Wymering Manor

Overview

There are so many accounts of ghosts at Wymering Manor combined with its semi derelict state, you can be forgiven for imagining ghosts simply flying out of every wall. This is not the case, as with many a historic location time has taken a serious toll on Wymering Manor, although the manor is very fortunate to now be under the care of the Wymering Manor Trust . The Trust are a group of people who are determined to restore the manor to its former glory and they have made enormous progress over the past few years, firstly saving the manor from simply falling down to now beginning some restorations. As for its ghosts, many of our guests have had an experience at Wymering Manor and I have to confess to not being entirely comfortable when setting up equipment or removing it unaccompanied before or after our ghost events! Recently (March 2017) we as a team were having a meeting at the manor when we all suddenly heard heavy footsteps on the floor above (we were in the music room) and the sound of dragging. We ventured upstairs to investigate only to find no one up there and some chair which when dragged made the exact sound…

Ghosts

With its ghosts of children, bleeding nuns and phantom horses, Wymering Manor is known as Britain’s most haunted house.

Somewhere in the darkest corner of this ancient house, a child’s whisper can be heard. A ghostly nun stares from the shadows, her hands dripping with blood. Apparitions silently climb the staircases and phantom horses gallop away in the night.

Welcome to Wymering Manor, the oldest building in Portsmouth, England, and by many accounts the most haunted place in all of Great Britain (although there are several others that I’m sure make the same claim).

(above by Stephen Wagner)

History

Although most of the current structure dates back to the 16th century, the manor goes back much further. Records show the first owner of Wymering Manor was King Edward the Confessor in 1042, then after the Battle of Hastings it fell into the hands of King William the Conqueror until 1084. The house has been altered and renovated continually over the centuries, yet remarkably it has retained materials dating back to medieval and even ancient Roman times.

Having changed ownership many times over these hundreds of years, the property was eventually adopted by the Portsmouth City Council, then sold for a short time to a private organization for development into a hotel.

When the development fell through, the property reverted to the council, which has again put it up for auction. You can see pictures of the Manor in its splendor on http://www.friendsofoldwymering.org.uk/wmintro.php

More Ghost accounts

The Ghostly Nun. Outside the small attic bedroom, above the Panelled Room, the spectre of a nun, her hands dripping with blood, has been seen looking down the narrow staircase that leads from the attic.
The Legend of Reckless Roddy. One of Wymering Manor’s most infamous legends is that of Reckless Roddy. According to the story, sometime in the Middle Ages, a newly married couple came to the manor.
Soon, however, the husband was called away, leaving his new bride alone. When he heard of this, Sir Roderick of Portchester – Reckless Roddy – went to Wymering in hopes of seducing the young woman. But the husband returned home unexpectedly, chased Roddy from the house, and killed him as he was attempting to mount his horse.
And now, the legend states, whenever a newly married couple comes to stay at the manor, they can hear Reckless Roddy’s horse galloping down the lane. Is there any truth to it? Leonard Metcalf, claiming no knowledge of the legend, said that shortly after his marriage following WWII, both he and his new wife were awakened at 2 a.m. by the sound of a horse galloping away down the lane.

Recently

When conducting our events at Wymering and speaking to Ben soon after (Ben is a custodian of Wymering Manor), he told us that he had been called out once because of somebody inside the Manor. Not long after we had left after an event, the manor’s sophisticated security system had tracked somebody in the garden outside who had walked around the manor and entered via the front door, once inside they got as far as the staircase and then simply vanished. The front door had not been opened. We also seemed to have disturbed the ghost who is known as the monk who dislikes the dark. Over the years some of the local residents have complained about the lights in the music room being on in the middle of the night, causing light pollution to their homes. Even though these lights had not been left on by anybody at the manor, they seemed to have a knack of turning on in the middle of the night. The whole floor had been rewired as it was first thought there may be an electrical fault however this didn’t stop the turning on of the lights in the middle of the night. One day, a lady claiming to be a medium spoke to Ben after her visit (for unconnected business). She told him of a Monk who had been holding a vigil over the body of a departed monk before his funeral in the music room area many many years ago. When night fell, this monk eventually ran out of candles and was found also dead the following day. The medium lady suggested leaving a night light on in that room for him because he was afraid of the dark. Ben although sceptical of this, purchased a nightlight for the room and since then they have not had an issue with the lights turning on in the middle of the night, well until we held and event and unplugged the nightlight (not knowing) and that same night after we had left Ben was greeted the following day with the news that the lights had come on in the dead of night again (sorry Ben!)

Video hi lights from our event January 2019

Video hi lights from our event September 2018