Giles Watson's poetry and prose
Ashdown House
Ooops - I made a mistake! There is no record of a haunting here after all - it seems I was thiking of Cumnor Place, which also features in Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson's wonderful 'The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys' - I must visit that too!
Ashdown was built by William, first Earl of Craven (1606-97), and according to popular tradition, he intended it as "a gift for the beautiful and vivacious Princess Elizabeth, sister of Charles I, also known as the 'Winter Queen' or the 'Queen of Hearts'. It is said he meant it to be a refuge for her from plague-stricken London - too late, as it turned out, for she did indeed contract a fatal disease there."
Oh well. No ghosts here, then, but it did seem strangely appropriate to be photographing it on such a wintry day. Or perhaps the Earl of Craven does still walk here sometimes, searching forlornly for his Winter Queen...
Ashdown House
Ooops - I made a mistake! There is no record of a haunting here after all - it seems I was thiking of Cumnor Place, which also features in Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson's wonderful 'The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys' - I must visit that too!
Ashdown was built by William, first Earl of Craven (1606-97), and according to popular tradition, he intended it as "a gift for the beautiful and vivacious Princess Elizabeth, sister of Charles I, also known as the 'Winter Queen' or the 'Queen of Hearts'. It is said he meant it to be a refuge for her from plague-stricken London - too late, as it turned out, for she did indeed contract a fatal disease there."
Oh well. No ghosts here, then, but it did seem strangely appropriate to be photographing it on such a wintry day. Or perhaps the Earl of Craven does still walk here sometimes, searching forlornly for his Winter Queen...