Glamorgan
folklore, myth and legend is replete with tales of ghosts and hauntings. Belief
in ghosts was seemingly widespread throughout old Glamorgan. Many of the
popular stories handed down through the centuries, such as the white lady of
Ogmore Castle, the ghost of lady Berkerolles of East Orchard and the White Lady
of Ewenny, probably have a nexus with some event long passed. These events have
however through the passage of time become distorted and embellished eventually
taking on the quality of legend. At their heart however is likely a grain of
truth, although what that truth is we can only speculate.
Some of the
stories of ghosts and apparitions within Glamorgan folklore appear to be quite
terrifying, some wretched, and others helpful. While not everyone during the
preceding centuries believed in ghosts. Many did. The most superstitious of old
Glamorgan’s inhabitants would have no doubt during the long winter nights huddled
around the warmth and comfort of their hearths, living in dread of venturing
out and encountering any number of the terrifying phantoms which were said to
have been lurking within old Glamorgan’s lonely highways and byways, fields and
woods. There are many people who to this day, assert that they too have had a
brush with the supernatural while out and about in our historic and wonderful
Vale of Glamorgan. And maybe they have. We hope that you enjoy these classic
tales.
The ghosts
of misers and hidden treasure
Glamorgan folklore
asserts that the ghosts of misers and hoarders once lingered, and sought out mortals
to cast their earthly wealth into the River Ogmore. If this was not done, their
wretched souls would be forever unable to find peace until they had let-go of
their worldly desire for precious metals. To this end the restless spirit chose
a subject to haunt until they did the deceased’s bidding and had cast their
hidden treasure downstream.
One such
tale which was widely circulated within Glamorgan folklore concerned a tailor’s
wife from Llantwit Major. In lieu however of casting the miser’s wealth into
the river Ogmore-or dividing it fairly among her family, the woman sought to
keep it all for herself. The woman was harassed by the ghost of the miser until
she had properly disposed of his treasure. The unfortunate woman however made
the mistake of casting the treasure upstream and not downstream. This is
something which angered the spirit and she was thus subjected to its wrath.
After being tossed into a whirlwind and manhandled, the woman was eventually
found gibbering insensibly in the church lane of Llantwit Major. Thereafter,
the woman’s husband, ‘a truthful and honest man’, declared that ‘supernatural
noises and knocking were always heard in the house, and that the garden was
haunted because of his wife’s folly’.
The White
Lady of Ogmore Castle
Perhaps one
of the most well-known of Glamorgan’s ghost stories comes from Ogmore Castle. Folklore
asserts that there has long been a tradition of a ghostly white lady who haunts
Ogmore Castle. Who exactly this enigmatic white lady was in life remains, and probably
always will, remain a mystery. Locals often ascribed her as a guardian of
hidden treasure.
The classic
tale concerning the white lady narrates that in antiquity a local man managed
to accost her and demanded that she take him to the treasure so that he might
make use of it. This the white lady did but only on the proviso that he only
take half and leave the rest of the cache concealed. The man agreed, but greed
of course got the better of him. The man who upon further helping himself was
scalded by the White Lady and was viscously attacked being condemned to have
his fortunes reversed. The man it seems met his end soon after. This story has
the quality of legend, but it is intriguing to speculate upon its origins.
Perhaps
there is hidden treasure buried within Ogmore Castle, perhaps concealed before
its imminent assault by the forces of Owen Glyndwr who ravaged Ogmore during
the early fifteenth century. Or perhaps concealed at a later date as, the concealed
coins are often said to have been gold guineas, a type of coin in use from the
late 1600’s until the early 1800’s.
There have
been several instances within the Vale of Glamorgan where hidden treasure has
accidently been discovered. Moat Farm in Llysworney was one such place, as
during the late nineteenth century a buckskin glove containing a stash of
silver coins from the Civil War period was discovered within the rafters of its
roof. In another instance yet more Civil War era treasure was discovered within
the roof of an old cottage at Eglwys Brewis in the 1950’s, which was said to
contain a ‘fine gold angel’, among numerous silver coins. Traumatic events it
seems can provide us with a catalyst for the concealment of wealth and an
historical context for ghostly tales of hidden treasure.
