Welcome to the seventy-first edition of the Borley
Ghost Society Newsletter.
Rare old church photo - and more
Here is a photo of Borley Church I've never seen before. I wonder what date it is, as there are huge trees by the road. It is a photograph of a photograph in its frame. Lots of trees. The clue is the size of the yew trees. My guess it is from Henry Bull days. How dark it all was. No wonder they thought it spooky. The reason they liked lots of trees was because it is really quite a bleak spot and the trees give much-needed shelter. I have an old photograph of Foxearth before the current trees grew to maturity. They grew sideways because of the prevailing wind! This is a fine old house that used to be occupied by the Gardiners, who were prominent local farmers (much information on the Foxearth and District Locla History Society site) It still exists and is at the south end of Borley Green. The Gardiners have a bit-part in the saga of the 'hauntings' as they were the next large house after Borley Place, and the Gardiner girls were friendly with the Bull girls... . . .[also included] SNOWY BORLEY GREEN. It is quite handy just to confirm that the trees were kept from the original garden. I'd always assumed that (cedars take a long time to grow) but it is nice to have it confirmed. I believe that the gothic summerhouse was from the previous garden as it would have been very fashionable (Strawberry Hill Gothic) when the Herringham house was built but ridiculously unfashionable (impossible to buy) in 1864. Therefore it could not have been built to observe the Nun (pop goes another legend)
I think I may have found the source of the nun legend. There is a strong legend of a dark cloaked lady ghost in Lineage Wood just the other side of Long Melford. The ghost seems to be mediaeval, and Sir Richard Hyde Parker, who owns and farms the land, says that the groom would never take the horses near the wood because he believed they would panic. Many used to say that they'd seen it. It is odd that there are so many ghost stories around here, but the one place that there simply aren't any long-standing ghost stories is Borley! - Andrew Clarke
Borley newspaper articles from the Foxearth Historical Society
May 24th 1864. On Friday evening a terrific thunder storm struck Sudbury,
At Alphampstone, Essex, a lightning flash struck a straw stack and destroyed
it on Mr Battle’s farm. He is a farmer and malster, the buildings were also
destroyed together with two cows and one horse, the farmhouse only escaped,
100 coombs of malt were also consumed.
A tree at the rectory at Borley was struck and shattered to pieces by the
electric fluid.
June 21st 1864. Court of Exchequer----Bevan v Countess Waldegrave. This
action is by an attorney not now in practice against Countess Waldegrave for
breach of covenant. The plaintiff alleges that an agreement between him and
the late Earl Waldegrave and himself that if a sum of money that he had lent
his Lordship was not paid by a certain time when the next presentation of
the living of Borley should fall in, the plaintiff shall have the right of
presenting the incumbency but if the money was repaid as agreed upon the
covenant should end. The money was not repaid before the presentation fell
in and he made an application to defendant, the Countess to indect a nominee
of her own. The application was not attended to but the Countess presented
a gentleman of her own selection, the plaintiff then demanded repayment of
the money lent but the defendant pleaded that the money had been repaid, the
trial took place 12 months ago at the Guildhall before the Lord Chief Baron
and the jury found for the defendant but subsequently the plaintiff obtained
a new trial on the grounds of improper reception of evidence, but refusal to
receive the conversational which took place under which it was written. The
majority of the Court upon hearing the argument of Counsel thought the
evidence had been received and ultimately it was decided that a new trial
should be granted unless defendant’s counsel agreed to withdraw the
equitable plea and in that case there would be further argument on the
remaining pleas.
TIME TRAVEL: Possibile?
A new essay by your president asks if it would be possible to go back in time and visit Borley. "So, let's assume we can "pop in" to any event in the past. Where would I go? How about the moment my mother either fell out of bed, or was pushed out by poltergeists. She lived in the most haunted hosue in England for five years, and at one point, her bed may have been turned over by ghosts. It would be great to check that out. Or, going back just a few years earlier - same house - I'd be on the lawn during the late afternoon of July 28, 1900. That's when four sisters saw a ghostly nun walk past. I could prove or disprove the legend of Borley Rectory with one simple visit. How fun."
Letters to the editor
On the Borley website there is no update section now. Is the site maxed out for space or are you still able to add things? I'd just like to know how to find out if anyhting new has been added. - Paul Adams
[I had to clean house for two reasons - no space, and poor health. Updates are included in each newsletter.]
I don't seem to
be able to view newsletters 25, 26,22 and 23. - Babbs Philip
[Issues 22 and 23 are gone from all my data banks.]
