Littledean Hall, Gloucestershire

Littledean big on ghosts!

Littledean is small village in the Forest of Dean, its size however does not convey its heritage status, nor its interest to the paranormal community. Littledean Hall started life as a Saxon Hall-House where the local lord of Dena (where the word Dean comes from) held sway, this however is not the earliest location in the area for in the village itself the remains of a Roman Temple have been found, more than likely built on top of a previous Celtic Temple, a building progression often favoured by the Romans was to simply upgrade whatever Celtic shrine was in place, most of the time they kept the same god though, keeping the locals happy and content. Littledean Hall was not named so until 1612, before this a substantial Norman Hall had been built, the Pyrke family, who owned it in the early 17th century, redesigned it into the beautiful Jacobean structure it is today.

Beautiful it is, yet it is also in decay, all because of bats. Greater Horseshoe Bats to be precise, sadly a rare sight in Britain therefore the house now has an exclusion zone around it. The Pyrke family also gave us a few of the many ghost stories associated with such a historic building. From the 16th Century tales of ghosts have been heard coming from Littledean, the oldest being the ghost of Richard Pyrke who has been seen tending to his garden. During the Englich Civil War it is said that Parliamentarians stormed the Hall and a fierce fight ensued between them, and the Royalists. The Kings men lost Colonel Congreve and Captain Wigmore, this would have had a serious effect on the defence of the house and it is not known for certain what followed next, if the garrison surrendered then it is without doubt they would have been either put against a wall and shot by their Parliamentarian captors, or to save ammunition they would have been forced to lie down to have their heads staved in with the butt end of a musket. What is known that many people have been able to see blood marks in the Dining Hall (which would have been the older Great Hall) where the fierce skirmish took place.

As if dying in war wasn’t bad enough there is also a tale of two Brothers of the Pyrke family killing one another. Late one evening they sat at the dining table, both excited to tell the other of a woman they had recently met and fallen in love with, yes you guessed it, it was the same woman. Again history is sketchy at best, it could be they pulled swords and stabbed each other, though other stories tell of them pulling pistols and shooting one another, what is known is that in the whole house the sounds of battle have been heard, whether it is the sad tale of the two brothers, or the sounds of the Civil war skirmish, no one knows.

In 1744 Charles Pykre also died at the hands of a man he saw as his brother, as a young man Charles’ father had bought a pair of black slaves to be brought up as companions for his son and daughter. Later in life Charles bedded his own slaves sister and the woman had a mixed-coloured child, the distraught man servant throttled Charles to death in revenge. It is the coloured slave whose ghost has been seen on occasions at various points inside the house. Another apparition is that of a monk who has been seen in the Dining Room, where, legend again has it that there is a secret tunnel going from Littledean Hall to nearby Flaxley Abbey, of course it isn’t a monk, it’s a priest, Monks lived in monasteries in very secluded lives of prayer and writing, priests on the other hand would have been out giving mass to Catholic houses, safe in their tunnels travelling to and from holy places and where their congregations sat.

Apart from the dining room perhaps the other most haunted part of the building is the Blue Room, people lying in bed have heard the sounds of swords clashing from inside the room, perhaps the ethereal brothers in their mortal duel to the death, or perhaps it’s the Civil War Skirmish once more making its mark.

Littledean Hall can rightly hold claim to being a hidden gem of a building, like many places in Gloucester it is a place which looks like it should be haunted, and it doesn’t disappoint.

CJ Linton.