Spinney Abbey, originally known as Spinney Priory, is a house and farm on the site of a former monastic foundation. Between 1216 and 1228, Beatrice, the granddaughter of Wimar, Steward of the Count of Brittany, founded the Priory of St Mary and the Holy Cross. In 1403 the Prior, William de Lode, was murdered by three of his canons, and this story has given rise to ghost stories about the Abbey.
Phantom monks have been reportedly heard singing and one has been witnessed walking in the garden. Mysterious lights are another reported visual effect, and the noted Ghost Hunter, Peter Underwood observed and reported significant drops of 7 degrees at 2:10am whilst the horses became restless in the area the ghost walks.
Pictured left is Spinney Abbey courtesy of JohnArmagh.
Spinney Abbey,
33 - 35 Stretham Road,
Wicken,
Cambridgeshire, CB7 5XQ.
For further information, please read Haunted Britain by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe.
Wicken Fen is one of Britain's oldest nature reserves comprising of 600 acres of land, and was the first reserve cared for by the National Trust, starting in 1899. It is situated near the village of Wicken.
It is supposedly haunted by a number of ghosts, including Roman legionaries a black dog and the sinister "lantern men" - dancing lights that are believed to be malicious spirits that wish to lure the living to a watery death in the marshes. Ramblers are advised not to whistle should they be walking the area at dusk, as this might attract the Lantern Men.
The sounds of a long ago fought battle have also been reported.
Pictured left is a view of Wicken Fen courtesy of Dr Border.
Lode Lane,
Wicken,
Cambridgeshire,
CB7 5XP.
For further information, please read Haunted Britain and Ireland by Richard Jones and Ghosts: Mysterious Tales from the National Trust by Sian Evans.