Longleat House
Longleat House
Longleat House has been named the most haunted british mansion. This Location started off as a medieval priory, until it was bought and loved by a wealthy banker. He built the manor up to what it is today, sadly he died before he saw it complete but that didn’t stop him from roaming Longleat House today. This manor house now home to the wealthy Lord and Lady Bath has a history steeped in mystery, murder, secret love affairs and hidden chambers. It wasn’t until recently that a corpse was found under the flag stones, bringing one of Longleat’s legends to life.
Longleat House,
Warminster,
United Kingdom
Ghost Hunt at Longleat House
Ghost Hunting At Longleat House
Longleat House has been named the most haunted mansion in Great Britain. With a history of murder, executions and countless other deadly sins. Longleat House is thriving with constant paranormal activity.
The Corridors
Longleat House has paranormal activity reported from every corner, with most of its ghosts being sighted wandering around the whole of the house. Since the ghosts seem to go from room to room the corridors have a ton of activity going on there. There was a duel to the death in the Green Lady’s Walk coincidentally where the green lady is most sighted. There is also an angry spirit seen running up and down the corridor slamming and hitting doors. When the ghost isn’t seen you can hear it, with running heavy footsteps being one of the most common reports in Longleat House.
There are also some strange reports of a large glowing ball of light seen in the dead of night, floating up and the down the corridors then whooshing straight through a door into one of the adjoining rooms. There has also been a man seen walking up the corridors buried within the story of a book. He is seen to be wearing a distinctly high collar then walk straight through the door, into Sir John Thymes study.
Activity in the corridors is constant. These spirits dont seem to be bound to just one room. It does seem we have a number of intelligent hauntings and angry ghosts.
The Nursery
The Nursery for some reason seems to be residence to something dark and negative, with a strong history of violence towards the living. When people have tried to film this part of the building in particular, the film always comes out muddy or the power cords will be physically unplugged in a crucial moment. Along with tools disappearing.
It would seem whatever is in this room it does not like to be filmed, or indeed the presence of anyone. There is a feeling of being watched and overwhelmed. On one occasion again with a member of a filming crew. He was in the nursery alone and doing some general location shots when from nowhere he felt his faced being smothered as if with a pillow. He ran out of the room in extreme shock and had to take a break for a couple of days. He still states today that if he hadn’t of got out of that room, hes sure he would have suffocated.
Whatever is in here, defiantly needs to be investigated. But there has been similar reports all around the house, just not as strong as this incident.
The Red Library
The Red Library plays host to a particularly friendly old man, he is seen sitting by the fire and reading often. There is alot of activity around the bookshelves themselves, books fly from the shelves or just go missing altogether. There are also few reports of an old man walking through the shelves and if looking for something new to read. i can imagine that it would take 100s of years to finish getting through this extensive collection.
The Interior
The Building as a whole has a general steady stream of paranormal activity. The fact that the building itself hasn’t changed since the renaissance era, its countless ghosts are more active because they are still surrounded with the same things as they where in life. Beginning as a humble medieval priory, the building itself has had ghost stories for 100s of years.
Ghosts of Longleat House
Ghosts of Longleat House
. The Green Lady
. Sir John Thyme
. Bishop Ken
Longleat House has its stories, formed over 100s of years. With a location of this age and of this grandeur it attracted the attention of many a lord and lady. And ofcourse where there are old nobility present you can be sure to find scandal.
The Green Lady
The Green Lady is Longleat’s most famous and sighted ghost. Believed to be the spirit of Lady Louisa Carteret who was married to The 2nd Viscount Weymouth. Upon marrying the Viscount she moved into Longleat house and took all her servants with her, as was custom. One servant in particular was absolutely devoted to her, she noticed his qualities and therefore gave him better treatment than the others.
There are two separate accounts of what happened with the Lady and the servant. One states that the other servants got jealous of his treatment and made up a story of a love affair. The other relays that they had a love affair. Either way the Viscount found out and flew into a rage and met the Footman in a corridor outside the library, and so ensued a fierce duel. The count eventually killed the man, thrusting his blade into the footman’s heart. He then flung his victim down the stone steps.