Llanblethlian
Castle
A similar
story of concealed treasure imbued with a supernatural tinge was told of a
woman who lived in the village of Llanblethlian. The woman was woken up one
night by a voice calling to her from under the bedroom window, but she did not
answer it. The night after this occurrence the voice called yet again, but once
more the woman did not answer. Upon the third night when the voice returned,
the woman went to the lattice and looked out, yet, unsurprisingly as it was
night, saw no one. The woman however answered ‘what dost thou want’? The voice replied, ‘go down to the second
arch of the gateway leading into St Quinten’s Castle, Llanblethlian, and dig
there’. Thou wilt find buried in a deep hole close to the inner arch a crock
full of gold pieces’. Tales of treasure and castles it seems go hand in
hand! This the woman subsequently did. In a departure however from the
traditional misers of old Glamorgan, the spirit did not request that the
treasure be cast into the river Ogmore, but instead charitably stated, ‘It’s
no use to me now. Take it and may the gold be a blessing to thee’.
The
gatehouse of Llanblethlian Castle was for a time during the late Georgian
period, inhabited as a dwelling. This habitation ceased during the early part
of the nineteenth century when the castle was, after almost four hundred years
of constant use as a fortress, administrative centre, prison and later home,
finally abandoned and left to the elements. It was perhaps during this later
period that our subject received her supernaturally derived windfall.
Apparitions
One well
known story concerning an apparition was narrated by Iolo during the 1830’s.
The sighting took place during the early 1800’s when parts of Boverton Castle were
being dismantled. At this time workmen reported that ‘a large, shadowy
female figure, dressed in deep widow mourning, of antique fashion was seen
passing from there ever and anon’. Boverton Castle, a large Tudor period
house built by Roger Seys in 1587, is now a ruin. It is unclear whether anyone
has seen this apparition since.
The
apparition of a woman in a blue dress was sighted regularly at the erstwhile
Dunraven Castle during the earlier parts of the twentieth century. This
apparition was reportedly seen by many people when the castle was a hospital. The
sightings of this apparition interested Dunraven Castle’s owner so much that he
sought to collect as many first-hand accounts of her as he could which he then
had published as a book.
Charles
Redwood narrates in 1839 that a number of farm servants near Picketston
complained of repeatedly seeing the ghost of a tall peddler. Local rumour had
it that a Scottish pedlar was murdered in the vicinity during days gone by. A few
years after the sightings a number of large bones were found by the roadside.
These bones seemed at least in the minds of the countryfolk to confirm that the
rumour was true. The discovery of bone caches was seemingly a common occurrence
at these remote places and their discoveries in folklore accounted for the presence
of the numerous ghosts which were believed to haunt such lonely spots. The
reason being that these poor wretches, who were taken to be murder victims, did
not receive a proper Christian burial.
One story
of an apparition seen at Old Beaupre during the early nineteenth century is
given by Marie Trevelyan
‘An old
man was doing some work near the entrance door, and it was twilight. While
busily engaged, he heard a low, sad wailing sound wandering around the
courtyard, and immediately opposite, in the grand porch of the castle, he saw a
shadowy figure standing wringing its hands and flitting in and out like
somebody in distress. The spectator crossed the courtyard and approached the
porch, and as he did so the apparition vanished’.
As the man
ventured further in, he was to encounter a raft of ghostly phenomena including
hearing the whispering in his ear of the words, ‘lost, lost’ lost’, as well as
further sightings of this female apparition.
One might
well scoff at these historical accounts of ghosts and apparitions. It is true
that many do seem to smack of legend, but it is a fact that one of the authors of
this blog a number of years back whilst out in the Vale of Glamorgan. saw an
apparition of a figure dressed entirely in purple. This happened at a remote
location near Cowbridge. What was seen at first however was not taken for an
apparition, but for that of a living person. A full and detailed account of
this encounter can be read in the authors book, Haunted South Wales.
Death omens
A
widespread belief throughout old Glamorgan was that of the Tolaeth. The
Tolaeth was widely held to be a precursor of impending death, and chiefly took
the form of supernatural sounds such as that of knocking, groaning, wailing and
footsteps which were said to be heard around a person who was lying on their
death bed. Many believed that one would hear plaintive wailing ‘pass to the
churchyard at night, before children’s death’.
