John (Bloody) Baker, English Bluebeard and Evil Lord of the Castle

Bloody Mary Tudor, Painting by Master John, 1544
Public Domain

Sir John Baker had a respectable career as a Tudor politician of some standing. Also, he was (maybe less respectably by today's standards) a dedicated hunter of heretics in Canterbury during the reign of Mary Tudor. He came to be known as Sir John "Bloody" Baker and for good reason. Sir John earned his reputation as the English Bluebeard several times over. (It should be noted that the French Bluebeard cut the throats of his wives.)

This ignoble Lord lived beneath the glorious towers and turrets of Sissinghurst Castle in the English county of Kent. One day, he callously murdered his current mistress because, he said, she no longer pleased him. Immediately, he became betrothed to a new, more attractive and possibly younger lady. This was the way of many Lords in those days, when young ladies were expendable like torn doublets and hose.

Bluebeard: A Shocking Encounter with a Killer

This young lady decided to meet with her lover, Sir John, and catch him unawares. Full of girlish excitement, she took her friend along with her. The two young women chanced upon Sir John near the staircase, and to their consternation, he was carrying a long, thin bundle along an upstairs hallway. What could possibly be hidden inside that bundle? Maybe it was instinct, but the young betrothed woman was scared and she grabbed her friend's hand and tried to drag her to a place to hide under the stairs.

The girls could hardly stifle their terror as a hand, already stiffened through rigor mortis,thrashed against the spindles of the bannister, becoming trapped between them. Local knowledge supports two separate accounts for what happened next. In one, Sir John hacked off the arm with his sword so that it fell into his lover's lap. The second account claims he severed the trapped finger with his dagger. Either way, it was a very bloody business.

Retribution Triumphs and Bluebeard is Put to Death

Sir John suffered from probably the most extreme case of arrogance among the upper classes in Tudor times. He wasn't even the slightest bit bothered, but strode on his way, assuming that a servant would clear up the bloody mess. But he was to suffer for his evildoing. We are not sure how he was caught, but caught he was!

Bluebeard's Ghost Haunts the Pest House

So Sir John "Bloody" Baker was arrested. He was tried and hanged. It is claimed his ghost now haunts the Pest House nearby. The Pest House was once an old plague hospital and was built in 1369. Sir John's house is claimed to be connected to the Pest House by a secret tunnel. Sometimes, this evil ghost has a female figure beside him who is thought to be one of his unfortunate victims, maybe even his betrothed - although it would be nice to think she escaped from his clutches both in life and death - and found a more gentle lover.

Haunted Kent, Janet Cameron, Amberley Publishing, 2005.

The Sinister History of the Inn near the Black Post Crossroads

The Ringlestdone, By kind permission of Jane Horder

The Ringlestone Inn is in Harrietsham in Kent, and it dates from 1533 when Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was annulled so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Since the pub is so old, it's unsurprising there are so many sinister occurrences. This lovely old building was once a hospice giving assistance and shelter to monks who were fleeing the dangers resulting from Henry's dissolution of the monasteries.

The Boy in the Cellar

A boy, claimed to be a previous Ringlestone landlord's son, crept out at night and stole a sheep from a farm. He wanted the sheep to feed his hungry family, but that was no excuse, as the penalty was imprisonment or deportation. Unfortunately, for him, he was found out, and so his mother and father decided to hide him. They bricked him up in a cavity in a fireplace in the cellar, and as they erected the front wall, they left one brick out so they could feed him.

It worked, and the young boy was never found by the authorities. Eventually, though, he stopped taking the food and his parents assumed he'd died. So his father replaced the last brick in the opening, and then he and his wife moved away. It's thought that one of the child presences in the pub might be the ghost of this little boy.

Child Ghost Playing Tricks

The Ringlestone Inn child ghosts are always making mischief, moving toys around, taking keys from one place and putting them somewhere else. One grandchild of a landlord found that all her favourite toys disappeared through a wall. Later, it was discovered that a door once stood at the point where the toys vanished. A subsequent finding was that a small boy had died in the upstairs living room.

An Odd Old Couple

An elderly couple haunt the corner bar. In life, they loved the pub and the roaring fire in the snug, and just can't bear to give up their visits - even in death. Many people encounter them and say how much they like them, as they are always happy to gossip and pass the time. This old couple seem absolutely normal but then - in an instant - they disappear.

