Farnham Castle
Hauntings:
Bishop Morley is reputed to haunt the Castle. He was attached to the Castle in life and is thought to be just as attached in death. A heavy door has been known to fly open with no one present and people believe this is the Bishop.
A ghost has supposedly been seen going up and down narrow winding stairs leading to the Bishops Quarters.
The great medieval hall rebuilt by Morley and his successors has a 'Phantom Monk' . A tall figure which appears dressed in a brown habit and wearing a round cap. He has been seen in the musicians gallery peering out of one of the windows. Maybe this is the ghost of the Bishop Petrus de la Roche who died here in June 1238.
The principal staircase between the Great Hall and the Castle Bookshop is reputed to be haunted by a dancing girl. The staircase dates back to about 1680. On several occasions since the mid-nineteenth-century a vague misty swirl has been reported descending the stairs giving the impression of a dancing girl.
Children have been heard on a number of occasions and voices reported coming from the Great Hall when no one has been in there.
The Keep is haunted by a very sinister presence at its ancient gateway. People have reported feeling an ice-cold atmosphere just inside the gateway followed by feelings of terror and disgust.
I have no doubts that there are many unseen spirits that haunt this magnificent Castle when one considers all the happiness and extreme tragedies that have happened here through nearly a thousand years of history.
History:
In 686, Cædwalla of Wessex endowed Farnham and the surrounding area with a charter providing for its use by religious bodies. By this time Farnham lay within the diocese of Winchester, and it seems that Bishop William Giffard (1100-29) used this association to construct a modest motte-and-bailey castle made more substantial by his successor Henry de Blois (1129-71) brother of King Stephen. Henry was also Abbot of Glastonbury and therefore enjoyed the revenues of Abbacy and Bishopric and this no doubt helped to finance his ambitious building projects. Bishop Henry built a very strong keep and a palace at Winchester in 1138, and castles at five other manors extending from Farnham in the east to Taunton in the west. Farnham, although often occupied, did not become the principal residence of the bishops of Winchester until George Morley (1662-84).
In May 1216 Louis, Dauphin of France landed in England. Within days he had taken Guildford, Farnham and Winchester. The Castle remained in the hands of the French until March of the following year when the Earl of Pembroke took it back for the young King Henry 111.
Until the latter part of the thirteenth century the Keep was mainly a place of storage and refuge. By the end of the century it contained a number of rooms including the bishop's chamber and in 1339 a small chapel was constructed. After the Black Death (1351-53) extensive work was carried out and a small hall was constructed.
In 1395, in the reign of King Richard 11, when William of Wykeham was Bishop the roof of Westminster Hall in London was built on a frame at Farnham Castle. It took 6oo Oak Trees to build the roof. 200 came from Farnham - 200 from the Abbot of St. Albans and 200 from Stoke d'Abernon. The roof was constructed then taken apart and loaded onto carts and taken to Weybridge. It was then loaded onto barges and went down river to Westminster where it was constructed again.
From the late fourteenth century to early Tudor times there were several exceptionally gifted men who were Bishops of Winchester playing a prominent part in national affairs and some being close friends of the King. To name a few: William of Wykeham (1367-1404), Cardinal Beaufort (1404 - 47), William Waynflete (1447 - 86), Richard Fox (1501 - 28), Cardinal Wolsey (1529).
The manorial accounts show frequent royals visits to the Castle by reigning monachs. The infant Prince Arthur was entrusted to the Bishop after his christening at Winchester in 1487. Both King Henry V11 and his Queen stayed at the Castle the same year. The Future King Henry V111 knew the Castle well from boyhood.
