For a time in 1960 the Cross Keys in Harpenden had a relief manager. It was late one night and the relief manager had gone to bed after a normal busy day, but this night was to prove to be unlike any other. Suddenly the manager was aroused from sleep but he did not know why. He lay in bed for a while not knowing what had roused him until he became aware of the murmur of voices coming from downstairs. At first he thought it might be burglars but that made no sense as they were talking quite loudly. Creeping downstairs he peered round the bar room door and was surprised to see three figures bent over one of the tables. He opened the door wider to get a better view but as he did so the three figures turned to look at him. All three were dressed in dark, heavy robes and all had shaven heads, he appeared to be looking at three mediæval monks. The faces of all three were ghastly, glowing with a greenish pallor under the light coming from a street lamp. The relief manager stood for a second frozen in disbelief then turned and fled back to his bedroom where he locked himself in. After that he refused to go into the bar after closing time until the manager returned.

This wasn't the first time that ghostly monks had been seen in the Cross Keys and it wasn't the last thing to occur. In 1968 the then landlord, Mr Johnson, and his wife were tidying up after a normal busy Sunday lunchtime. Suddenly they heard a loud rumbling noise coming from the bar. They rushed to investigate and found a large, heavy ashtray that normally stood on the bar spinning like a top. As they watched it began to slow down until finally coming to a clattering halt. At the time the bar was empty and they were at a loss to explain what could have set an ashtray weighing one kilogram spinning like it had been.

Two other occurrences included a vanishing skirt and a disappearing clothes brush. The skirt was of the ancient Bruce clan tartan worn by Mrs Brenda Johnson and was her favourite. It is therefore understandable that she was somewhat distressed when she found that the skirt had disappeared from her wardrobe. The premises were searched from top to bottom but there was no sign of the skirt and Mrs Johnson had to accept that it had gone. Three months later she opened the wardrobe to get something out and was rather taken aback when she discovered the tartan skirt on a hanger. As she watched the skirt began to move then it slid off the hanger and fell into a heap on the floor.

The disappearing clothes brush happened when the Johnson's were in the bedroom one evening getting ready to go out. Mrs Johnson brushed her husband's jacket then put the clothes brush on the bed. Mr Johnson took his hat out of a hat box then turned round to pick up the brush only to discover that it had gone. Again no amount of searching could locate the brush. Three days later the brush was found sitting on the bedroom floor, in the open, next to the fireplace. Where it sat there was no way that they could have failed to see it if it had been there all the time.

The Cross Keys stands on the site of a guest house owned by Westminster Abbey up until the thirteenth century. It is from here that the name originated as cross keys were the insignia of St Peter. Today the main bar of the pub has two brass keys set in the floor.

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Harpenden Common

The ghost of Ann Weatherhead is said to have been seen walking across Harpenden Common. She has also been seen in a field which is now part of the Rothamsted estate where there was a dell known as Hagdell, which was where Ann Weatherhead used to live, and on the road to the manor.

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See also - Hertfordshire - Hatching Green - Agdell Path

See also - Hertfordshire - Hatching Green - Rothamsted

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Harpenden Hall

In Harpenden Hall strange noises are heard on the stairs both by members of staff and visitors. Footsteps have been heard following people yet there is never anyone there. Grey figures have also been seen moving across the landing. Things have been so bad that the cleaners refuse to work on their own. One unfortunate woman was getting something out of a cupboard when she had the distinct feeling that someone was behind her. She turned round but there was no one there but she suddenly felt as if the room had become extremely cold. Children have seen a ghostly figure upstairs and one child, who had wandered off by herself told her mother “there's a funny lady up there in a long dress, and she's got no feet”.

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Leyton Road

During the Second World War it was believed that a ghostly old woman could be seen sitting outside a cottage in Leyton Road. Any person going off to war would never return if they saw her.

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Nickey Line

The Nickey Line is part of the national cycle network running from Harpenden into Redbourn. Originally it was a branch of the Midland Railway which opened in 1877 running for nearly 14 kilometres from Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead.