Ghostly Footsteps

Ghostly footsteps stomp up the cellar steps. Then all is silent, before the clank of a boot tossed onto the floor. Strangely, this ghost only ever takes off one boot. No one knows why that is, nor do they know the identity of the owner of the ghostly footsteps.

The Highwayman

A highwayman called Elias Shephered once used the road outside the pub to lie in wait for coaches running between Faversham and Canterbury. The crossroads near the Ringlestone Inn are called the Black Post Crossroads, because many highwaymen were hanged there. People thought that criminals were in league with the Devil and, therefore, couldn't be buried in holy ground. Elias was eventually captured and hanged at Penenden Heath in 1765. People claim the Black Post Crossroads are haunted by his ghost.

The Lady with the Third Eye

In November, 2004, a customer told the pub manager that while she was sitting alone, several presences passed by and disappeared into the wall, one after another. The lady claimed she had the "third eye."

A Ghost with Issues

Ghosts, it is claimed, disapprove of modern changes to their territory. The Ringlestone Inn ghosts show their objections by banging and crashing about in the downstairs bar. Staff rush downstairs thinking a burglar has entered the building, but everything is always fine, with no sign of intrusion.

Sources:

Adapted from Haunted Kent, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2005.

With thanks to Jane Horder for additional information.

Strongbow's Wife - a Historical Novel by Frank Parker

Strongbow's Wife

By Frank Parker

Historical truth, painstakingly researched - with an exciting and insightful person story written around it - is a brilliant way of learning about history. Frank Parker has succeeded admirably in his novel Strongbow's Wife. 

"How much do you know about the act of treachery that gave rise to the centuries long conflict between Ireland and the English? A century after the Norman conquest of England, the men entrusted with suppressing the Welsh were invited to bring peace to Ireland. The result was the opposite: the commencement of a tumultuous period in the relationship between England, Wales and Ireland that began 800 years of subjugation of the Irish by the English. Little is recorded about the life of the woman who married Strongbow in return for the latter’s assistance in her father’s quest to regain the kingship of Leinster. The activities of Strongbow, and the other Cambro-Normans who took part in the occupation of Ireland in the twelfth century, have been written about extensively. Of Aoife we know only that she accompanied her father on his year long search for assistance, that, when Strongbow eventually arrived, the marriage took place days after a massacre in Waterford. This account of those events is presented through her eyes. First as a teenager trying to understand the politics behind her father's downfall. Then as a young wife caught up in the rivalry between her husband and the other leaders of the invading army. Finally, as a widowed mother worried about her children and the future of her native land. 

Praise for Strongbow's Wife: 

Thoughtful phrasing and descriptions … plenty of action but [the author] succeeds in not sacrificing plot to pace or vice versa. Author Jennifer Young on her blog, Reading, Writing, Wandering 

An interesting and thought-provoking take on a tumultuous episode in Anglo-Irish history - congratulations to the author on a job well done. Fiona Mayes at Amazon.co.uk 

[Frank Parker] joins the likes of the formidable Ian McEwan and the the great classical writer D.H. Lawrence, in telling a great story, authentically, from a female viewpoint. Janet Cameron, 5 star Amazon Review.

ISBN: 9781786109910

Type: Paperback

Pages: 248

Published: 18 May 2016

Price: £7.99

The Desirable Lady Blanche - Murdered by Mistake

The ghost of a great Lady haunts the site where she met her death - by mistake. The trouble with Lady Blanche was that too many men were in love with her.

Rochester Castle, Author Unknown

Simon de Montfort - the one who led the barons against King Henry III of England - attacked Rochester Castle on Good Friday in the year 1264.

It was a tragedy just waiting to happen. Simon de Montfort, reputed to be a great hero, was repelled by Ralph de Capo's spirited resistance. And Ralph had very good reason to fight so valiantly for the Castle.  It contained his future bride, the beautiful Lady Blanche de Warenne.  As his enemies began to retreat, Ralph de Capo, consumed with jealousy, was still spoiling for a fight and left the Castle in hot pursuit of the upstart, de Montfort.

One of the attacking soldiers was Gilbert de Clare, who had a soft spot himself for Lady Blanche although she had already rejected him in favour of Ralph. This was a preference that Gilbert found hard to accept, or even to understand. Amid the chaos, and seeing that Ralph had disappeared, Gilbert de Clare decided it might be worth trying again to convince Blanche of his suitability to be her lover.

