Claydon House, now owned by The National Trust, is said to be haunted by two ghosts, that of Sir Edmund Verney and Florence Nightingale.

Sir Edmund owned Claydon House and though he was the son of a prosperous father there was very little money in the family as his elder brother, Francis, had frittered it all away. Edmund served the King, Charles I, faithfully, so much so that the king kept borrowing money off him, even though he couldn’t afford to give it. Charles made Edmund his Standard Bearer and in the Civil war Edmund chose to follow his King even though he believed in the Parliamentary cause. At the battle of Edgehill Edmund was surrounded by hundreds of pikemen and musketeers and was seen using his heavy standard as a pike until the top broke off. He saw his valet, Jason, killed whereupon he ‘killed two with his owne hands, whereof one had killed Jason, and broke the point of his standard at push of pike before he fell’ as reported by Sir Edward Sydenham who was fighting nearby.

Edmund was overwhelmed and it is said that the enemy offered him his life if he would surrender the standard, but he refused saying that his life may be his own but the standard was his King’s and he would not deliver it while he lived. He was struck down and killed, but his grip on the standard was so strong that it could not be released and the Parliamentarian troops had to hack off his hand. The standard was then captured by Charles’ troops and when they returned it to the King he recognised Sir Edmund’s hand by the ring it still bore. His body was never found and the hand was returned to Claydon house for a proper burial.

From that point on Sir Edmund’s ghost haunted the house and grounds. Some witnesses who have seen him say that blood drips from where his hand was severed but most just report the lack of a hand. It is said that he looks for his lost hand and is reputed to only appear in times of trouble. A number of years ago the ballroom was being demolished and the estate carpenter was working there when he looked up and saw a man dressed in old fashioned clothes. He called out to the figure and it vanished.

Numerous times the sound of footsteps have been heard going along a passage known as the haunted corridor and during the Second World War a member of staff saw Sir Edmund riding his horse in the grounds.

Florence Nightingale was a frequent visitor to the house in the last years of her life and she became very attached to Claydon. One night the author, Andrew Lang, was sleeping in the Rose Room when he awoke and saw a mysterious grey lady. As he watched her she disappeared through a wall where a secret room was once discovered. The figure has also been seen gazing out into the garden, again from the Rose Room.

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Claydon House