The Manor is approximately 800 years old and although it was once owned by King Henry VIII he did not live here. The Manor is steeped in history and this is reflected in its appearance and decor with heavy oaked doors, tapestries, ancient stone walls, stone spiral staircases, open log fires and bread ovens.
Earliest recorded history of the Manor has been traced back to between 1136 and 1205 and the reign of King Henry I. During the reigns of King Stephen & Queen Matilda the Augustinian monks of Llanthony Prima Priory in Monmouthshire sought refuge at Llanthony Secunda in Gloucestershire and the Manor house in Caldicot.
King Henry VIII owned Llanthony Secunda Manor in 1536 when he also acquired large amounts of land following dissolution of the monasteries. Clement Dace was appointed as Henry's bailiff and farmer, in 1540 and it is believed he lived in the Manor. In 1557 the Manor was sold to Richard Seyborne for the sum of £174.5s.6d.
Richard's son, John, sold the property to Edward & Mary Kemeys between 1601 and 1603 and it remained in the Kemeys family until 1793 when it was purchased by Henry Wise Jnr a local ship builder. Henry's wife Sarah passed away in 1851 and he passed away five years later. The estate was left to Henry's niece Mary Bryan who in turn sold the estate to the Howard family.
Edmund Howard was a widower and lived at the Manor with his three children Susan, Edmund and Bennett and Sara Richard was recorded as living at the farm as a servant girl aged 18. The Howard's sold to William Morgan in 1941 and after the Second World War it was purchased by The Heavens until sold to developers in 1970. The Manor was due for demolition in 1972 but was purchased by Mrs S.M. McLeod who lovingly restored and rescued the Manor from its impending fate.
Activity
It has been reported that recent renovations of the property have started a series of unexplained activity, ranging from:
o There have been unexplained pools of water appearing in the Great Hall.
o Feelings of being watched and followed have been experienced
o Items have been moved without explanation.
Investigation
On our walk around, there were a few spirits who made contact, one by the name of Charles who seemed to stay with us all night. In the attic area both our groups independently said they saw a 'shadow man' move from one side of the attic to the other. Red, blue and green lights were also seen by both groups and we did have some amazing table tipping. However, during one session, I turned on my torch as someone said they felt unwell. Prior to this we had heard the table moving although we were all holding hands in the dark. As I turned the light on, the table was still rocking slowly from side to side - with none of the group anywhere near it. As it came to a halt, I called out to the spirit, 'please Charles, could you rock the table again?' and lo and behold, the table once again rocked completely on it's own !
All in all it was a memorable night and as usual, our guests were fantastic.
If you'd like to join us here or on any other event, please log on to www.dusktilldawevents.co.uk to buy your ticket.
No comments:
Post a Comment