin Friar" was said to appear to the head of the Byron family before any unhappy event...

Shortly before his disastrous marriage to Anne Milbanke, Byron encountered the Black Friar of Newstead Abbey.

This ghost, also known as the "Goblin Friar", was said to appear to the head of the Byron family before any unhappy event. The poet recalls this meeting in his poem "Don Juan".

Lord Byron had several supernatural experiences in a bedchamber known as the Rook Cell. When sleeping here the poet was woken by the sensation of something mounting the bed.

On sitting up he was confronted by a shapeless black mass, featureless apart from two red glowing eyes. The apparition rolled from the bed onto the floor and disappeared.

Lord Byron also is said to have seen a mysterious column of white vapour rising from the floor, which vanished without trace.

The Rose Lady of Newstead Abbey

 

The Rose Lady

 

A strong Victorian scent of roses and lavender lingers in the air at the bottom of a staircase in the Abbey...At one certain place in Newstead, where a passageway crosses the bottom of a staircase there is often a strong, heavy, Victorian scent of roses and lavender.

No-one has actually been seen but there are numerous stories of people smelling the perfume. It is only in a small area and can vanish as suddenly as it appears.

The staff at Newstead often put on Ghost Tours and one night were doing just that with various members of staff dressing up to re-enact some of the ghostly goings on at the Abbey. The Rose Lady was not on the schedule – but she had other ideas.

All of a sudden the whole group of people who were being shown round on the tour became aware of a very strong scent of roses and lavender. They were convinced it was just another one of the staged effects and would not believe there was anything out of the ordinary, but the staff knew otherwise!

The Black Friar of Newstead Abbey

 

A black robed friar says nothing but points a lost doctor the way to a pregnant lady about to give birth...There are many stories about appearances of the Black Friar or Monk.

In some he seems to be a portent of doom but in this one he shows a more sympathetic side of his nature.In the 1930s the wife of a houseowner in Newstead village was due to give birth.

Her husband telephoned the doctor to come to the house as soon as possible. It was some time before the medic finally appeared and the husband remarked that he was only just in time.

"Where have you been – you’re so late" he chided.

The doctor replied that he would have been later still if he hadn’t stopped by a waterfall in the grounds of Newstead Abbey and asked the way of a monk who was standing there. The black robed figure said nothing but pointed in the right direction. There had been no monks at the Abbey for hundreds of years.

Little Sir John, The Roller and other yarns...

 

Little Sir John is seen sitting in the library after his death, a heavy roller mysteriously moves around the gardens and smoke drifts through the air...

There were two Sir John Byrons who occupied Newstead Abbey. The second, who lived there in the middle of the 17th century, was known as ‘Little Sir John with the Great Beard’. By a strange quirk of fate this Little Sir John died on the very same day as his wife, just a few hours later.

Soon after, the servants refused to go into the library of Newstead because the master could be seen sitting in his chair in front of the fire, smoking his pipe and reading a book.

This went on for six months at which time, for no apparent reason, the apparition vanished and was not seen again.

The Roller

One of the owners of Newstead was a Colonel Wildman who live there in the mid 19th century. One night he was awoken by the sound of a great roller being dragged over the gravel outside the house. The next morning he enquired of his head gardener why it had been necessary to keep working through the night...

The gardener denied all knowledge of any work being done and told the Colonel that all the gardening equipment was safely locked away for the night.

When they went into the grounds to investigate what might have happened they spotted the gigantic roller, which took two men to haul it around, had mysteriously been moved to the other side of the grounds and padlocked to a gatepost.

The Cavalier

There have been several reports of smoke or mist issuing from floors in the house, sometimes in a column, sometimes filling a room.

At one time a member of the Newstead staff saw what appeared to be smoke billowing out from a door just along the corridor from where the scent of the Rose Lady is smelt. Thinking the room was on fire, she went in and found – nothing!

In the room facing the doorway was a large mirror – and in that mirror was seen the reflection of a Cavalier, with his sword and feathered hat.

The Ghost Tours with staff in costume had not been introduced at that stage and there were no Cavalier outfits in the house.

Things that go bump – at any time!

Not long ago a member of the Newstead staff, Maisie Hammond, was looking for a colleague before the Abbey was due to open to the public for the day.

She walked from the front door, through the Cloisters and turned in the Beckett Room where she bumped into someone.

Turning to apologise she was amazed to see that she had walked through a brownish shape which then disappeared through the doorway, leaving the usually pragmatic Northumbrian lady feeling decidedly intimidated and shaken.

Another member of staff had a similarly disturbing experience when she was descending the short spiral staircase from the two rooms comprising Byron’s bedroom and dressing room, the cell the Black Monk is most often reputed to haunt.

As she came downstairs, she became aware that ‘something’ was following her and then had the sensation that whatever it was passed right through her.

(with thanks to http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/citylife/ghostsandlegends/newstead_index.shtml for the stories).