West Midlands Ghost Club

Monday 30th November 2020

One site that I'd been desperately wanting to visit for a number of years now - but just never seem to get round to seeing - was the magnificent ruin of Moreton Corbet Castle in Shropshire.  I say I'd been and was there, as, on Saturday night - purely due to the kindness of family members, desperate for a little excitement during these annoyingly dull days of 'lockdown' - this omission was a long-standing 'itch' that I finally got to, well-and-truly, scratch!  Typically, it turned out to be a pitch-black, foggy, rainy night...... but, excited child that I am, when it comes to this kind of thing, even that couldn't detract from this experience that I'd waited so long for!     

Situated not many miles from Shrewsbury, construction of this impressive structure initially began in 1606, under the direction of Sir Robert Corbet, of Acton Reynald.  Sadly, however, Sir Robert was to prematurely die in London, of the plague, before his project got very far....  The considerable task of carrying on the work now fell to his brother - and successor to the baronetcy - Sir Vincent Corbet.

The latter was said to be a rather kindly man and - while not a Puritan himself - he clearly had no time for the related age of persecution that was sweeping the land during this period.  In fact, Sir Vincent had keenly pursued a friendship with a local Puritan called Paul Holmyard, who was a recognised target of such oppression.  (*Some variations of the legend say that he openly 'sheltered' Holmyard at Moreton Corbet?)

Whatever the truth of the tale, political pressure grew to such a level that Sir Vincent eventually had to be seen to be shying away from his bond with Holmyard..... and the unfortunate man is said to have ended up living in local woodland, basically existing, for a while at least, like a feral creature!!            

During this period, it transpires that Holmyard was passing near the castle one day when he spied Sir Vincent checking on the progress of the property!  Wholly distraught at his current predicament, Holmyard began to vent his anger on his former friend.... and is said to have 'cursed him' thus:

"Woe unto thee, hard-hearted man, the lord has hardened thy heart as he hardened the heart of the Pharaoh, to thine own destruction. Rejoice not in thy riches, not in the monuments of they pride, for neither thou nor thy children, nor thy children's children shall inhabit these halls. They shall be given up to desolation; snakes, vipers and unclean beasts shall make it their refuge, and they home shall be full of doleful creatures. Rejoice not in thy riches, not in the monuments of they pride, for neither thou nor thy children, nor thy children's children shall inhabit these halls. They shall be given up to desolation; snakes, vipers and unclean beasts shall make it their refuge, and they home shall be full of doleful creatures."

 

Well - whether you happen to believe in curses or not - it turns out that this magnificent property was never actually finished...  During the Civil War period, the Corbet family garrisoned the building for the Parliamentarians, resulting in it receiving a considerable battering from besieging Royalist forces!  

Of the ghost that supposedly haunts the site, you could have probably guessed that - on moonlit nights - the bedraggled spectre of the unfortunate Holmyard is said to walk the empty halls of the ruin.... supposedly checking that the building is still not being worked on....!

While the ghost clearly falls into the 'legendary' category - more tale than substance - the site has clearly become a very popular location with the ghost hunting fraternity, and a number of people report strange happenings here.  Some years ago, a number of West Midlands Ghost Club members visited the location and happened to accidentally capture some 'strangeness' on a recording.....

While generally touring the site, one of the members had a video camera running and, as the group passed over the thick grass between ruins and nearby graveyard wall, a sequence of 'footsteps' - on what sounds to be stone flooring - clearly ring out on the footage...!?!  This anomaly wasn't noticed until the tape was later viewed - it was not heard at the time of recording - but, at that exact moment on the tape, one of those present (off camera) calls out:  'What was that...!?'  Intriguingly, when this person was questioned subsequently, they did not recall speaking at that point in time and had no idea what they might have been referring to?

 

In mentioning my recent visit to friends, Carl Buttery - a veteran, North Staffordshire based investigator - describes Moreton Corbet as a 'superb location' and says that he has always picked up activity when visiting the place.  Similarly, my good friend John Chance, of 'Ghostcallers UK', has visited the ruins numerous times and reports quite a lot of happenings there.....  He tells me that he has detected the sound of 'heavy booted footsteps' near the Gatehouse portion of the site... coincidentally, in generally the same section where the aforementioned 'footsteps on stone' were recorded!?  In the main portion of the ruin, adjacent to the room containing the entrance to the cellars, he also detected a noise akin to a set of 'bellows' working?  This sound is said to have continued for a good 20 minutes!  He also reports 'large balls of light' in the same area of the building.....