_____________________________________________________________________
General
Woburn still retains much of the character of a Georgian town and is acknowledged as one of the most important historical towns in the country. The whole of the main street (George Street and Bedford Street) is lined with eighteenth and nineteenth century houses.
In the centre if the town is the old Town Hall which is now an antiques centre. The building was designed by Blore who also designed the original east front of Buckingham Palace. The parish church of St Mary lies on the approach to Woburn Park from the town centre. This building was built of Bath stone in 1860 and replaced the original church in Bedford Street. After 1868 the old church was only being used as a Mortuary Chapel.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Bedford Arms
The Bedford Arms hotel (now The Inn at Woburn) featured in the ’Ampthill News’ in January 1974 because of its ghosts. One of the ghosts was described by sixty eight year old Reg Williams, the night porter. “He’s dressed in a smock, has an old hat and is smoking a clay pipe; about two feet long….There’s a dog, like a greyhound, by his side.” The first time Reg saw the ghost the hotel was closed as work was being done to open up an old fireplace. The man and dog sit in the fireplace and have been seen numerous times but no one knows who they are.
A more frightening ghost was that of the white lady. “This was a horrible experience, it was like a load of steam coming down, I saw it take shape and it was like a woman.” The white lady has also been seen by other staff in the reception area. A while ago a hall porter, Mr. J. Graham, left in a hurry one night never to return. He was in such haste he even left his jacket and house keys behind.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
Woburn, The Bedford Arms
_____________________________________________________________________
The Royal Oak
The ghost who haunts the Royal Oak is felt but never seen. It has a habit of turning off the taps to the beer pumps during the night, and occasionally during opening hours. It also slams doors and, for some reason, takes flowers from their vases. It is felt as a presence on the cellar stairs.
Unfortunately the Royal Oak was gutted by fire and has recently undergone a major re-building program. The question is has the ghost waited for the work to be completed?
To view a map of the area click on the button below
Woburn, The Royal Oak
_____________________________________________________________________
Woburn Abbey
Numerous ghosts haunt Woburn abbey from phantom monks to an invisible opener of doors. The Duke of Bedford spoke of one ghost “The ghost became such a nuisance that we had to change our television room…we’d be sitting there when suddenly the handle of the door at one end of the room would turn and the door would open just as though an invisible person was coming through”.
A phantom monk has appeared in the area of the Crypt. It is claimed that he was the abbot of Woburn, Robert Hobbes, who was hanged when he opposed Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn. The oak tree from which he was hung still stands in front of the house. A monk in a brown habit has also been seen in what is now the sculpture gallery during excavation work in 1971. He appeared between the pillars either side of the entrance then vanished through the door. In addition a figure in Victorian dress has been seen in the antiques centre. Throughout the building doors open with no help from the living. One morning the Duchess found Paul Getty jumping up and down in a corridor. It transpired that another guest had complained that her bedroom door kept opening during the night and she had had to get up five times to close it. Getty was trying to see if vibration could have caused it to open.
In the summerhouse can be felt the unhappy presence of the Duke’s grandmother. She died at the age of sixty four when the plane she was piloting crashed on the east coast. Her ghost is not seen but an overwhelming feeling of sadness pervades the place.
In the private areas of the house the Duke and Duchess have noticed an uncomfortable atmosphere. Sometimes they both felt a sensation as if someone had touched their faces in the night with a wet hand.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
|