Brown Lady of Raynham
DOROTHY, VISCOUNTESS TOWNSHEND,
1686-1726
NEE LADY DOROTHY WALPOLE
Selected Extract From "Ghosts of East Anglia"
The ghost of the Brown Lady, so called because she is always seen on the staircase and in the corridors of Raynham Hall wearing a brown brocade dress, haunts this 16th century Hall. The Brown Lady has been identified as Dorothy Walpole from a portrait that hangs in the hall. She was the daughter of Robert Walpole, one-time Member of Parliament for Houghton, in Norfolk, and sister of the more-famous Sir Robert Walpole, the 18th century Prime Minister.
Dorothy is said to have fallen in love with the Second Viscount Townshend but her father, who was Lord Townshend's guardian, refused his consent to their marriage because he felt that if he did agree it would be misconstrued by other parties that he was using his guardianship in order to gain an advantage for his daughter. Lord Townshend eventually married the daughter of Baron Pelham of Laughton, but became a widower in 1711. Shortly afterwards he finally married the love of his life, Dorothy Walpole.
However, in the meantime Dorothy Walpole had become the mistress of Lord Wharton, a well-known profligate, who had to leave the country rather suddenly after building up a pile of debts. It was after his marriage to Dorothy Walpole that Lord Townshend learned of his wife's previous conduct with Lord Wharton and ordered that she be kept locked in her apartments at Raynham Hall. She died at the age of 40, on 29th March, 1726, officially of smallpox but there were those who said that she had died of a broken heart, or even a broken neck after either falling, or being pushed down the Grand Staircase. It is believed that she returns to Raynham Hall in search of her children, from whom she had been parted by her husband, after he had learned about her affair with Lord Wharton.
In 1836, the author Captain Marryat was staying at Raynham Hall and asked his host, Lord Townshend, if he could sleep in the room from which the Brown Lady was said to appear. As he was about to retire to bed for the night, two young men, relations of Lord Townshend and fellow-guests in the house, called into his room and said that they wished to discuss a gun that they intended using the following day whilst out on a shooting party. Captain Marryat accompanied them both to their room. A few minutes later, whilst all three were returning along the corridor to Captain Marryat's room, joking that the gun would protect them from the Brown Lady, they saw a female figure advancing towards them, carrying a lamp. As she drew nearer, Captain Marryat, dressed only in his trousers and vest, realised that he had seen the woman before, in a portrait that hung in his room. The three men could see that she was dressed in a brown brocade dress. As she passed them she looked straight at all three "in such a diabolical manner" that they became scared.
By this time all three realised that the figure that was passing them was the ghostly Brown Lady and Captain Marryat pulled the trigger of the gun. The bullet went straight through the figure, which disappeared just after the shot was fired, and was later found embodied in a door immediately behind where she had been.
In 1849, a Major Loftus (Loftus was married to Elizabeth Townshend, daughter of George, 1st Marquess Townshend) was spending a few days at Raynham Hall and was having a game of chess one evening with a friend called Hawkins. After finishing the final game they decided to retire to bed and proceeded upstairs. As they were wishing each other goodnight, Hawkins pointed to the figure of a woman standing by one of the doors in the corridor. What astounded the two men was the old-fashioned clothing she wore. As they stood staring at her, the figure slowly vanished. The following night the Major saw the apparition again, this time face to face, and he was startled to see that her eye-sockets were empty, totally devoid of eyes. As a result of these two experiences a number of servants gave in their notice and detectives were engaged among the new staff to make an attempt at laying the ghost.
In November, 1926, Lady Townshend was staying for the weekend at Raynham Hall when, with her son and a friend, she saw the Brown Lady on the staircase. None of them had heard of the Brown Lady prior to this meeting but all swore that the woman they had met was the same one that was portrayed in the portrait of Dorothy Walpole.
In September, 1936, the now world-famous picture of the Brown Lady was taken by Captain Provand, whilst he was on a photographic assignment for the magazine "Country Life". He had taken one photograph of the old staircase when his assistant, Indre Shira, called out that he could see a form on the stairs and asked Captain Provand to take another shot. Although the figure did not appear in the viewfinder, it appeared on the photographic plate, and after the negative had been examined by experts it was confirmed that it had not been touched up or faked in any way. The picture was subsequently published in "Country Life" on 6th December, 1936.
George IV visited Raynham Hall when he was Prince Regent, and the Brown Lady is said to have frightened him out of his wits. He woke up in the middle of the night to see the ghostly figure standing at the foot of his bed. He promptly left, saying "I will not spend another hour in this accursed house, for tonight I have seen that which I hope to God I never see again".
