Friday 18th August 2023
Dancing around a little, chronologically speaking, but one of the prettiest, most well-maintained locations that it has been my pleasure to visit came up most recently (at the time of writing this post). John Chance spent the night at ‘Donington Le Heath Manor House’ – AKA ‘The 1620’s House’ – earlier this year, in chilly February, as part of an organised paranormal investigation.
Coming forward to late July, he had asked if I should like to pop over to Leicestershire with him, again, in order to take another look at the location and just check the museum out as daytime visitors…
AS far as the history of the site is concerned, the house was built in 1290… the ‘new’ and somewhat peculiar ‘1620’s’ title being something of a definite, misleading misnomer! Apparently, the latter was ‘dreamed up’ in more recent times, as a re-branding step by the local Council, who run the property. To be frank, it is an idea that is greatly ‘selling the location short’ and, it appears, a move that made no sense at all to anyone…
The property pretty-much always served as a home, over the space of a number of centuries, coming into the hands of the Digby family from the early 1400’s until around mid-way-through the 17th Cent. Around the beginning of the 1620’s the house underwent considerable renovation, greatly giving us the style of property that we can see today. This work was most probably carried out under the ownership of one John Digby, whose nephew – Sir Everard Digby – was executed for his part in the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ in 1606.
Around the middle of the 20th Century, a local pig-farmer purchased the house with the intention of demolishing it. Upon the discovery of such plans, the local Council placed a preservation order on the premises… halting such notions. In retaliation, the farmer is said to have started ‘keeping pigs’ in the structure… seemingly doing his best to ‘run the site into the ground’ in the process. MUCH structural damage was purposefully done to the house during this period. As a consequence, in finding out what had been going on, the Council subsequently served the farmer with a ‘Compulsory Purchase Order’ and – very rightly - took the property from him…
From the mid-60’s to the early 1970’s, Leicestershire County Council renovated the house considerably and it opened as a museum in 1973. Today, in looking around the property two crests and family emblems can be spotted in a number of locations. Both of these are related to the rescue of this beautiful site… the first being the crest of Leics. County Council and the 2nd being the ‘Peacock’ emblem of the Manners Family, who were also instrumental in helping redevelop the location.
As with a proportion of the sites that John introduces me to, I had never heard of this location before. Historically speaking - in checking the property against published ghostlore – there is literally nothing to be unearthed… though paranormal researcher and author, Andrew J. Wright, redresses the balance considerably in his volume ‘Ghosts and Hauntings in and Around Leicestershire’. Herein, a small handful of pages are given over to the topic of ‘ghosts’…
It has to be said that I couldn’t personally imagine a prettier, more peaceful location to ‘haunt’… so I only hope that any ghosts here are as happy as I would imagine being myself!? According to Wright, the figures of a housemaid and a tall man in 17th Cent. Garb have been seen. The latter wears a high, wide-brimmed hat, believed to possibly be the shade of the aforementioned Sir Everard Digby…? This, however, as with many alleged ‘ghost identifications’, is almost certainly a case of ‘wishful thinking’ and that all-too-popular tendency to ‘lump in’ remotely related, historic characters with a site on the flimsiest – or even ‘no’ – evidence. The Digby family did indeed own this property for some generations, but connections with Sir Everard are most tentative at very best.
One lovely sounding effect – reported as occurring regularly (?) – is the alleged sound of ‘heavy footsteps’ heard on a gravel path in the South-West portion of the site. Staff have supposedly experienced the phenomenon on a number of occasions… one sitting outside as the sound passed right by them and ceased near the stable block!
During our visit, we asked the (absolutely lovely) guides about the ghostlore of the site and one told us that he had been present at an Ouija-board séance, during which the spirit of a young girl, named ‘Veronica’, announced her presence. In speaking to the girl, the attendees were told that ‘she had to hurry away… as her master would be returning soon’! The guide in question expressed considerable scepticism to the subject of paranormal matters, but was struck some time later when a group of Americans visited. In speaking with the assembly, one had suddenly come out with the name ‘Veronica’… seemingly, they said, associated with the site!? He said that there was no way that anyone could have possibly been ‘primed’ with such information… so how did someone ‘fresh from the US’ manage to come up with this specific data!?
As well as ‘ghosts’ the location has a number of other, utterly fascinating’ features… one of which is the huge amount of ‘apotropaic marks’ – or ‘witch protection marks’ – that can be discovered located around the building! Being something that John and myself have taken a keen interest in, in more recent times, the ‘1620’s House’ is absolutely remarkable in the sheer number of such examples that are to be seen here! (As well as ‘religious marks’ and other examples of ‘historic graffiti’!) Another wonderful feature is the immaculately manicured gardens, with – I would be willing to bet – at least one or two information boards pertaining to each and every plant and tree within the extensive grounds to the house!
Information on opening times, visits and special events at Donington Le Heath Manor House can be found on their official website HERE.
All that remains is for me to – once again – say a MASSIVE ‘Thank You’ to John Chance for putting up with my company on yet another of his fantastic adventures…!
No comments:
Post a Comment