An Arrow in Lady Blanche's Heart

Sneaking into the Castle, he soon located Lady Blanche, almost fainting on the battlements as she watched events unfolding down below. Immediately Gilbert seized Blanche in his arms and held her close, expecting her to yield to him.  Although she recoiled in disgust and thrust him away from her, it was at that moment that Ralph de Capo glanced upwards and thought he saw his enemy and his mistress in a passionate embrace.

Ralph took up his bow and fired at Gilbert de Clare. Although his aim was spot-on, the arrow glanced off de Clare's armour, veered sideways and came to rest in Lady Blanche's heart. She fell, dead, at Gilbert's feet, the arrow still quivering in her breast, and with her gorgeous gown stained with ugly blotches of dark red blood.

Lady Blanche de Warenne's ghost is claimed to haunt the Castle today, and has been seen peering over the battlements at the phantom bloody battle below.

Sources:

• Adapted from: Cameron, Janet, Medway Murder & Crime, Tempus Publishing, 2008.

• Rayner, Steven.

Richard Dadd – An Artist Tormented by Voices

Richard Dadd, pencil drawing copyright Janet Cameron

Richard Dadd painted fairies, was leader of a clique of talented artists and eventually, an insane asylum inmate. He also stabbed his father to death while gripped by insanity. He was "... tall with good and expressive features and gentlemanly demeanour," said contemporary journalist, Samuel Carter Hall.

Richard was the son of chemist, Robert Dadd, born in Bromton in Chatham in 1798. In November 1812, Robert married Mary Ann Martin and Richard was their fourth child, born in 1817. When Richard was seven, his mother died and Robert married Sophia Oakes, who gave him two more children. In 1835 Sophia died; her death following that of his birth mother must have had an effect on the boy.

Although streetwise and familiar with the rough aspects of a dockside town, the boy developed an affection for nature, especially for coastal and countryside locations. This sense of place informed his art. In 1836, the family moved to London and Richard pursued his artistic career at the Royal Academy School.

Driven to Madness by Filth and Squalor

According to biographers, Dadd's travels may have influenced his soundness of mind. He was invited to accompany Sir Thomas Phillips, solicitor, on a grand world tour in 1842. Letters to his father tell how in Venice he became indignant about the exploitative behaviour of the gondoliers. He feared chaotic, unruly crowds. Repeatedly, he complained about cheats, knaves and the inadequacies of priests, and was upset by fllth and squalor. He suffered nervous depression, was sometimes unable to draw and had sudden bizarre urges, one being to attack the Pope in Rome.

Around 1840, Dadd belonged to a group of young artists known as "The Clique" who met in Soho to discuss and debate. Included in this group were William Powell Frith, Henry O'Neil, Augustus Egg and John Philip. When Dadd arrived back in London in April, 1843, the friends observed him begin to lose his struggle between reason and madness. He harboured feelings of persecution, imagining he was being watched. Living on eggs and ale, he still managed to produce some beautiful works of art.

During the last week of August, 1843, Dadd visited Mosely & Co, Cutlers, at New Street, Covent Garden to buy a cut-throat razor and a clasp-knife. Meantime, his father Robert, concerned about his son's mental state, consulted Dr. Sutherland at St. Luke's Asylum. On Saturday 26 August, Richard Dadd was examined and deemed not responsible for his actions. Robert, went into denial and became convinced his son was recovering.

The Artist Murders his Father - Enemy of God

The following day, father and son took a trip by steamboat from London to Gravesend, then a gig to Cobham, to have a heart-to-heart talk. In Cobham, the Ship Inn was full, so they took rooms locally. Richard asked Robert to go for a walk that evening, and despite encroaching darkness, they went through the park. While close to a chalk pit, Paddock Hole, Richard attacked his father with a terrible, desperate violence, using both razor and knife. He tried to drag the body away, perhaps intending to dispose of it, but he had to give up and leave his father for dead. Climbing a stile, he ran away. (After this, Paddock Hole was known as Dadd's Hole, but it has now been filled for road widening.)

The body lay face-down around 30 feet from the road. It wasn't clear whether he was dead or drunk, so when Charles, nephew of local butcher Abraham Lyster, spotted him from a gig, he wasn't alarmed. Charles and Abraham were going to Wrotham Market but they stopped and called out to the prostrate man. Charles investigated and realised he was dead. He called to another man, George Biggs, a shepherd. Charles and George turned over the body and were shocked by the awful mutilation. George remained to guard the body, while the other two went to report the murder to the constable in Cobham.

