Oundle, Northamptonshire, England
Lyveden New Bield
The Drumming Well
There used to be a well here, from which could be heard a drumming noise beating out a tattoo, which was said to portend some great event. It was heard before the deaths of Charles II and James II. The well has now been covered but is commemorated in the name of Drumming Well Lane (behind the Talbot Hotel).
For further information, please read Haunted Britain by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe.
Lyveden New Bield
Lyveden New Bield is an unfinished Elizabethan summer house and a Grade I listed building. It is owned by the National Trust. It was constructed for Sir Thomas Tresham, noted as the fervent Roman Catholic of Rushton Hall. It is thought to have been designed by Robert Stickells around 1604–05.
The house is reputedly haunted by a long-faced, bearded man that looks out of one of the upper windows. However, there are no floors in the building.
The grounds surrounding the shell are also supposedly haunted. The Middle Garden is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of Scottish soldiers of the 43rd Highland Regiment who were captured there without bloodshed by the King's Men in 1743. It is said that on stormy nights, their pipes and drums can be heard.
Pictured left is Lyveden New Beild courtesy of Nigel Stickells.
Lyveden New Bield,
near Oundle,
Northamptonshire,
PE8 5AT.
For further information, please read Haunted Britain by Richard Jones and Ghosts: Mysterious Tales from the National Trust by Sian Evans.
The Talbot Hotel
The hotel (pictured left courtesy of Brian Whittle) originally dates from 636. It is famous for its New Street and inner courtyard facades, which were built with stone from Fotheringhay Castle in 1630.
The stone mullion windows and timber staircase overlooking the inner courtyard are, reputedly, also from Fotheringhay Castle. The staircase is believed to be that which Mary Queen of Scots descended on route to her execution at the castle on 8th February 1587.
Local history has it that a mark on one of the staircase’s newel posts is an imprint of the queen’s ring.
Consequently, the ghost attached to the stairs is believed to be Mary herself. A woman has been seen looking from one of the windows that came from Fothinghay Castle. Other phenomena include a chilled, uneasy sensation on the stairs and some lying in bed at night have felt a weight on them. Furniture is sometimes moved.
The Talbot Hotel,
New Street,
Oundle,
Northamptonshire, PE8 4EA.
For further information, please read Haunted Britain and Ireland by Richard Jones and Britain's Haunted Heritage by J A Brooks.
Location
Visitor Information
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England.
It is situated 68 miles north of London and 12 miles southwest of Peterborough.
Pictured left is Lyveden New Bield courtesy of Wehha. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
