You may have heard the
legend of Charlotte; the Lady in White of Berechurch Hall, in
Colchester. Certainly, if you read my blog regularly, you will be
aware of her story and my journey in investigating her history and
her legend.
As I have examined in
past posts, the paranormal database is a good place to start, when
researching supernatural phenomena. This is especially useful, when
the phenomenon in question is as well documented as that of
Charlotte. Charlotte appears, as you might expect, on the database,
named Charlotte with the White Robe. The sighting logged there is
dated around 1930 and claims that she is to be found in the environs
of her pool in Colchester.
Are you afraid of
ghosts? Do you even believe in them? I'm certain there is a healthy
sprinkling of cynics and believers amongst you, who would fight tooth
and nail to have your point of view listened to but that is not the
point of this exercise.
I am keen now, to move
onto the historical aspect of this sad tale. After innumerable
visits to the Local History Department of Colchester Library,
trawling through microfilm editions of the Essex County Standard,
parish records and so on, I was able to discover that Charlotte was,
in fact, Charlotte Smyth, daughter of Sir George Henry Smyth. Does
that name ring any bells with you? I'm guessing not but you will be
fascinated to learn that Sir Smyth was, in fact, the MP for
Colchester and a very popular and respected man, in his time.
Charlotte – born in July 1813 – was a beauty with long, blonde
hair, who grew to be well respected in Georgian society.
Charlotte was the
apple of her father's eye. When she was a young teenager, her father
had a pool built for her, along with a small changing room or grotto,
where she could change, without compromising her modesty. The pool
was ornately decorated with handmade red bricks and oyster and
scallop shells. Nowadays, all that remains of the pool is a sunken
hollow but if you scrabble about beneath the exposed roots of the
enormous horse chestnut tree, which marks the site, you might be
lucky enough to find a relic of what once stood there.
Eventually, as we all
do, Charlotte grew up and, aged nineteen, she married Thomas White; a
handsome young man, who came and lived with her at Berechurch Hall.
I'm sure you can imagine how happy she was but how long could it
last?
All fairy tales have
happy endings, don't they? So did lovely Charlotte live happily ever
after? What do you think?
Sadly, this is no
fairytale. Charlotte bore six children. It is clear from the
historical evidence, that she was a well loved lady. As such, it is
easy to imagine that she would have been a devoted mother. It is
also written that Charlotte did her husband a wrong. Whilst the
nature of the wrong she did him is unclear, it is said that he
forgave her and purchased for her a white satin robe, trimmed with
swansdown – a token of forgiveness? Unfortunately, Charlotte was
unable to forgive herself. Not long after, the family moved to
Wethersfield, near to Braintree, where she lived a few years before
her tragic death in 1845. She contracted consumption - TB to you and
me - and died, aged 32. As you might expect, her family were
devastated by her loss and her father went to great pains to have a
piece of sculpture made, to form part of her memorial stone.
Wouldn't you, in his situation? The monument still stands in the
Audley Chapel of St. Michael's Church. Charlotte's effigy in white
marble lies in relief, beneath two hovering angels. Her epitaph
tells of her sweet nature and Christian values. It is easy to read
her family's profound grief, from the words written.
I hope this is not
about to scare you too much but this was just the beginning of
Charlotte's story, for this is where the ghost story begins.
At the risk of losing
the attention of the sceptics among you, I must say that, throughout
the 168 years since her death, there have been – wait for it – at
least six – SIX - recorded sightings of Charlotte's ghost. I am
going to tell you about a few of them.
In the 1930s, a lady
called Mrs Chilvers, who, with her husband, was caretaker of
Berechurch Hall, had a conversation with another lady. The lady
asked her if she had encountered Charlotte yet. Can you imagine Mrs
Chilvers' shock, when the lady went on to explain that Charlotte was
the resident ghost. As the story goes, Mrs Chilvers took no notice
of the lady, dismissing her comments.
A week later, Mrs
Chilvers went to the front door, to let her cat in. As she stood,
waiting, she saw a white figure, walking up the drive. I bet you're
a bit scared now. As the figure approached, she realised the figure
was transparent. As Mrs Chilvers stepped back in shock, the figure
rose into the sky and vanished. Can you imagine how she felt?
I bet you're champing
at the bit for some more. Well now, I will move forward about ten
years. During World War II, Berechurch Hall was used as a camp for
German prisoners of war. One of the commanding officers, on duty one
night, was quite surprised, when he found two of the prisoners passed
out in the yard. When they eventually came to – you guessed it –
they described seeing a lady in a white dress, who appeared out of
nowhere. How could two different people, ten years apart, have seen
the same person?
As a child, I heard
about the story of Charlotte, her ghost and her pool, from my primary
school teacher. I bet you can imagine how terrified I was. When I
decided to research this story, I can tell you, it was not without a
good degree of trepidation.
As I researched, I
came across a poem, which put my mind at rest. It described a young
boy, who claimed to have seen Charlotte's ghost, near to the remnants
of her pool, in 1980. He was in no doubt as to her nature. Did you
imagine she would be malevolent? You would be wrong. The poet
described her as peaceful and loving. On that basis, how could
anyone really fear her?
There are numerous
other tales of Charlotte's ghost, which are to be found in local
books of ghost stories. I have even heard rumours of sightings of
her in the new block of flats which has now replaced the great
Berechurch Hall.
So to conclude, it is
clear that you must make up your own mind as to the truth behind this
story. Did Charlotte's ghost remain walking the Earth, after her
death? Is the legend just a story, designed to intrigue and inspire
ghost hunters? It's up to you.
To purchase a copy of 'Charlotte -The Lady in White' a novel based on the Life of Charlotte White, nee Smyth, please click the link below