Constable, William Dawes, hurried to Paddock Hole to examine the body. Robert's black coat was unbuttoned, revealing congealed blood and deep wounds to throat and chest. Nearby was the knife, and later the razor was discovered beneath the corpse. A search was organised, but Richard Dadd was not found. He had fled by post-chaise to Dover and crossed the Channel to Calais, explaining his dishevelled appearance as due to an accident. He bought a new suit and abandoned his blood-stained clothes at the Calais Inn before taking a train to Paris.

In the carriage, his feverish mind believed that voices were urging him to kill his travelling companion. He lowered the man's cravat and collar and drew a cut-throat razor from his coat. The Frenchman resisted but received four wounds to his throat.

Committed to an Asylum for the Insane

Dadd appeared before the JP in Montereau and was transferred to the asylum at Clermont, Fontainebleu, still believing himself the instrument of God, commissioned to destroy men possessed by the devil. He swore the killing of his father was a good act; he had destroyed an enemy of God. On his "list" was the Emperor of Austria, Ferdinand the First.

In England, the post-mortem returned a verdict of wilful murder. Robert's funeral took place at Gillingham Church. Meanwhile, in the French asylum, Richard's health worsened, but eventually he improved and was sent back to England in 1844. On 29 July, Dadd appeared before magistrates in Rochester, sporting a long beard and moustache, but he declined to offer any defence. After a second appearance, he was committed to Maidstone Prison, then on 22 August, he entered the Criminal Lunatic Dept. of Bethlem Hospital. He was twenty-seven.

With the support of the authorities, he painted successfully for the next forty-two years. His work decorated the asylum, although this displeased his family as they felt it promoted public knowledge of his shame.

Sources:

Adapted from Murder & Crime, Medway, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2008.

Richard Dadd, David Greysmith, Studio Vista, 1973.

Spooky Tales of Kent's Reculver Towers and Sacrificial Hauntings

Add caption

Ghostly encounters date back to the 3rd century when people believed that throwing bodies into the foundations of buildings protected the living from evil.

    

Reculver Towers, near Herne Bay in Kent, are claimed to be haunted. The beautiful towers are all that remain of an old Saxon church, St. Mary's. Originally, the church, dating from the third century, was built on the site of a fort, but in 1809, the main part of St. Mary's was demolished as it was about to collapse into the sea. The two towers were saved, to provide a useful landmark for shipping, and later, during the 1990s, new sea defences were erected to stop erosion of the shoreline.

Reculver Towers Protected by the Spirits of Infants

The Roman fort on which St. Mary's stood was once 2 km from the shore, but the sea has gradually claimed back at least half the land. From the remaining half, some terrible discoveries have come to light. During the 1960s, eleven tiny infant skeletons were discovered during a dig. Most had been placed precisely beneath walls and the corners of the walls, as though to help prop up the structure. People really believed in past times that tossing small babies into the foundations of buildings helped protect them and their occupants from evil spirits.

As a result, many people claim to have heard the cries of these infants late in the night. They think they are calling to be freed from their entrapment within the foundations. Other people say that babies have been washed ashore from shipwrecks and their cries are added to the laments of the others.

Spooky Reculver's Nightly Hauntings

During the evening, two hooded figures are said to appear, although no one knows who they are. A local builder told me that workmen no longer report the discovery of bones beneath their excavations, because then everything is closed down and the place is over-run with archaeologists and scientists. "I work for myself," he said, "and we are not compensated by the government when that happens. We lose the use of our tools and equipment and the sites can sometimes remain closed for a year or more."

Sometimes, a phantom medieval customs officer and a smuggler engage in a ghostly sword-fight, and other ghosts haunt the dykes, where bodies were flung in the past.

How long the towers will remain intact, no one knows for sure. Kent Wildlife Trust say that the shore is receding at the rate of approximately 1-2 metres a year.

Sources:

• Reculver Visitor's Centre.
• Adapted from Haunted Kent, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2005.

    

18th Century Crimes Against Innocent Kentish Girls

Mary Bax's grave, copyright Janet Cameron

Mary Bax and Jenny the milkmaid – The brutal treatment of two innocent Kentish girls.

There was little or no protection for innocent young girls who fell foul of male antagonists during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  In this first account, the girl’s unnecessary and cruel death was avenged by her sweetheart, but in the second, as happened all too often, the girl’s young man abandoned her and the evildoer escaped justice. 

