most haunted places in Somerset

Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle, the historical home of the Luttrell family dominates the steep hill overlooking the small picturesque village of Dunster in Somerset. It looks out over Exmoor and the Bristol Channel and is home to both England's oldest lemon tree and the National collection of strawberry trees. There has been a castle on the site for over 1000 years.

Initially the castle was granted by William the Conqueror to William de Mohun whose family lived in the castle until it was sold in 1376 by Lady Joan de Mohun to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell. The descendants of Lady Elizabeth Luttrell owned the castle until 1976.

By the 15th century, the sea which had earlier reached the base of the hill offering a natural defence, had receded and the deer park was created by the Luttrells. When he inherited the castle in 1571 AD, Sir George Luttrell found it dilapidated and unoccupied so is 1617 AD he employed the architect William Arnold to create a new house in the lower part of the castle. During the English Civil War, Dunster Castle was a royalist stronghold and it came under siege by Parliamentary forces in 1645 AD eventually leading to the surrender of the castle in April 1646 AD. Of course after this time the defences of the castle were demolished to prevent any further use against Parliament. All that remains of the mediaeval fortifications today are the gatehouse and the stumps of two Towers. The castle was redesigned by Anthony Salvin in the 19th century. There have been many ghostly occurrences in the area of this castle and the castle itself. The shop, originally part of the stable block, is haunted by a man dressed in green. Items in the shop seem to mysteriously tumble and certain items have been spoiled by a sticky brown substance. No one can explain where this comes from.

One of the weirdest occurrences took place in the modern Blue Kitchen which used to be the butler's pantry and silver cleaning rooms. A young lad employed on a work experience programme was mopping the floor on his own but ran from the area after apparently seeing a bare foot appear out of thin air! He said that it looked as though it was covered in a strange white powder.

It is generally agreed however that the most haunted room in the castle is the 'Leather Gallery'. It gained its name due to the leather hangings depicting the story of Antony and Cleopatra. Many have attested to hearing men's voices at night along with doors banging and footsteps and generally speaking no one likes to work there. Apparently, a medium once visited the castle and was of the opinion that one particular ghost which had been seen by a cleaner was that of a royalist soldier called Richard who had met his death in the castle grounds from a puncture wound above his right eye.

These are just a few of the spooky occurrences in this fine mediaeval castle.

Battle of Sedgemoor

Like many of the ancient battlefields of Britain, Sedgemoor - the site of the final defeat of the Duke of Monmouth's ill armed rebel army - has gathered many folklore traditions and legends.

The battle of Sedgemoor, 1685, was the last stand for the 'pitchfork' rebel army of the Duke of Monmouth. His army of supporters, which numbered around five thousand strong, were mainly armed with nothing more than farming implements. They were slaughtered mercilessly by the accurate gunfire of James II troops, as they attempted a night attack across the Sedgemoor marshland. The revolt started in June of that year, when the Duke tried to claim the throne, landing first at Lyme Regis in Dorset. The Duke managed to muster a fair amount of support from the Somerset people, who suffered terribly in the aftermath of the battle, during the trails known as the 'Bloody Assizes'. The trails were presided over by the notorious Hanging Judge, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, who sentenced hundreds of people to death.

Legends and Traditions
There are many stories of ghosts other traditions attached to the area, and there is little wonder as the events of the battle and the bloody aftermath, left a deep mark upon the local people.

One traditional tale tells of a local lad fighting with Monmouth's army, who was captured after the battle. He was famed throughout Somerset as an exceptional runner, and to amuse themselves his captors told him that his life would be spared if he could keep pace with a horse. He rose to the task and managed to stay beside their finest horse at full gallop. This remarkable feat of athleticism was not to save his life however, for after the race he was put to the sword just the same, his captors reigning on their promise to spare his life. His sweetheart was so devastated by the news of her lovers death that she drowned herself in the shallow waters of the levels, her ghost remaining to haunt the levels accompanied by the sound of a man and a horse running at full pelt.

