Cold Ashton, Gloucestershire, England

Holy Trinity Church

The Manor House

The Manor House was the scene of a curious incident during the 1930’s. Lady Winifred Pennoyer (see Corsham, Wiltshire) stopped at the property after getting lost in the dark. The distinctive wrought iron gates were supported on either side by columns on which sat stone pineapples. She pushed open the gates and approached the front door. After ringing the bell, the door was opened by whom she assumed was a butler. He gave her the directions she required, and as a token of her appreciation she gave him half a crown. She then followed the directions are duly arrived at her destination.

 

On recounting the story the following day, her host recognised the description of the house from its gates. She drove Lady Winifred to the house where they found that the gates were chained shut and the building was empty, having been so for some time. On the doorstep she found the half-a-crown!

 

For further information, please read Haunted Britain by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe.

Location

Visitor Information

Cold Ashton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England.

The village church has a 14th-century tower and Thomas Key, its rector, rebuilt the rest of the church in the 16th century. In 1643 during the English Civil War Sir Bevil Grenville was injured at the Battle of Lansdowne and carried to the rectory at Cold Ashton, where he died.

Pictured left is Holy Trinity Church courtesy of BotMultichill. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.