Mary Bax

In a remote place on the ancient road between Deal and Sandwich stands a stone which simply reads: On this spot / August the 25^th 1782 / Mary Bax, Spinster / aged 23 Years / was murdered by / Martin Lash, Foreigner / who was executed for the same

Mary was a beautiful girl who, one day, decided to make the journey across the sand hills to Deal, but on the way she was accosted by the sailor, Martin Lash.  Lash was a Lascar (a sailor from India or south-east Asia) and also a deserter, so he had nothing to lose by assaulting or murdering Mary.  He threw the body into a ditch and the spot is now marked by a tombstone.

Mary was a cheerful and popular girl, so family, friends and neighbours were devastated, not least a young man of seventeen called John Winter who was in love with Mary. At the time of the crime, John’s younger brother, David, had been on his way for a rowdy evening at the infamous smugglers’ haunt, the Checkers-of-the-Hope Inn (the name is said to derive from Chaucer’s Inn in Canterbury) and he witnessed the brutal murder.  David rushed back immediately and spilled out the horrific account to John, who became mad with grief, and then with rage.

John was determined to bring the evildoer to justice, so he went after him, searching night and day until he found him and turned him over to the authorities.  David was able to identify him immediately and so justice was done; Martin Lash was hanged close to where he murdered Mary and where his grave now lies.  The tombstone is still there for all to see.

Later, sadly, David Winter drowned.  John went away for many years, only returning to Deal when the events were all but forgotten.

Mary’s stone now rests high on a levée among the long grass just off the ancient road, but this rise would not have been there at the time, so, although this is the spot where she was killed, it may not contain her grave.  Local people say it is possible her body could have been taken back to Sandwich from where the old Kent surname, Bax, originated.

Jenny the milkmaid

The wealthy Geary family lived at the Old Soar Manor at Plaxol during the eighteenth century. The family employed a milkmaid, a gentle girl called Jenny who knew nothing of the ways of the world.  The only man Jenny ever loved was Ted, a farm worker.  Jenny was unprepared when, during the Christmas celebrations in 1775, a drunken priest discovered her alone in the kitchen, probably washing dishes while hoping she might partake of a small mince pie.  Almost senseless from the consumption of ale, although not enough to render him harmless, the priest grabbed the girl from behind and dragged her away to the barn.  Amidst the general noise and bonhomie, her screams went unnoticed by those partying in the house.

Here, the priest thrust her on the floor and overpowered her. But Jenny didn’t tell anyone.  She was too ashamed, and anyway, she was afraid no one would take her word against his.  Then she found, to her horror, she was pregnant with his child and eventually, her family noticed her expanding waistline.  Her father wanted to know who was responsible, but she refused to tell him, so he told her to leave his home, never to return.

She couldn’t approach her master for help, as he wouldn’t believe her word against that of a priest.  Sadly, Jenny’s young man, Ted rejected her, blaming her for allowing herself to be ‘seduced’ so what could she do but approach the priest, throw herself at his feet and beg for mercy?  Eventually she found him playing hymns on the organ in the chapel.  She pleaded for his help but he would have nothing to do with her.  He could not admit responsibility, he told her, and she must find a young man to marry if she wished to give her child a father.

In despair, Jenny turned away, feeling helpless.  She’d eaten very little through all the worry and began to feel faint.  Nearby was a basin filled with water, called a ‘piscina’, for the priests to wash their hands before preaching. Unfortunately, Jenny, wanting a drink of water, collapsed over it, hitting her head on the side and losing consciousness.  Some people think she may have been pushed down into the basin by the priest. Too weak to resist, she ended up drowning in the shallow water.

As she was only a servant, a brief enquiry was held into her death, and Jenny was laid to rest in unconsecrated ground.  People forgot about her, until one day, early in the twentieth century, a farm labourer claimed to have heard a woman’s footsteps pacing to and fro above a hay and straw storehouse where he worked.  At the time, he had no idea that this was once the original chapel where Jenny died.

The house was bequeathed to the National Trust during the midd-1900s, and again strange occurrences were reported.  It was said that inside the building, lights turned themselves on and off and music emanated from the chapel while the temperature was prone to drop suddenly.  It was also claimed there were sightings of the phantom priest bending over the spot where the basin once was.  The final irony to this story is that the word ‘Soar’ of the Old Soar Manor means grief in Norman French.

           

From Haunted Kent by Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing (2005) £8.99

ISBN 0-7524-3605-8)