LITMIR.BIZ

      Felbrigg Hall is one of the best-preserved seventeenth-century houses in East Anglia. Built by Robert Lyminge on the sites of a medieval property dating back to 1400, it was the home of the Windham family for over 200 years and contains many fine examples of eighteenth-century furniture and paintings. The traditional walled garden features a working eighteenth-century dovecote and the national collection of colchicums (naked ladies), which flower in September. The park is renowned for its aged trees, especially around 200 beeches. A ‘Victory V’ formation of 200,000 trees planted to mark VE Day can be seen from the air. There are 500 acres of woodland in total, and many waymarked woodland and lakeside walks.

      The Gothic library of the hall is said to be haunted by the ghost of the second William Windham, a member of Pitt the Younger’s Cabinet who inherited the estate in 1749 and began to compile the library. He was a passionate book-collector, but his love of books led to his death. In 1810, while in London, he tried to rescue a friend’s books from a burning house, but fell over and injured his hip. An operation was required, but surgery was still relatively primitive at that time and it resulted in his death. However, he still returns to his old library from time to time. It is said that when his collection of Samuel Johnson’s books are set out on the table, he will come back and browse through them.

      Felbrigg, Norfolk NR11 8PR; Tel: (01263) 837444; Fax: (01263) 837032; Email: [email protected]; Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

      The house and gardens are open daily, apart from Thursdays and Fridays, from 19 March to 30 October.

      Felbrigg village is two miles south-west of Cromer on the B1436.

      Hamilton Stud Lane and Newmarket Racecourse

      Hamilton Stud Lane in Newmarket is haunted by the ghost of the famous jockey Fred Archer, who rode his first flat race as a 12-year-old in 1869. He won his first classic, the 2,000 Guineas, at the age of 17, and became champion jockey the same year. He went on to become champion jockey for 13 consecutive years, from 1874 to 1886, and to win 21 classics. But success had a price. At 5 ft 10 in., he was very tall for a jockey, and only very strict dieting and a disgustingly strong purgative, known as Archer’s mixture, kept him down to his racing weight of 8 st. Then misfortune struck: in 1884 his wife Nelly died in childbirth. Archer was desolate. Two years later he was 1lb overweight and lost the Cambridgeshire by a head. The effects of dieting and grief brought on a fever. Delirious, he shot himself on 8 November 1886. He was just 29 years old.

      Soon after his death a local woman reported seeing Fred Archer riding down Hamilton Stud Lane towards her and her daughter and then disappearing into thin air. Since then, others have seen his ghost riding along at the same spot. It is also said that the ghost of Fred Archer haunts Newmarket Racecourse, the scene of some of his greatest triumphs. At a certain spot on the course, horses have swerved, stopped or fallen and their jockeys have reported seeing a strange white shape hanging in the air.

      Newmarket Racecourse, Westfield House, The Links, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0TG; Tel: (01638) 663482

      DEREK’S TIP

      Remain open-minded. Sometimes people can be too logical and if the full manifestation of a spirit person were to come up and shake them by the hand, they still would not believe in the existence of a world beyond.

      Happisburgh

      The village of Happisburgh (pronounced ‘Hazebro’) lies on the Norfolk coast. It has a beach, sand dunes and two distinctive landmarks: a tall church tower and a red and white striped lighthouse, built in 1791. It also has a unique ghost: the Pump Hill Ghost, otherwise known as the Happisburgh Torso.

      One night in 1765, three smugglers at Cart Gap, Happisburgh, fell out over the division of their spoils. A fight broke out and shots were heard. The following day large pools of blood were found on the beach, but there was no body to be found.

      A few months later two local farmers saw a strange figure in the vicinity of Whimpwell Street. Dressed in sailor’s clothes and clutching a rough brown sack to its chest, it seemed to be walking but had no legs, and its head was dangling down its back attached only by a few thin strips of flesh. When it reached the village well it started to climb in, then suddenly disappeared.

      The apparition was seen several times and the village council finally decided to investigate the well. A man was lowered into it and found a sack containing a pair of legs.

      After this the well was drained and a larger sack was found. Inside was a rotting torso in sailor’s clothes. Hanging from its neck, by some decomposing strips of flesh, was a skull.

      Each time the well has been disturbed the Happisburgh Torso has walked. It has been seen several times moving from the shore towards the coast road with its head bouncing down its back.

      Happisburgh has another ghost – he is an eighteenth-century coastguard who walks along the front, laughing.

      DEREK’S TIP

      A thermometer is a must for any serious ghost hunter as it will then be possible to detect subtle fluctuations in the temperature of a room.

      The Lantern Man at Thurlton

      Marsh gas, or the will o’ the wisp, is common in the flat lands of East Anglia and has been personified as the Lantern Man. He is said to lure people to their deaths by drawing them to his light and then drowning them in thick mud and water.

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