Lady Louisa Carteret did not believe the story the count gave her, that her devoted manservant had suddenly fled. She searched both day and night for his body, sure her husband had killed him, but she never found his body. It wasn’t until very recently that the remains on the footman where found of a deteriorated footman’s uniform underneath the flagstone.
Lady Louisa caught phenomena and died at the age of 22 during childbirth. The Green Lady’s walk is the corridor where the footman was killed, and where the ghost of Lady Louisa is most often seen in a deep green dress. The sounds of a woman’s weeping sound through the halls in the night, and some have even seen her gliding up and down the corridors still searching for her servant.
Bishop Ken
Bishop Ken is the spirit associated with the activity and sightings within The Bishop Ken Library. He spent the last 20 years of his life in this library after being cast out of the church by the prodestant King William. He refused to renounce his catholicism just as he did for the king before that. After being shamed and cast out of the church by the crown The Viscount Weymouth gave the priest refuge In Longleat House.
So he spent 20 years here, writing divine poems and hymns. He was eternally grateful to the viscount. It would seem he loved the library so much that he never left however. And is still trying to read all of its books. He is described as a friendly ghost by the staff and Bishop Ken’s Library still maintains a warm and pleasant atmosphere. Just remember the bishops seat is the one by the fire.
Sir John Thyme
Sir John was the first occupant of Longleat house. He bought it for a meager 50 pounds sterling when it was just a run down medieval monastery. He spent the majority of his life turning the building into the masterpiece it is today. He was devoted to the building but unfortunately never lived to see it finished.
He is still seen walking through the house as an old man in his long black robes and distinctive black collar. He is frequently seen within his study or in the red library . He is seen most often walking through the corridors reading a book and with a smile on his face. Its not much of a surprise this haunting. When you have a person who loved a location this much in life they normally stay in death.
Longleat house has seen many other ghosts in the times since it opened to the public. There are reports of a headless man, thought to be an executed french rebel. Childrens laughter and apparitions thought to be from the time when Longleat House was a partial nursery, there are countless sightings of all manner of ghosts. Aswell as all manner of activity, both intelligent and residual. Longleat house stands proud and this beautiful home has earned the title of Britain’s most haunted Mansion.
Longleat House Location
The Ghost Of Longleat House
Inside Longleat House
Ghost On Camera Longleat House
Additional History On Longleat House
Longleat has worked hard to create a reputation as a major family attraction, with a plethora of theme park activities and the world-famous safari park, but at its core the estate still revolves around the superb Elizabethan country house.
The symmetrical three-story house was built by Sir John Thynne, who employed Robert Smythson (also responsible for Hardwick Hall) and French architect Allan Maynard. The house stands as a splendid focal point in the 900 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown.
Thynne finished his grand home in 1580, shortly before his death. Though the exterior maintains its exquisite Tudor facade, the interior has been much altered to follow the changing dictates of comfort and fashion. The great hall still boasts its Tudor hammerbeam roof and carved fireplace, but the rest of the furnishings are Victorian. Much of the interior decoration is in opulent Italian style, modeled after estates in Venice and Genoa. There are superb Flemish tapestries, but the collection of fine period furniture is even better. Fine art dating as far back as the 16th century hangs in gilded splendour on the lavishly decorated walls. The original long gallery (90 feet long) has been converted into a saloon.
The Marquis of Bath
One of the many “attractions” that lures visitors to Longleat is the possibility of meeting the colourful owner, the bohemian Marquis of Bath. The Marquis, aka Alexander Thynn, has been known to spontaneously pop out of his private quarters to lead groups around the home he loves.
Among the many purpose-built attractions which surround the house at Longleat are the world’s largest hedge maze, a miniature railway, a petting zoo, a mirror maze, Dr Who exhibit, Butterfly Gardens, Postman Pat Village, and Adventure Castle. The place of honour, however, goes to the Safari Park