The county town of Warwickshire, conveniently called Warwick, is famous for its castle, its university and its proximity to Stratford-upon-Avon. But this market town, when all the shops are shut and the busy roads quieten has a darker, sinister side to its quaint history of learning and philanthropy.
And this is the side of Warwick that I wanted to explore.
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| Credit:SJP |
In the light evening drizzle I trekked up the High Street to our meeting place at the Lord Leycester Hospital and finding shelter in the wooden porchway I set up the Chattergeist Touch in word mode to see if anything wanted to communicate.
Enter Warrane Worthington, our guide for the evening. Dressed in black trilby hat, cravat and frock coat our enigmatic leader was soon taking names and checking tickets to ensure all his guests were present and correct before introducing himself and his tour The Weird Walk of Warwick.
Directing us to the junction with Brook Street the Touch lit up with the words Savaging, Clang. Clang like metal on metal? The sound of sword on shield? The sound of movement within a suit of armour?
The Lord Leycester Hospital, a medieval timber framed building set up in 1571 as a charity to support ex-servicemen (and continues to do so today) was plagued with sightings of a decapitated knight dressed in armour from the 1300s wandering it’s corridors. The sightings continued until the 18th century, when during restoration work in the adjoining Chapel of St James workmen found within a bricked up void the headless body of a man, besuited in 14th century armour.
After the corpse was provided with the dignity of a Christian burial the sightings ceased. So had the spirit returned for one final acknowledgement through my little black puck?
Turning 180° our attention was directed to a plaque on the wall of 52 Brook Street that read Bear & Baculus House. The Bear and Baculus or in 1812 The Bear and Bacchus was the pub that 14 year old Hannah Miller was taken to by a local doctor, Mr Blenkinsop, but left in the care of the local undertaker.
The first day of any job is full of nervous excitement and it was likely that young Hannah felt the same way on 5th March. She had been employed by Thomas George, the local butcher, as his servant, to assist with his business. George had a lodger by the name of Reverend William Brookes. Known locally as the ‘Mad Pastor’ or ‘Mad Brookes’ it is unclear whether or not he was an ordained minister or had simply taken the title for himself.
Brookes was a common sight in Warwick, often inebriate and wearing just a shirt with his tackle out like a Georgian Winnie The Pooh. Clearly deserving of his nicknames.
Before the end of her first shift Hannah encountered the lodger on the stairs. Two shots from a gun echoed into the street, one bullet to her back, the other to her neck however medical intervention could not save her and the Reverend faced the charge of Murder at the Assizes. Found unfit to plead Brookes was declared insane and detained indefinitely.
But reports of a girl, dressed in white with bloodstains on her dress are reported by those travelling through West Gate at night. For me no such apparition appeared, but one word appeared in red on the black face of the Touch, Mum, perhaps the last cry of a murdered child seeking comfort.
The spell of sadness cast by Warrane’s retelling of the tragedy of young Hannah was broken with a health and safety announcement - Roads are dangerous and we would have to cross some on our tour, so cross carefully.
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| Credit:SJP |
Crossing over the High Street, and past ground zero for the Great Fire of Warwick, where on the 5th September 1694 a stray spark from the blacksmith’s forge set light to the thatched roof of the house next door destroying 157 buildings (with no fatalities), we headed down Castle Lane.
Walking alongside Warrane at the head of the group I was treated to what he called ‘the front of the queue story’ which involved Anne Diamond, the beloved television personality, and her house hunting in the town.
Anne, finding the perfect home was dismayed to find that the elderly occupant, who was being pressured to downsize and move to a flat by her children, had changed her mind and had withdrawn the property from the market. 6 months later the estate agent contacted Anne to tell her that her dream home had been put back up for sale and invited her to have another look around. Anne and her mother attended a viewing, but the house felt off. The old lady now appeared unfriendly in the shell of what once was her home. Personal effects were gone with the only piece of furniture remaining was a wood wardrobe in the living room.
After Anne had left the property, the estate agent contacted her in the hope of a sale. Anne told them that she was no longer interested, the owner was not as friendly as she once was and the house no longer felt like a home for her and her children. Confused the estate agent told Anne that the occupant had died and that Anne had the only set of keys for the house.
Anne returned to the property, the ‘wardrobe’ that had remained had vanished leaving Anne to believe it was in fact a coffin. Anne did not buy this house as she could not get the thought of the elderly occupant remaining within the fabric of the building out of her head and continued her search.
Our search had led us to the Town Gate, one of the many entrances to Warwick Castle. Here the Touch responded Snatched, Captors, Shout in response to the great Warwick Castle heist of the 6th November 1605.
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| Credit:SJP |
If your knowledge of British history does not extend to years, you will be familiar with the events of the 5th of November. If not I will give you a few moments to remember, remember.
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
The Catholic plot to remove a protestant monarch was discovered and the man with lantern, Guy Fawkes, was discovered and arrested. This act of terror was not the brainchild of Fawkes, he was merely the explosives expert, and his co-conspirators had soon fled by horse from London arriving in Warwick. Warwick Castle at the time was undergoing renovations and held weapons and horses. Weapons that could be used to fight and fast horses, or chargers, so that they could flee.
Failing to secure Catholic sympathies within the walled town, it was the latter option this desperate band opted for. Their heist triggering alarms, alerting the authorities to their location and leading to the eventual standoff at Holbeche House in Staffordshire.
Were memories of those involved trapped within these walls, repeating that fateful day over and over, finding a method of interaction with the living through the black puck? We will never know. But we do know the fate of the plotters, perfectly described by our guide. Hanged – Drawn – Quartered.