There is a story concerning the line which told how three children were once hit by at train at night and killed; now they haunt the line. It was said that when there was a fresh fall of snow footsteps would be seen that appeared to have no start and ended where the accident happened. Some believe that the tale is apocryphal and was invented in an attempt to stop children playing on the line.

The line was originally built to connect the straw plait industry of Hemel Hempstead with the hat manufacturing centre at Luton. When the plait industry went into decline so did the number of passengers. This coupled with the movement of commercial transport from the trains to the road resulted in the line being closed to passengers in 1947. In 1968 the Hemelite Company at Cupid Green bought the line and used it to transport ash used in the manufacture of building blocks. Eventually the line was closed completely on 1979.

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To view images see: Harpenden Album

To view a report about the Nickey Line see: 27-04-2007

Harpenden, Nickey Line _____________________________________________________________________
Oilskin Factory

Just to the west of the Silver Cup Inn there stood an oilskin factory which was said to have been haunted. A shadowy figure had been seen who would open and close doors.

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Redclyffe

It is reported that at Redclyffe, a residential home in Salisbury Avenue, windows would open of their own accord during the night despite the windows having been secured the evening before. In addition objects would move without human help. At one time a load of coins were seen to rain down from the toilet ceiling despite their having been left in a pile on a bedroom table.

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Rose Cottage

Rose Cottage is a picturesque house which sits between shops in the High Street (currently occupied by Alan V. Bramwell, Dentist). In the 1980s three young men who were living in the cottage were driven out by ghostly noises which occurred during the night. It is said that the cottage is haunted by the ghost of an eighteen year old woman who searches for her baby. In the seventeenth century the girl travelled up to London to make her fortune but returned to her parents home, Rose Cottage, in shame. There she gave birth to her illegitimate child which she is supposed to have killed before committing suicide. Since then she has been seen in her night-dress searching the cottage, moving furniture about as she searches for her child who is said to be buried in the basement. At one time the cottage was blessed by the local priest and the haunting declined for a short while but the noises soon started again.

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Rose Garden

The infamous highwaywoman, Katherine Ferrers, is said to have passed through Harpenden on her way home to Markyate after holding up coaches bound for Wheathampstead. Her route is alleged to have taken her past the Rose Garden at the edge of the Rothamsted estate. Now it is said that if you are in the area late at night you can hear the sound of her horses hooves as she gallops through the garden shortly followed by the sound of ghostly laughter.

For a detailed account of The Wicked Lady see our article on Katherine Ferrers.

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To view images see: Harpenden Album

To view a report about the Rose Garden see: 27-04-2007

Harpenden, Rose Garden _____________________________________________________________________
The Silver Cup

In December 1985 the landlord of the Silver Cup, Roy Mills, saw something which changed him from a sceptic to a believer. Roy left the upstairs office to go to the bedroom when he encountered a lady who was dressed in grey. The woman smiled at him then promptly walked through a door. Roy was completely sober at the time though he wished he hadn't been. He described the woman as having her hair pulled back and believes she was a member of the Archer family who had owned the seventeenth century pub for generations.

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Harpenden, The Silver Cup _____________________________________________________________________
Silver Cup Cottage

In the late 1960s a small boy and his mother lived in a cottage behind the Silver Cup public house. The boy started telling his mother about a man in his bedroom but she dismissed it as the usual childish imagination. Slowly the boy's description became more detailed and the woman realised that her son was describing a First World War soldier. When she talked about it with her neighbours they told her that her son's room was previously occupied by a nineteen year old soldier who was killed in action during the First World War.

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West Common

Sitting next to West Common there is a cottage which was formerly a public house. In this cottage the ghost of a man has been seen walking through the wall of one of the bedrooms into the cottage next door. A number of years after the man had been seen an old doorway was discovered which linked the two cottages at exactly the point at which the ghost passed through the wall.

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Harpenden, West Common