The site of Salisbury Hall (pictured above) has been occupied by a number of large manor houses since the 9th Century. The present house was built around 1668 by the London Banker James Hoare. It has associations with Charles II and Nell Gwynne, who lived in a cottage by the bridge to the Hall, and it is claimed that Nell dangled their first child together over the moat because the infant son had no title. Salisbury Hall is sited alongside the de Havilland Aircraft Museum.

 

The house is reputedly haunted by the apparition of a “youngish woman wearing a blue fichu” (A Fichu is a large, square kerchief worn by women in the 18th century to fill in the low neckline of a bodice). Some believe it to be the ghost of Nell Gwyn herself. The phantom of a Cavalier complete with a sword running through his body has also been reported. Disembodied laughter has also been heard.