From national history to something more local our tour continued to the once-home of local benefactor Thomas Oken. The journey to the Tea Rooms that are adorned by a large plaque celebrating this local hero, had taken us along Castle Street, which is where my K2 died.
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| Credit:SJP |
Oken is believed to have never left his house, with his spectral figure being sighted around the building. During one of these sightings, Oken is reported to have stumbled on a step at the bottom of the stairs, which was later discovered to have been modified to align to more recent health and safety requirements.
The Touch provided me with House, July as Warrane was telling us about the siege that befell this building after Oken’s death. As you can see from the plaque, Oken died on 29th July 1573 within this house. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I will leave it to you to decide.
The Coach Gate on Castle Hill was our next stop, the rumbling or the traffic (and incoherent shouts of the locals from their cars) preventing any sounds of bell covered horses emitting from beyond the veil as they carried the condemned Piers Gaveston on his final humiliating ride.
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| Credit:SJP |
To Mill Street where in the shadow of the castle’s Ceasar’s tower we learned the story of Molly Bloxham, who having the monopoly of sales of milk and butter was accused of short-changing her customers due to a small ladle. Molly is said to haunt the tower – the believed site of her death – as both woman and black dog.
Warrane’s breath was visible as he recounted the tragic tale of this aspiring entrepreneur, the only visible breath within the group on this fairly warm evening. As I noticed the vapour, Coldest appeared in red on the black screen of the Touch, followed by what could have been Molly’s excuse Especially, Household, Measure.
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| Credit:SJP |
We returned to the Coach Gate, thankful that no one had seen Molly in her canine form (as this is a harbinger of bad luck). The castle story moved on to Fulke Greville, the owner of Warwick Castle between 1604 and his death in 1628. Fulke, although dying in Holborn after being stabbed by his servant Ralph Haywood, is said to remain in his favourite place – his bedroom within Watergate Tower.
Our group, crossing several roads (being ever mindful that cars will run you over), followed Jury Street and Church Street before arriving at the foot of St Mary’s Church Tower. Rebuilt after the Great Fire (with assistance from Christopher Wren) the tower stands as the highest point of Warwick and stone throw away from our next stop, The Old Shire Hall or County Court on Northgate Street.
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| Credit:SJP |
This hall held the Crown Court and Assizes of Warwickshire, detaining prisoners with all the care and considerations that befit murders, rapist and horse thieves. A cell door on the corner of Barrack Street a reminder of the conditions that criminals would suffer.
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| Credit:SJP |
Here tales of ghost witnesses being called (and failing to answer their summons) were recounted as well as the story of Anne Haytree, who let the intrusive thoughts win and killed her mistress. Haytree found guilty was sentenced to appear at our penultimate stop further along Barrack Street – the site of execution.
The Touch burst into life again, Shortness, Hung illuminated the screen followed by Laughs and Cackled recalling the braying mobs, hungry for the physical destruction of those that had sinned against the community – and then the name Jon.
The correlation between Jon and the bricked up archway on Barrack Street was resolved with the second to last story from Warrane.
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| Credit:SJP |
On 17th November 1800 the life of Mary Palmer was ended by her husband, John, his sister, Hannah and their mother Sarah. Sarah Palmer had attempted to kill her daughter-in-law several times by poisoning but being unsuccessful they finally convinced Mary to go with them to harvest turnips. Attacked and pinned down by Hannah, Mary’s throat was cut by her husband. She was bundled into a winnowing sheet and thrown into the River Avon, with the murderer’s intention that she be carried far away by the swollen river.
John told the story that his wife had run off with another man but had recovered her clothes which he sold. Mary was found the following day caught in the weir at Welford. John, Hannah and Sarah soon found themselves under arrest and detained at Warwick Gaol.
Sarah left this mortal coil before trial, but John and Hannah were found guilty and sentenced to hang. Hang they did on April Fools Day 1801, Hannah’s body was given to a surgeon in Stratford-Upon-Avon for dissection, whilst John was gibbeted near Binton Bridge, his life-drained eyes in full view of the weir that undid his crime.
The walk reached its conclusion in Market Place. The last tale of Weird Warwick coming from 1870 and the conspiracy theories of one William Haywood, who was convinced that the pain he felt at the end of the day, finding himself in the middle of town dazed and confused and being stared at by local women was down to a witch’s curse rather than the fact he was an alcoholic labourer.
The paranoia was levelled at Anne Tennant, who Haywood assaulted in the belief that drawing a witch’s blood would end the curse. Anne succumbed to her injury and Haywood was imprisoned for her murder. Haywood met the same verdict as the Mad Parson and died in confinement of consumption rather than at the end of the hangman’s rope.
The final words from the Chattergeist Touch – Slashed, Ridiculed being a fitting summary to the tragic tale.
The Weird Walk of Warwick was a captivating experience. Warrane is an excellent storyteller, bringing the streets and buildings around him to life. He is engaging, fascinating and clearly has a passion for the town he calls home and the dark history that lurks behind the façade. There is so much more to the walk and the stories that were told, but the correlation between the snippets that I have taken for this blog post and the results from the Chattergeist are compelling.
To find out more and book you space on The Weird Walk of Warwick visit their website www.darkwarwick.co.uk this is 90 minutes that you will not regret being a part of.
If you are interested in the Chattergeist Touch then all the information and 10% off your order is available by clicking here. (This is an affiliate link. Sales through this link will generate a commission.)
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