I can't tell you how heartening it is to see the site so
well-used and popular. 25-30 years ago when I first began my interest in
the rectory, we were all toiling in an isolated fashion without any real
means (other than happenstance and word of mouth) of contacting those with a
similar interest in the place. Now, in our high tech world, there is a
vigorous exchange of information, ideas and - what's more - a passion for
the story which will help keep informed and educated interest alive and
flourishing for years to come.
site weren't deeply indebted and profoundly grateful to you for all you
have done and continue to do. More power to your elbow. We'd have you dipped
in bronze if it wouldn't detrimentally affect your ability to use the
keyboard!
Best wishes as ever, - Richard Lee-Van den Daele
[You are most kind. It wouldn't be possible without contributions from associates such as yourself!]
i have so much interest in paranormal. That i want to learn more about it and i feel you can help. i,m 34 i live in london holloway i work as a operational supervisor for london transport. - darren fleming
I live in Ohio. i have been into paranormal since grade 2. I am now 13. I
have over 60 books on the subjects, I have 25 ghost pics, 50 UFO, and 2
Bigfoot photos. I have been to several local haunted place and found 3
possible spirit pics. I am fascinated by ghosts and hauntings. - Cameron DeHart
I live in the state of west virginia I am currantly studying a
lot on the borley and the belmez faces in spain
The borley alays interested me even when i was a kid i found out about it in
a book called strange stories and amazing facts it brought chills up my
spine. I always wanted to come to the borley to do my own research about it
a lot of my friend said i was nuts and they wouldn't dare go in there but
paranormal is my life. So one night I was online and was looking up more
info about the borley and found your website and it caught my eye and when i
seen you have a program for people to join I said to myself sign up i would
like to be a great part of this study and it would be a dream come true.
- Aaron Ridenour
Associate activities
I am terribly fascinated by this story.
I grew up in a haunted house--a favorite family story. We are a family
of story-tellers, who laugh a lot. I live in Marion, Indiana. My wife
and I both work in mental health; I, a psychiatric nurse, she, a
psychotherapist.
My wife and I enjoy tracking down Hoosier legends and ghost stories.
My youngest son and I have done a bit of ghost-hunting. Mostly, we
scare ourselves, but, nonetheless have more stories to share around the
table.
I do not recall when or where I first heard about Borley Rectory. It
seems I have always known about it. Of course I have read Price. Like
Lizzie Borden's house, I am fairly confident I can draw, from memory,
the floor plan of the rectory and its grounds; the story has so
enthralled me.
A framed copy of the floating brick photograph sits upon a shelf in my
library; the photos of the "Marianne please help get" messages thrill
me. (Perhaps oddly, but since I have already mentioned her, I own a
brick from Lizzie Borden's house; to possess of Rectory brick, floating
or otherwise, would be, well, beyond my wildest imaginings. My daughter
lives in London and concurs with the warnings I have read, I believe on
your website, that such souvenir collecting is sternly discouraged.)
Of course. Acquiring a brick is not my motivation, here. As far as
authenticating, I suppose if it were floating, or even looked like it
wanted to flloat--well then, you've got yourself a Borley Brick. - Jeff Harris
Bibliography
In the way of light relief, future Tom Hasties will be reading the columns
of the East Anglian Daily Times and the Sudbury Mercury for March and April
with wondering amazement. After a grave was found by the developers of
Borley Tithe Barn, alongside Borley Churchyard, these hitherto respectable
newspapers produced a farrago of nonsense linking this first with the Kray
Brothers and then to some animal bones found on the other side of the road
50 years ago. There were calls from people with a Book to Sell for these
bones to be examined, photographed and investigated by themselves as
paranormal investigators. What we really had was a piece of cowboy late-14th
Century improper-ty development with the Barn being built on part of the
Churchyard. None of the peasants could object of course, it was done, and
the boundary wall shows this today. Nevertheless a complaint was made to the
Essex Coroner and, at great expense to you and I (but not the complainants
who lived in Suffolk), the Coroner's Officer and his assistant from
Chelmsford and a Professor of Forensic Anthropology from Cambridge
University joined your Rector (who should have been on holiday) and his
long-suffering Churchwarden to inspect the finds. These were pronounced as
being the 13th Century remains of a youth of 17 and a man of 40+. Strangely
enough your incumbent had already imparted this fact to the complainants,
who had then used the Press to rubbish him. He doubts an apology will appear
in the same Press but he is glad he didn't buy the Book - and he is not sure
about the newspapers either... At least those bones can now have Christian
Reburial in an unmarked grave in the present Churchyard and be allowed to
rest in peace. - Brian Sampson, Parish magazine
Borley Rectory "home page"
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