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"The Haunted History of Huntingdonshire"
"The Haunted History of Huntingdonshire"
Buckden Towers was formerly known as Buckden Palace.
The book features a number of beautiful illustrations by talented local artist
Lee-ann Clarke from Bedfordshire. Apart from the books front cover all of her images inside the book are signed Leni (her nickname). These signatures can be found in the bottom right hand corner of each image. Some of the images have been personalised, for instance Queen Katherine of Aragon (a skilled lace maker), is depicted holding or making lace in the Buckden and Kimbolton chapters of the book. A nice personal touch. I also encouraged Lee-ann to use strong vibrant colours in all of the images she contributed.
Paranormal Lockdown
During July/August 2018 I was asked to assist the hit American TV show "Paranormal Lockdown" with the filming of an episode of the show at Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdon, England. The stars of this show are Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman. The show is extremely popular in the USA and I was asked to provide them with the history of Hinchingbrooke House along with details of the many ghosts and legends associated with the property. I'm not a great lover of paranormal TV shows as they are generally made for entertainment purposes and are prone to exaggeration. In real-life investigations are often boring, nothing untoward happens, which doesn't make for great TV. It was an interesting experience though, and I quite enjoyed being involved.
The house dates back to the 12th century and started life as a dilapidated wooden church. Around 1170 it was then converted into a Benedictine Priory, and remained so until 1536 when King Henry VIII dissolved all the monasteries and decided to shun the Catholic religion and start his own Church of England. In 1538 the 'Crown owned' Hinchingbrooke House and Estate was purchased by Richard Williams, for the princely sum of around £19.00. Williams later changed his surname to Cromwell. A very famous and distinguished name in Huntingdonshire. He then set about converting the old Priory into a magnificent Tudor country home. The Cromwell family were eventually forced to sell Hinchingbrooke as they ran out of money. This was largely due to them lavishly entertaining the Scottish monarch King James I. King James had first stayed at Hinchingbrooke on his way from Scotland to London, in order to claim the Crown. He loved Hinchingbrooke (especially the local hunting). He literally bled the Cromwell's dry, and eventually their money ran out. On 20th June 1627 the house and estate was sold to the 'up and coming' Sir Sidney Montagu.
The Montagu family flourished at Hinchingbrooke and in 1660 were bestowed with the title "The Earl of Sandwich". They remained at Hinchingbrooke until 1962/3 when they too ran out of money. The house was then sold to Huntingdonshire District Council. After extensive restorations the house eventually opened as a school in 1970. I am very proud to say that I completed my own education here at Hinchingbrooke and spent the last 2 years of my education (1977/1978), studying inside this wonderful historic old building. It opened as a school in 1970 and within a few years a brand new Police Headquarters, Hospital and Country Park were built within the Hinchingbrooke Estate.
Over the centuries the house has been the source of many supernatural occurrences. Apparitions of Nun's and a terrifying Monk has been reported. Within the grounds the famous 'White Lady' has been seen, she is depicted on the books front cover. Amazingly this unknown female is reported to radiate light and actually glow, yet her identity still remains a complete mystery. Hinchingbrooke House is the longest story in the book and I researched back over 800 years looking for clues as to who this phantom 'woman in white' could possibly be. I have made an educated guess based upon her description, but I found nothing in the way of factual evidence to support my theory. Other monarchs who stayed at Hinchingbrooke include Queen Elizabeth 1, who spent a night here on the 10th August 1564. King Charles 1 also spent the night here on 4th June 1647. He was being held captive at the time during the English Civil War. It is said that as small boys Hinchingbrooke House is where Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I, first met. Legend has it that the l boys squabbled and fought in the grounds. Apparently one of them ended up with a bloody nose, but nobody is certain as to who hit who! Most of the photographs in the gallery below were taken by myself, I do really hope that you enjoy them:
The house dates back to the 12th century and started life as a dilapidated wooden church. Around 1170 it was then converted into a Benedictine Priory, and remained so until 1536 when King Henry VIII dissolved all the monasteries and decided to shun the Catholic religion and start his own Church of England. In 1538 the 'Crown owned' Hinchingbrooke House and Estate was purchased by Richard Williams, for the princely sum of around £19.00. Williams later changed his surname to Cromwell. A very famous and distinguished name in Huntingdonshire. He then set about converting the old Priory into a magnificent Tudor country home. The Cromwell family were eventually forced to sell Hinchingbrooke as they ran out of money. This was largely due to them lavishly entertaining the Scottish monarch King James I. King James had first stayed at Hinchingbrooke on his way from Scotland to London, in order to claim the Crown. He loved Hinchingbrooke (especially the local hunting). He literally bled the Cromwell's dry, and eventually their money ran out. On 20th June 1627 the house and estate was sold to the 'up and coming' Sir Sidney Montagu.
The Montagu family flourished at Hinchingbrooke and in 1660 were bestowed with the title "The Earl of Sandwich". They remained at Hinchingbrooke until 1962/3 when they too ran out of money. The house was then sold to Huntingdonshire District Council. After extensive restorations the house eventually opened as a school in 1970. I am very proud to say that I completed my own education here at Hinchingbrooke and spent the last 2 years of my education (1977/1978), studying inside this wonderful historic old building. It opened as a school in 1970 and within a few years a brand new Police Headquarters, Hospital and Country Park were built within the Hinchingbrooke Estate.
Over the centuries the house has been the source of many supernatural occurrences. Apparitions of Nun's and a terrifying Monk has been reported. Within the grounds the famous 'White Lady' has been seen, she is depicted on the books front cover. Amazingly this unknown female is reported to radiate light and actually glow, yet her identity still remains a complete mystery. Hinchingbrooke House is the longest story in the book and I researched back over 800 years looking for clues as to who this phantom 'woman in white' could possibly be. I have made an educated guess based upon her description, but I found nothing in the way of factual evidence to support my theory. Other monarchs who stayed at Hinchingbrooke include Queen Elizabeth 1, who spent a night here on the 10th August 1564. King Charles 1 also spent the night here on 4th June 1647. He was being held captive at the time during the English Civil War. It is said that as small boys Hinchingbrooke House is where Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I, first met. Legend has it that the l boys squabbled and fought in the grounds. Apparently one of them ended up with a bloody nose, but nobody is certain as to who hit who! Most of the photographs in the gallery below were taken by myself, I do really hope that you enjoy them:
Huntingdonshire
The Alconbury Airbase Disaster - 27th May 1943
Buckden Palace (Towers, Church & Knot Garden)
Queen Katherine of Aragon (1st wife of King Henry VIII was held here from 1533 to 1534
Queen Katherine of Aragon (1st wife of King Henry VIII was held here from 1533 to 1534