In her book Somerset Folklore Ruth L Tongue records a local tradition recorded in 1890, of how a researcher in the 18th century was told by a farmer that he had heard the sound of someone shouting "come over and fight" one foggy night in the vicinity of the battlefield. This was said to have been the battle cry of the Duke's men, desperately shouting at James's army to join them in battle as they were mown down by musket balls. Although the farmer believed that the source of the voice must have been a drunkard, the tale has now become the tradition that the battle site is haunted by the sound of ghostly cries.

The ghost of Monmouth is also said to appear on the battlefield either on the third or sixth of July, on the anniversary of the battle (the battle was on the night of the sixth of July). Monmouth actually managed to escape the battle with his life but was captured a few days later hiding in a ditch. He was executed for treason at the Tower of London on July the fifteenth. The Duke had calmly paid the axe man - Jack Ketch - to do a swift and clean job, but the axe man lost his nerve and took five bloody strikes to relieve the Duke of his life, much to the outrage of the massed crowd. Even after those five strikes the Duke's head was still attached to his twitching body, finally separated from his shoulders with a knife, on the order of the Sheriff.

Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury has been identified with the mysterious Isle of Avalon from the twelfth century, its past has become steeped in myth and legend, and it is probably most famous for its Arthurian and early Christian traditions.

There are several sites to visit, the enchanted Glastonbury Tor, once the realm of the fairies, The Chalice Well said to be the resting place of the Holy Grail, and the Abbey, where the grave of Arthur and Guinevere is said to lie. Glastonbury itself is also worthy of note with some ancient buildings and pubs, and a plethora of alternative shops, as the site acts as a magnet to those interested in the mysteries.

According to legend Joseph of Arimathea - Jesus's Uncle - is said to have travelled to Britain with Jesus, giving rise to Blake's poem Jerusalem. After Christ's death Joseph is said to have returned, reaching Glastonbury on Christmas morning in AD30. Weary from his travels he thrust his staff into the ground on Wearyall, where it at once sprouted into a blossoming thorn.

There was a tree of unusual origin on Wearyall right up until the 17th century when it was chopped down by one of the dour faced puritans suporting Oliver Cromwell. St John's Church still has the Glastonbury thorn Craetegus Praecox, which may actually have derived form Syria. The most likely origin of the tree is that it was brought back from the holy land during the Middle Ages, either by a pilgrim or perhaps a crusading knight.

Glastonbury Tor, which is strikingly prominant on the flat Somerset landscape, has long been seen as an entrance to the otherworld, and the abode of fairies. Gwynn ap Nudd - the lord of the underworld in welsh tradition - had his abode beneath the hill, and this legend became amalgamated into tales relating to St Collen, who is said to have made a hermitage upon the tor. The story goes that St Collen heard some locals talking about Gwynn, and how he had a palace upon the tor. Collen rounded on them for speaking of such superstitions and devilish things, but the men warned him that Gwynn ap Nudd would not overlook such an insult. Later a messenger arrived from Gwynn, and asked the saint to come and meet the king in his otherworldly palace. Three times the saint refused to be summoned, but on the fourth occasion he agreed and accompanied the messenger armed only with a phial of holy water. He was shown to a secret door on the tor, and followed the messenger into the earth to a magnificent hall within a palace, where Gwyn was seated in a golden chair. Gwynn offered the saint some food but he refused, as it was well known that fairy offerings were perilous. After a short parley Collen decided that he had had enough, and sprinkled holy water about him, whereupon the palace disappeared and Collen found himself alone on the windswept tor.

One of the most controversial of Glastonbury's myths is that of the Glastonbury Zodiac, a ground plan of each of the signs of the Zodiac said to spread out from the tor in the defining lines of roadways, rivers and man-made features.

Its discoverer was Kathleen Maltwood, who used a medieval manuscript called The High History of the Holy Grail as a key to finding the landscape giants. She thought that their existance was encoded within the work as the various creatures mentioned within it. Katherine Maltwood published her ideas about the Zodiac in 1935. The Zodiac has now become a modern legend incorporated into the beliefs of many people. In reality the Zodiac is unlikely as many of its incorporating features that define the outlines are relatively modern, rather than ancient. But this is folklore at work, such myths can enrich the perspective of the landscape if they are not taken at face value.