My latest book is called "Ghosts of England on a Medium's Vacation" (by Rob Gutro) and conveys
all of the ghosts I met as I traveled throughout England. There are a LOT more ghosts in England that I did not (yet) meet, and this story from the East Anglian Daily Times provides an interesting story about a ghost in Suffolk, U.K. - Rob
Weird Suffolk, U.K.: “The Great Troubler” of Walberswick
PUBLISHED: 16:30 30 November 2018
WEIRD SUFFOLK: Lodge Road, Walberswick Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN
Many claim that Walberswick is the most haunted village in not only
Suffolk, but England – even author George Orwell had his own tale to
tell about this coastal corner of the county when he spied a spectre in
the churchyard.
But today’s story doesn’t involve ghosts in the
churchyard or Black Shuck the devil dog, or even the famous Walberswick
Whistle which haunts the very air of the village: today we tell the tale
of John Brooke, better known to those who knew him as The Great
Troubler.
Close to the outskirts of the village is
Westwood Lodge, a building which dates back to the 16th century on a
site which has been used as a dwelling site for a further two centuries.
In 1391, the Manor of Westwood belonged to the Duke of Suffolk, Michael
de la Pole and since then it has welcomed many other families,
including the Hoptons, the Blois and the Brookes, who lived in the manor
in the early 1600s.
John Brooke was a wild, difficult man who could not stop himself from
meddling in local affairs, including enclosing the common land near the
manor house. Additionally, he was a tyrannical master who treated those
in his employ with bitter cruelty, including his faithful horse.
No one was distraught, therefore, when in 1652, aged just 26, Brooke The Great Troubler, met his maker.
He
had set off to Blythburgh to pass judgement on some unfortunates in
court when he experienced a sharp pain – but, unwilling to delay his
journey and keen to continue to court, he carried on his journey: “I’ll
get to Blythburgh or die trying!” he exclaimed.
And indeed, John Brooke did die trying.
His
young widow Jane married Sir William Blois and Westwood Manor remained
in the possession of the Blois family until fairly recent times – it
was, some believed, a decision which infuriated an already angry man
from beyond the grave.
John Brooke’s spirit was said to ride
furiously up and down the corridors of the manor house, creating such
terror that the inner room to the master bedroom, which is where the
hauntings were said to begin, was bricked up.
In 1865, when
alterations to the manor led to it being opened up, it was said that
workmen found just two objects: a saddle and a whip, both of which were
burned with great ceremony and to great effect: the hauntings ended.
The
East Anglian Magazine in 1961 also recalled a tale of ghostly footsteps
and the spectral figure of a woman in a silk dress in the, both of
which were reported by a Mrs Browne, the wife of a farmer living at the
lodge, who reported hearing the ghostly pacing in the oldest part of the
house at night, but said they were even more pronounced at noon.
A
gardener at Westwood Lodge also told a similar tale: “We see’d a woman
with a silk dress on, that’s what we see’d. My mother see’d it often. We
lived over the dairy, me mother an’ me, and she see’d the ghost come
out of Mrs. Cooper’s study…” (a tenant farmer named Cooper is listed in
Whites Directory of Suffolk, 1844).”
In October, 1972, three
policemen held an all-night vigil on the premises, having been told that
“a lady in a long silver dress” had been seen numerous times over six
decades, both in the grounds and on the track outside.
According
to the policemen, at 1.20am, a length of cotton which had been taped
across the entrance hall was found to have been dislodged and dull thuds
were heard deep inside the house before a sudden drop in temperature
and a feeling of electricity in the air. Although the men reported
feeling as if they were being watched, they saw nothing, despite hearing
several more dull thuds. They left at 4am.
In a follow-up letter
in The Lantern, Robert Collins said he had been at the investigation
with the policeman, which had been recorded: “Regarding the reported
tape-recording, I heard this the following day and was present when P.C.
Lincoln made it,” he wrote.
“Unfortunately there were some rather
obscene words as P.C. Evans fell over and the noises occurred as these
took place, hence the reluctance to publicise it. P.C. Evans and I went
along to the lodge, to be very truthful, for the fun of it, but I don’t
mind telling you it was one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve ever
had in my life!”
Source:
https://www.eadt.co.uk//news/weird-suffolk-great-troubler-walberswick-ghosts-westwood-lodge-1-5801996
