Newstead Abbey was formerly an Augustinian priory. It was founded by King Henry II circa 1170, as one of many penances he paid following the murder of Thomas Becket. Contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey: it was a priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron.

 

The Abbey is reputedly haunted. The grounds are haunted by the apparition of a female believe to be the sister if William, the Fifth Lord Byron. She is said to wail loudly, still pleading for the reconciliation of her brother that she could not earn whilst alive.

 

Another female apparition, this one being a White Lady, has been sighted in the house. It is said that before she appears there is a sudden drop in temperature, and the smell of rose petals when she disappears.

 

The house is also haunted by the Black Friar, who was supposedly a portent of tragedy. A phantom black hound has been reported in the grounds.