Old Wardour Castle and the Ghost of Lady Blanche

Old Wardour Castle is located near Shaftesbury, Wiltshire in South West England. The Castle was built by John, 5^th Lord Lovell on land previously owned by the St Martin family.

Old Wardour Castle

Photo by Mike Searle (image from Geograph Project Collection) 

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The castle was bought by Sir Thomas Arundell in 1544. He, a staunch Roman Catholic, was executed for treason in 1552. On his death the castle was confiscated, but later bought back by his son Sir Matthew Arundell.

In May 1643 Thomas, 2^nd Baron Arundell was away on King’s business when Parliamentary forces besieged the castle. His wife 61 year-old Lady Blanche Arundell and 25 retainers defended the Old Wardour Castle for 5 days, only surrendering when two mines exploded under the walls.

After Lord Arundell died his successor returned in 1644 and besieged the castle for four months before retaking it

However instead of honouring the terms of surrender the Roundheads had first imprisoned and then executed Lady Blanche.

The damage sustained by the castle was so great that the castle was never repaired. Abandoned in the 1700s its ruins have since been incorporated in the grounds of nearby New Wardour House.

Old Wardour Castle ruins

 Adapted from a photo by Trish Steel (image from Geograph Project Collection) 

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Lady Blanche has not given up; her ghost did not abandon the castle. At twilight she appears on the walls, haunts the grounds and walks down to the lake.

The family died out in the 20^th century and it is unlikely that one of the castle’s supernatural events will be repeated. White owls, seen as harbingers of death, would flutter round the castle as a warning of an approaching tragedy.

Old Wardour Castle was used for some scenes in the modern film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. What would Lady Blanche, or her ghost, have made of Kevin Costner?

Ghosts in March

Where you in Pembrokeshire on the nights before and after 1st March, St David’s Day? Perhaps if you visited St Bride’s Bay you may have heard ghostly singing from the ruined chapel overlooking the Bay.
No.

 

St David's Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace

© Copyright Martin Halley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

(Photo is copyrighted but also licensed for reuse)

 Then perhaps you heard the church bell stolen from the tower of St David’s Cathedral. The bell was lost together with the boat and crew that smuggled it into St Bride’s Bay. The boat sank in a storm. Seamen claim to hear the bell chiming on the seabed to warn them of an impending storm.

On 9th March in Cassiobury Park, Watford you may meet the ghost of Lord Arthur Capel.

1st Baron Capel and his family

(Portrait - source Norton Anthology; Author Cornelius Johnson)

Lord Capel defected from the Roundheads to support the King in the Civil War. Captured by Fairfax at Colchester, he even escaped from the Tower. Recaptured he eventually lost his head. 9th March is the anniversary of his death in 1649.

 Ferry Boat Inn

© David Bartlett - Licensed for reuse under CC-ASA 2.0 License

 The Ferry Boat Inn in Holywell claims to be the oldest inn in England. A slab in the floor covers the grave of 17 year-old Juliet Tewsley who hanged herself on 17th March 1050 as the resulted of unrequited love for a local woodcutter. Her ghost is said to appear each March on the anniversary of her suicide.