Sussex is a county of ancient landscapes, folklore, and, inevitably, the occasional ghost. Actually, quite a few Sussex ghosts. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, they are often inextricably interwoven with the history of a place and always make a ripping good yarn at a dinner party. The following are just some of the ghostly accounts I have encountered on my travels. You can believe them, or not. It’s up to you.
From Henfield to Clayton
There is a road that runs along the foot of the South Downs from Upper Beeding, via Edburton, Fulking, Poynings and Pyecombe that seems to be awash with ghosts. So let’s start our travels there.
Edburton Church
Sussex Exclusive’s very own Philippa French shared this tale about her great grandfather and grandmother. In the 1920s, Philippa’s great grandfather was the newly installed vicar of the hamlet of Edburton. His daughter (Philippa’s grandmother) had come to visit with her young son (Philippa’s father). As the young mother made her way into the churchyard, she saw a strangely dressed lady ahead heading into the church. Philippa’s grandmother followed the lady inside and found her father there but not the other woman. It’s a small church so not an easy place to hide. Slightly concerned, father and daughter started asking around the village to try and find out who this strange woman was and where she had gone but their enquiries were met with ashen faces. The locals knew of the ghost but they reluctantly revealed that the apparition only ever appeared shortly before the vicar died. Father and daughter weren’t overly concerned. The vicar wasn’t that old and was in good health, and yet, sure enough, Philippa’s great grandfather had died within a month of the sighting. He died of a heart attack.
Edburton church is worth a visit in its own right. From the narrow road that passes through the village, turn up an even narrower path to the church. It was originally built in the 10th century by Princess Eadburh, granddaughter of King Alfred the Great. The church had to be rebuilt at the end of the twelfth century but Saxon footings and parts of the walls of the Saxon church remain. The church has four ‘mass-clocks’ on the outside of the Church. The rare leaden font and the piscina bowl remain from the early church and the church is compelling in its quiet simplicity. When you’ve finished at the church, you may want to hop and skip over to nearby Tottington Manor for afternoon tea.
Fulking
Drive on a little from Edburton to Fulking and there are plenty of ghosts to be found there. The Old Farmhouse is said to be haunted by a little old lady who carries a bible. During WWII, she was seen by Canadian soldiers who were billeted there. They went off to fight but not one of them was wounded or killed which they credited to the prayers of the little old lady. The local pub, the Shepherd and Dog, is also said to be haunted although it was also once the haunt of smugglers and this often explains many a ghostly tale.
The ghost horse of Brewer Griffith
Our journey along this little road takes us further east now to Poynings and beyond and a ghostly meeting that my own grandfather had. He was a teacher and was a quiet and academic man, not known for his fanciful nature. But he believed he saw the horse ghost of Brewer Griffiths on the road from Poynings to Pyecombe crossing the road in front of him when returning at dusk from Brighton to Horsham.
Rock Brewery in Brighton was founded in 1809. George Griffith, son of the original owner, was a much-loved person of Brighton. In February 1849, one of Mr Griffith’s clerks received a letter warning him that if he went out and about collecting monies owed from various Sussex pubs, harm would befall him. As a result, George Griffith went in place of his clerk, travelling to Horsham. On his journey home, somewhere between Poynings and Pyecombe, he was attacked and shot with his own pistol. No one was ever charged and the writer of the letter never identified. My grandfather is not the only person to see the Griffith ghost horse and I have also read of an account of a gentleman travelling the same stretch of road, firstly seeing a strange light in the distance ahead and then seeing the bloodied face of a man at his car window.
Clayton Tunnel
Clayton Tunnel is remarkable for a number of reasons. It’s the longest tunnel on the main London to Brighton line and was built between 1839 and 1841. Its architectural style is unusual with castellations. It was designed by the same man who designed the Ouse Valley Viaduct. In 1861, it was the scene of a terrible accident. Having signalled one train into the tunnel, the signalman failed to signal stop to a second train that then entered the tunnel. The signalman then made a second and devastating mistake. Not realising he had in fact got the attention of the second train driver who was now reversing out of the tunnel, the signalman mistook a signal to mean the tunnel was now clear and signalled a third train into the tunnel. 23 were killed and many more were injured. It is said you can sometimes hear the blood-curdling screams of the injured and see ghostly figures in the surrounding area where the bodies were laid out. One resident whose family lived here from 1956 describes the sound of fingers drumming on a table, the silhouette of a man and a white lady. Apart from the victims of the crash, the hauntings are also thought to be a man who died in the tunnel while sheltering from a storm and one of the railway gangers.
Bramber to Horsham
Let us turn north now to see what other Sussex ghosts we can find.
