ROCHESTER CASTLE
Rochester Castle www . english-heritage . org . uk / visit / places / rochester-castle
Standing proudly opposite the Cathedral in the historic and pretty town of Rochester and its cobbled streets , is the imposing fortress of Rochester Castle . With a complex history of destruction and rebuilding , this protector of an important crossing on the River Medway is immersed in stories of bloody battles , treachery and tragic romance . The most famous ghostly tale that Rochester Castle sets the scene for is that of the White Lady , said to be historical figure Lady Blanche De Warrene .
Safely sheltering in the tower in 1262 , Lady Blanche watched a skirmish below as her rejected lover Gilbert De Clare fought her true love and betrothed , Sir Ralph . But after craftily gaining entrance to the castle by donning the same surcoat as Sir Ralph , De Clare was able to seize Lady Blanche and at that moment , Sir Ralph looked up from the fighting to see his lover engaged in this vicious assault . He took aim with his bow and arrow , tragically missing and shooting Lady Blanche through the heart . Her ghost is said to wander the castle , the bloody arrow still embedded in her chest , her flowing black hair a vivid contrast to her eerie white dress .
Ghosts of the Romney Marsh
Sometimes referred to as ‘ the Fifth Continent ’, the chilling landscape of the Romney Marsh is one which at night becomes full of creeping mist and was even a victorious opponent of Elizabeth I ; who was said to have reorganised her travel plans in order to avoid crossing ‘ the dreaded Romney Marsh ’. A remote and mysterious place full of stretching horizons , old villages , ancient churches and crooked buildings that sit under the wide expanse of the open sky , such a place could not exist without its own collection of ghost stories and spooky legends .
Hope All Saints Church ( www . theromneymarsh . net / hopeallsaints ) a ruined collection of flint walls now the only remnants left standing , was built in around 1150 in the former lost parish of Hope and fell into decay in the 17th century . Once a meeting place for smugglers , this Romney Marsh monument is definitely an enthralling place for history buffs and ghost hunters alike .
St Eanswith Church in Brenzett ( www . romneymarshchurches . org . uk ) is one of the smallest churches on the Romney Marsh . With origins dating back as far as the 7th Century , it is dedicated to a princess from the same time who founded a nunnery in Folkestone in 630 . Although nothing now remains of a Saxon building , the present church dates back to the late twelfth century and is hugely atmospheric .
St Eanswith even compelled famous writer Edith Nesbit to write her ghost story ‘ Man-Size in Marble ’; the grand tomb of John Fagge and his son which dominates the Lady Chapel being the inspiration behind the story .
A unique church that stands marooned in the middle of a field , cut off into isolation by ditches of water , is Fairfield Church ( www . theromneymarsh . net / stthomas ). This twelfth century church was built under the orders of the monks of Christchurch Canterbury who had made it their mission to transform much of this area of Romney Marsh from marshland to productive fields where sheep could be grazed , and crops grown . Inspect the rivers that make this church an island more closely and you will realise that they have been dug by hand to drain water off the land . And with the church comes a tragic tale of calamity and death , not only were the marshes still prone to flooding , but the Black Death , which hit Europe in the fourteenth century , had a deadly impact . The population of those living in villages like Fairfield was halved . Two centuries later malaria , also known as ‘ marsh fever ’, caused further devastation . The open land and slow , brackish waters were a breeding ground for disease spreading mosquitoes . Hundreds of farm workers died ( the landowners who could afford to live on higher land were less affected ) and the village was deserted leaving just the church stranded alone on the marshes .
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