The Duke of Monmouth is said to haunt the room in which he once slept, and one elderly spinster, having received a visit from this ghost, described it as "an agreeable and flattering experience".
Two ghostly children and a spectral cocker spaniel are also said to haunt the house.
For more on the Brown Lady:
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is one of the most famous hauntings in Britain, because of the strange form captured by photographers from 'Country Life' magazine in 1936. Before that event the Brown Lady had been reported several times, but many of the written accounts vary considerably.
*In an ending note, remember this picture was taken in 1936 - there was no 'Photo Shop,' Photo Suite' etc.
Grey ladies of Whales
Ladies are having a haunting effect on North East Wales. That's because their ghosts are said to walk the region's castle ruins, roads and even modern housing estates.
Lady ghosts are a common story across the country, above is the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, Norfolk, photographed in 1936.
The most peculiar is the case of the footsteps heard by villagers in Sychdyn, near Mold. Many say they have heard a woman walking by their homes. But when they check through their windows, the woman can never be seen. She is heard walking along the village's housing estate throughout the year. She is always alone, always walking a confident pace, and always late at night. Her shoes sound distinctive as her heels click along the pavement. And villagers are puzzled as to who she is and why none of them have ever been able to see her. Some think the sound is from a real woman walking along the road and the click of her heels echoes around the street seemingly making it sound that she is outside their home and that's why people can't see her. Others believe her to be a ghost walking her usual route.
There are other ghost stories involving ladies. Denbigh Castle is haunted by a grey lady, whilst the castle's small Goblin Tower is said to be haunted by a boy who peers from its windows. The small boy is thought to the son of the Earl of Lincoln. The boy is said to have died in a fall from the tower when it was being built. Nothing is known about the Grey Lady but people who live near to the castle as well as visitors claim to have seen her.
Meanwhile, another lady is said to haunt a village on the outskirts of Mold. The highway to the quiet village of Nannerch is said to be frequented by the black figure of a woman in Victorian clothing. She is seen only along the road through the village and is thought to have somehow met her death there.
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For more lady ghosts read the story of Catrin of Berain, written by local author Richard Holland, as he tries to explain why the region is so haunted.
For Information on the Author Richard Holland, click here
*Note: News articles get archived and expire.
Tracing steps of Grey Lady
Mar 31 2005
By Tony Henderson, The Journal
Investigators set up camp in a bid to probe the mystery of a ghost said to haunt a historic Newcastle building.
The team was headed by Tony Liddell, from Leadgate in County Durham, who last year wrote a book on paranormal vigils in the North-East.
His most recent all-night assignment was the Assembly Rooms. The building, opened in 1776, was the alleged scene of a tragedy when a lady threw herself off a balcony. Stories of a so-called Grey Lady walking through the building have been reported over the years.
Antony Michaelides, owner of the venue, said: "We have never found documentary proof of exactly who the lady was or when this happened - it's just one of those stories that becomes accepted over the years - but there have certainly been some unexplained events, such as sounds, air movements and even sightings of apparitions which my staff have experienced at various times, so we welcomed Tony's offer to investigate these happenings in a scientific manner."
Tony and his team of six investigators set up their equipment of 35mm and digital cameras, night vision camcorders with infra-red boosters, ultrasound recorders, electromagnetic field meters, ambient and laser temperature recorders, and digital dictaphones.
Tony said: "The Grey Lady story has always interested us and we recorded a variety of paranormal activity. This included a 10 degree instant drop in temperature in one room coinciding with a light anomaly - a bright light that moved out of the room and down a corridor.
"There were also 11 separate instances of repeated requested noises. By this we mean if an unexplained noise is heard, the investigator asks if it can be repeated, which it was, a few times and then asks the same question after a long gap, and again the noise was repeated.
"We also had two camcorders physically switched off for no explainable reason and we have a photograph of another light ball above a table, the appearance of which coincided with a loud crash. There have only been three times over the last two years or so since we began researching the paranormal where I have really been shaken, but there is certainly some activity in the Assembly Rooms, although I should add that nothing we saw would suggest that it poses any danger to guests.
"There is obviously a certain amount of scepticism about the work we do, and we actually like nothing better than being able to prove unexplained occurrences have a perfectly natural reason, as happens occasionally, but we do use highly scientific methodology and modern equipment in our investigations. Whether people believe the results or not is up to them."
Tony is working on a second North-East book due to be published next year.
Mr Michaelides said: "I've never seen the Grey Lady, but I do believe the accounts that I've heard from staff working late at night. I think it all adds a bit to the romance of this fantastic old building and we wouldn't try to get rid of her even if we could."
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