Chicksands

Contents -- Click to go to item

General
Chicksands Priory
Chicksands Wood

A brief note about the area
The ghost of Berta Rosata, a sixteenth century nun
A ghost who rode his spectral horse through a car
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General

Chicksands has a population of 2,180 and lies between Clophill and Shefford.

The name derives from an Old English personal name and the word sand giving ‘Cic(c)a’s sands‘. In the Domesday Book the name is given as Chichesana.

The most prominent feature of Chicksands is the priory built for the Gilbertine order that was the only monastic order to have been created in England. They were unusual in that monks and nuns lived in mixed houses and not separated as was usually the case. Parts of the priory were incorporated into the existing house built by the Osborn family shortly after the Dissolution in the early 1500s.

In 1950 Chicksands became a communication base for the United States Air Force. It is now occupied by the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre.

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Chicksands Priory

The haunting of Chicksands Priory dates back to before the dissolution of the monasteries and is believed to be due to Berta Rosata, a sixteenth century nun. In 1534 Thomas Cromwell received a report from Doctor Richard Layton concerning the priory. This report stated that two of the nuns were pregnant, one by a servant and the other by a canon. One of these nuns, Berta Rosata was walled up in the priory for her sins but not before she was made to witness the beheading of her lover. It is thought that the haunting is Berta seeking the body of her decapitated lover. Descriptions of the ghost, who appears on the seventeenth of each month, vary from a woman wearing white with a white train flowing behind her to a nun in normal vestments. She has been reported as having long black hair which covered her face. Descriptions from the American and British officers staying at Chicksands and numerous civilians have been so varied that it is possible that there are three or even four female ghosts haunting the site. The legend was given further credence when a plaque was found in the only surviving cloister bearing the inscription:

Moribus Ornata Jacet Hic Bona Berta Rosata

This translates as ‘By Virtues guarded and by manners graced, Here alas is fair Rosata placed’. The punishment does seem a little harsh even by mediaeval standards and no trace of fair Rosata was found when the wall was rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is worthy of note that the plaque isn’t actually on a cloister wall but is in fact on the wall of what would have been the cellar. In fact the plaque appears to be an invention of the eighteenth century. In addition because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar Rosata should appear on the twenty eighth of the month.

To view a map of the area click on the button below


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Chicksands Wood

In 1971 a motorist who was driving through Chicksands wood was somewhat unnerved when he came face to face with a ghost. What made it doubly unnerving was that the man was mounted on a horse and rode straight through the car.

Could this be the same horse and rider seen at nearby Northfield Farm?

To view a map of the area click on the button below



See also - Bedfordshire - Clophill - Great Lane

To view images see: Chicksands Wood Album

To view a report about Chicksands Wood see: 23-02-2007