Bramber Castle
Bramber Castle dates back to the years just after the Norman conquest and was the Sussex seat of the de Braose family. At some point between 1199 and 1215, the castle was confiscated by King John who was keen to curtail the de Braose family power. Stories vary but some say, King John captured two of the de Braose children and starved them to death. You may see the two children haunting the castle grounds in search of food and their father. Or, if you head down the road to St Mary’s House, ask the owners if they’ve seen the ghostly monk who walks the gardens there or the lady in grey who haunts the house. Who they are and why they haunt the house aren’t known.
The headless hitchhiker – Horsham
If you live near Horsham, you will know the tale of the hermit, St Leonard (after whom St Leonard’s Forest was named) and the dragon. But when I was younger, my father warned me not to ride my horse across the forest for another reason. In the 19th century, there were a number of reports from riders of being joined by an unexpected and ghostly passenger riding pillion behind them. We know who it was, namely Captain Powlett from Shipley. But no one knows why he was headless!
Heading west to Chichester
All sorts of Sussex ghosts hang out on the winding road to Chichester.
Cowdray Ruins
Have you heard of the curse of Cowdray? In 1542, Sir Anthony Browne, the King’s Master of the Horse and trusted royal councillor, inherited Cowdray House. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, he was given Battle Abbey. The story goes that when Sir Anthony was holding a feast at Battle Abbey having kicked the monks out, he and his descendants were cursed by an enraged monk who shouted,
“By fire and water thy line shall come to an end, and it shall perish out of the land”.’
Not much happened for a couple of hundred years, but then on 24 September 1784, Cowdray was destroyed by fire. A few days later, the 8th Viscount (away on his travels and unaware of the fire) drowned attempting to ride a fishing boat over the rapids at the falls of the Rhine. The 9th Viscount died childless in 1797, but all was not lost, as the 8th Viscount’s sister, Elizabeth, had become heir to Cowdray and had two sons. But the curse wasn’t finished with the family yet, and in the summer of 1815, both sons were drowned in a boating accident off Bognor Regis.
There are a few ghosts that haunt the ruins too, like the wife of the 5th Viscount. The 5th Viscount shot a priest and spent the rest of his life in hiding in a priest hole. His wife had to take care of him, and perhaps that’s why she can sometimes be seen walking between the ruins and the town. Or perhaps, you’ve seen the wife of Sir Anthony Brown who haunts the path from the house to the farm shop.
Racton Ruin
Racton Ruin is described as a folly, although that may or may not be accurate. It was built by Earl of Halifax who owned nearby Stansted Park between 1766 and 1770. It had four floors and is 24 metres high, but the earl died in 1771, so he didn’t have long to enjoy it.
So was it a folly or did it have some purpose? Well, some say extravagant banquets and wild orgies were held in the folly, while others say it was built to watch over the naval base at Portsmouth. Or it might have just been a romantic spot for picnics for the ladies of the house. Whatever its purpose, within 100 years it was in ruins and now it is said to be one of the most haunted places in Sussex. Some report hearing whispers, feeling like someone has touched them, grabbed them or pushed them. Some say they have seen bricks being thrown or seen a ghostly woman walking around the building and a face looking out through a window of one of the top floors. But who the ghost is and why she haunts the folly still, nobody knows.
Kingley Vale
Kingley Vale is a horseshoe-shaped nature reserve with steep sides. At the top are Bronze Age burial mounds known as the Devil’s Humps / the Kings’ Graves. In the valley, the yew tree forest is one of the oldest yew forests in Europe. Stories abound in the area that the forest is haunted by Viking warriors and that the humps are the burial site of the great Viking leaders. A visit to Kingley Vale is profoundly spiritual and spooky, and you can lose yourself in the arms of the many stretching branches of the yew trees.
Heading to the coast
We have just a couple more stops on this hunt for Sussex ghosts.
Cuthbert of Flansham
In the 1930s, the Manor House in Flansham had quite a reputation for its resident ghost and many visitors reported meeting Cuthbert. There was nothing sinister about him and he would apparently always vanish rather apologetically. He was noted for wearing flannel trousers.
White Horses of Felpham
You don’t often see a ghost getting reviews on TripAdvisor, but on looking for ghosts near Felpham, I found a review that said, “Our room was haunted!! We stayed in the small double room with the pink key. My wife was woken up in the night, she initially thought there was a man in the room. A man-shaped black shadow was standing to the right of the window. Definitely a ghost, a presence in the room. It didn’t come any closer, thank God, but it was terrifying. We obviously couldn’t leave without paying, so had to stick it out till 7.30 a.m. then made our excuses, and left without breakfast. So if you go there and don’t want the same experience, it might be best to avoid this room.”
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