One such example of a Tolach haunting is an account given by Elliott O’donnell. This occurred in March 1831 at St Donats Castle. ‘Unearthly shrieks’ were heard coming from an ancient tower within the grounds of the castle. These shrieks were heard by many and were taken to be a supernatural omen of death. It was prophesized that a shipwreck was about to occur. Two weeks after the shrieks had been heard the steamer Frolick, ran aground on Nash Sands. There were no survivors.
(Antique print of St Donats Castle)
One of the
authors of this blog has heard such sounds within recent years. Whilst receiving
a tour of a historic sixteenth century mansion near Pontypridd from its owner who
was in the process of renovating what was a by and large derelict property, the
sounds of ghostly groaning were heard emanating from one of the empty bedrooms.
There were three people in the group, yet only the author heard the sounds. It
is noteworthy that a number of months later, one of the people who lived at the
property died.
Spectral
Hounds
Spectral
Hounds, or Shucks as they are sometimes known, are not unique to Glamorgan or
Wales. Encounters with spectral hounds have been reported for centuries up and
down Britain in various forms, Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon for example is
purported to harbour a spectral black hound. The spectral hound is
traditionally reported to have haunted lonely lanes, fields and in particular
crossroads, and their goal was seemingly to harass the lonely traveller. Many
have also interpreted the sighting of these spectral dogs as an impending
warning of death.
A
well-known account of a spectral hound within the annals of folklore is that of
the Gwyllgi, or ‘Dog of Darkness, which was
said to have been ‘a frightful apparition of a mastiff, with baleful breath
and blazing red eyes which shine like fire in the night’. Those who are
unfortunate enough to encounter this dreadful apparition were normally overcome
with terror to the point that they would faint.
This
fearful apparition was said to have haunted the lane which led from a place
called Mousiad, which was most likely an old farm that is no longer in
existence, to the Wilton Crossways near Llysworney .
An account
which appears in Wirt Sikes British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy
Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1880) narrates that ‘Mr. Jenkins, a
worthy farmer living near there, was one night returning from market on a young
mare, when suddenly the animal shied, reared, tumbled the farmer off, and
bolted for home’. The animal was found trembling back at its home by a farm
servant named ‘Old Anthony’. Old Anthony led a small group of servants to the
lane where they found Mr Jenkins lying on his back in the mud. All concluded
that the poor mare must have seen the dreadful apparition of the Gwyllgi.
Old Anthony
claimed to have had his own encounter with the Gwyllgi but unlike most
he did not faint. Old Anthony narrated that, as he was returning home after a
rendezvous with a young woman and traversing the haunted lane, he encountered ‘two
large shining eyes, which drew nearer and nearer to him’. He was able to
discern through the gloom ‘what seemed a form of human shape above, but with
the form and limbs of a large spotted dog’. Old Anthony threw his hat at
the dread apparition, which seemed to pass straight through it. The apparition
subsequently disappeared. It was a shaken Old Anthony who arrived home that
evening.
Marie
Trevelyan narrates local folk belief in a similar black dog that also
haunts the same area, although it is possible that the local inhabitants were
referring to the same apparition, stating that ‘another roadway in the
locality is haunted by a terrible coal-black dog, with eyes like balls of fire’.
This creature is said to have followed people like a footpad.
Marie
further stated that ‘people so late as forty years ago spoke with
bated breath’ about a pack of spectral hounds that was said to tear along
the road between Marlborough and Nash Manor. Those who were unfortunate enough
to encounter these hounds late at night were sure to have had their clothes
torn to pieces and left for almost dead.
If you are interested in the subject of ghosts and hauntings you will almost certainly be interested in Haunted South Wales. In this fascinating book the authors, who are both members of the Society for Psychical Research, detail a number of hitherto unpublished and modern accounts of ghosts and hauntings within the South Wales area. From ghostly monks chanting at Margam Park, supernatural hoofbeats at Cosmeston Medieval Village, to the strange goings on at a Victorian property in Barry, Haunted South Wales is a must have for those with a serious interest in the subject of ghosts. Please follow the link below.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285438538237
The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.
