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Aldbury
Contents -- Click Site Name to view details |
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General
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A brief note about the area
A phantom coach driven by the Lord of Aldbury A ghostly dog you can put your hand through The ghosts of murdered gamekeepers A materialising castle A ghostly knight |
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Aldbury is a picturesque village five kilometres east of Tring. It lies at the foot of a Chiltern ridge and is almost completely surrounded by the National Trust owned Ashridge estate. The village green has a pond, stocks and whipping post. In the 2001 Census the population was 659.
People believe that a phantom coach is driven along the road from Aldbury to Tring by the former Lord of Aldbury, Simon Harcourt. The sound of horses' hooves and the jingle of bells are heard but the coach is never seen. One resident heard the coach approaching and the horse he was riding shied away in fright but nothing was to be seen he just felt the coach pass him by.
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One day a gentleman, walking from Tring station, encountered a large dog on the road. At first he thought nothing of the encounter except that he did not recognise the breed of dog. He changed his attitude when he put out his hand to stroke the dog and it went right through the animal. People believe that a phantom coach is driven along the road from Aldbury to Tring by the former Lord of Aldbury, Simon Harcourt accompanied by a dog that used to run alongside it.
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In 1891 three men went poaching in Aldbury Nowers wood which belonged to the Stocks estate. Unfortunately for them they were surprised by two of the estate's gamekeepers and a violent confrontation took place. After a struggle both of the gamekeepers were killed. The men were caught and two of them were sentenced to death. The day of execution, 18th March 1892, sparked a leading article in The Times and a debate in parliament. Afterwards children would not go near the woods where the gamekeepers were murdered because they believed that ghosts walked the area.
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It is claimed that Tring Station at Aldbury is built on the site of a medićval castle. One previous owner of the castle was said to have made a pact with the devil swapping his soul for the knowledge of alchemy and necromancy. The owner was Sir Guy de Gravade who lived during the reign of Edward III and it seems Sir Guy became a very rich man, so maybe the pact was successful. Seeing Guy’s success his personal servant, John Bond, decided he would use some of his master’s spells for his own ends and may have succeeded had he not been discovered whilst performing a ritual. The spell was at a critical point and Guy knew that Bond had to be stopped so he called on the Devil to intervene, which he did. It seems that the whole castle vanished into the earth along with Sir Guy and his servant.
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In the early 1800s a ghostly knight was seen in Aldbury, could this be the ghost of the knight who used to own the castle which stood where Tring station now stands?
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