December 2009 Archives
Nanteos House… Cardiganshire, Wales
Nanteos House is now a hotel and mansion house. This 1738 Georgian house, built by William Powell, was once the home of The Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail is the wooden cup that Jesus and his Disciples drank from during The Last Supper. The cup was brought back from The Holy Land by Joseph of Arimathea in AD63. The cup remained at Glastonbury Monastery until 1539 when King Henry chased out the monks. In time The Holy Grail passed to Nanteos House and the Powell family, and when the family line finished the cup was deposited in a national Bank vault.
There are a number of Ghosts that roam the rooms of Nanteos House, such as the ‘Jewel Lady’ who left her death bed to hide her jewels, and now her spirit searches for them! And in the dark cold cellars there is the observed spectre of a monk, further, there is a report in The Western Mail of the 19th of June 1984 that tells of a male ghost in a black cloak!
Winter’s Gibbet…
High upon the lonely Northumberland moors, just a few miles from Elsdon stands the Gibbet of the murderer William Winter.
William Winter murdered an old lady by the name of Margaret Crozier who lived at Raw Pele, her home a few miles outside Elsdon. She ran a retail business from her home, and because she was a thrifty woman, it was rumoured that she kept vast sums of money in the house.
When she was found with her throat cut Winter was immediatly arrested on suspicion and later admitted the robbery, but not to the murder of the old woman. However, evidence from a local farm boy soon put a noose around Winter’s neck and he was hanged at Newcastle. His body was then hung in chains on a gibbet and left to the mercy of the crows!
A model of his head still hangs today on the gibbet, and it is said… on a moonlit night the fearsome figure of William Winter can be seen leaving the old woman’s home with a bloodstained knife held in his hand.
Minster Lovell Hall… Oxfordshire England
The ruins of this once imposing manor house lay testament to a frightening and strange tale known as ‘The Mistletoe Bough’
One Christmas many, many years ago the house enjoyed the wedding of young William Lovell, eldest son of the Lovall family, and his attractive young bride. Everyone danced throughout the evening and as it became late and no-one yet wanted to retire, it was suggested that they all play a game of ‘Hide and Seek’
William’s bride offered to hide first, and dared William to find her before the others. Well, time passed and she could not be found. They searched all through the night and into the next day, but without any luck. For a further one week they searched, but never found her. William did not recover from his great loss and died just a few years later from despondency.
It was soon after when a servant found an old oak chest that had lay hidden in the attic from some years before, and when he raised the lid he stared in disbelief… For inside were the remains of a body dressed in a bridal gown.
For in her excitement… William’s young bride had climbed into the chest to hide from the others, and as she did so the lid closed behind her, locking her short life inside forever!
Liberty Enlightening the World
We all know this famous statue, and we all know where it stands, but less is known of its origin. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi scultured this gigantic statue and it was dedicated on October the 28th 1886.
Officially named ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’ it was built in the foundry of Gaget, Gauthier and Company, Paris, France. Under the direction of engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, later renown for his design of The Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Copper was widely used in the construction, reinforced with hammered metal on the inside, and hung on a steel framework.
At the entrance to New York Harbor – The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the world, and was often the first sight of the US for many millions of immigrants from the old world!
The Brighton Promettes…
These are Brighton’s Promettes of 1952. The Visitor Information Centre of its time. For those men amongst you that like girls with brains there was no better place than Brighton in Sussex in the 50s! Formed from ex-models, these girls would offer all types of advice for your holiday stay in Brighton… But no dating though chaps!
