Jules travels - Owlpen Manor

Official site: www.owlpen.com

Owlpen Manor

Location: Uley, Gloucestershire, England.

Built: Grade I listed, 1450, the deeds go back to 1210.

Ghostly manifestations: The grey lady ~ Queen Margaret of Anjou. There are some reports of a hooded figure' or Black Monk' who is said to haunt Owlpen. Some say he is Bartholomew de Olpenne whose family owned the manor in the 1100s, and who was walled up and starved to death in the manor. His bones were found but apparently crumbled to dust when the space came to light. A ghost of a mischievous child has been seen looking out of one of the windows when the house was empty.

Ghostly anomalies: Poltergeist activity in the attic presumably caused by the ghost of a wizard or alchemist, hooded figure, footsteps on the staircase, ghostly scents.

My visit: I couldn't wait to go to Owlpen Manor and actually be able to walk around this fantastic tudor house. I had to prize myself away from 'The Cyder House' the manors medieval restaurant that served home-cooked gourmet meals, you could also have a cup of tea out in the grounds. The interior of the manor was quite small, the living room area was 'shall I say, cosy' I could have lived there no problem. It was just like a normal home, books and CD's about the place, family photos etc. At last I reached the haunted bedroom, Margaret of Anjou's room, she is said to appear as a 'lady in beautiful clothes' as she drifts through the rooms in the house. Her bedroom was reminicant of my own, books on haunted houses in Britain surrounded the bed, newspaper cuttings of stories of spooky goings on, everything was left lying around for you to flick through. There was also a plethora of volumes and encyclopaedias about Owlpen Manor that was very impressive indeed.

Anyway, I didn't bump into Margarets spirit that day.

History: Owlpen Manor was the home to refugee children who had been removed from major UK cities during WWII.

Queen Margaret of Anjou first visited Owlpen in 1471 she was the wife of Henry VI, she had stayed at Owlpen in 1471 and spent her last happy night before her defeat, exile and eventual widowhood. Her ghost is said to frequent the building.