During the Civil War there was no Bishop of Winchester to defend the Castle. The Castle suffered considerably during the two principal English Civil Wars when the Parliamentarians had held it and used it as a base for local operations, suffering several Royalist assaults. The Castle was slighted on 4 July 1648. After the Wars ended Bishop Morley, a fervent supporter of Charles I during the conflicts, spent £10,648 restoring and rebuilding the Castle, adding substantially to the many alterations undertaken since its foundation. He is said to have taken a small room (eight square feet) at the bottom of the fifteenth-century Fox Tower [Bishop William of Waynflete constructed this impressive structure between 1470 and 1475, and the association with Bishop Richard Fox is false] near the staircase as his preferred living quarters, where he slept in a coffin and in which he died in 1684.
Another Interesting fact about the Bishops of Winchester is that they owned the whole of Southwark on the south side of the Thames in London. Not only was Shakespeare's Theatre The Globe built there but so where most of the London whore houses paying rent to the Bishops!! lol
The Castle remained with The Bishops of Winchester until 1926 when the parish of Farnham was incorporated into the new diocese of Guildford. The keep was transferred to the Office of Works as an ancient monument in 1927. The rest of the Castle remained ecclesiastical property but was unused and, after standing empty it was saved from ruin by a local benefactress in November 1930. From 1932 it became the seat of the bishops of Guildford who occupied it until 1958 when complaints persuaded the Church Commission to abandon it altogether as an ecclesiastical property. In April 1961, the Oversea Service acquired the castle for a 60-year lease at a peppercorn rent, spending £100,000 converting it in 1962 to the Centre for International Briefing. The cellars of the Castle were also in use by our Secret Services MI5 and MI6.
Monarchs and Bishops through the Ages:
Catholic Bishops
Henry I Henry de Blois - b. 1100-d. 8th August 1171
1129-1171. Grandson of William the Conqueroe and brother to
1100-1135 King Stephen. He consecrated Thomas a Becket as Archbishop.
Under the King he was the wealthiest and most powerful man
in England.
Stephen
1135-1154 Richard Toclive - d. 22nd December 1188
(Richard of Ilchester) 1174-1188. Elected by the monks after the See
had been vacant for three years. He founded a
Hospital at Winchester Called St. Mary Magdalene.
Henry II His son Richard Poore became Bishop of Salisbury.
1154-1189
Richard I Godfrey de Lucy - 1189-1204. A very fine architect.
1189-1199
Peter de la Roche - d. 9th June 1238
John or De Rupibus - 1205-1238. He came from a knightly family in Poitou and
1199-1216 was consecrated Bishop of Winchester in Rome in 1205.
He became Grand Justiciary of England and was guardian of
Henry 111. He fought in the Holy Land in 1226. Built the
Monastery at Selborne. He died at Farnham CastleHenry III
1216-1272 William de Raleigh - 1244-1250. He was a Judge, Justice of The Court of
Common Pleas, Justice of The King's Bench. He died
shortly before 1st September 1250.
Ethelmar or Aylmer de Valence - 1250-1261. He was half brother to Henry
111. Aymer was illiterate, ignorant of the English Language, and
wholly secular in his mode of life.
For his tyrany and greed he was exiled to France where
he died three years later on December 4th 1260.
He freed the Farnham Bondsmen in 1256.
John of Exeter
or John Gervase - 1262-1268. He assisted Simon de Montford in the Civil War.
Died in Rome on the 19th January 1268.
Edward I
1272-1307 Nicholas of Ely - 1268-1280. He was Lord Chancellor, Lord High Treasurer, Bishop
Worcester. He died on 12th February 1280 and is buried at
Waverley Abbey.
Richard de la More - 1280-1282. He was elected to the See of Winchester on
15th November 1280 but resigned in June of 1282 before being
consecrated. He died 16th June 1285.
John de Pontissara - 1282-1304. He built the College of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
at Winchester. He was Chancellor of Oxford University and
Professor od Civil Law at modena. He died on 5th December 1304.
Edward II
1307-1327 Henry Woodlock - 1305-1316. Former Prior of St. Swithun's Monastery. He
crowned Edward 11. He died on the 28th June 1316.
John Sandale - 1316-1319. He previously held the Offices of Lord High Treasurer
and Lord Chancellor. He died on 2nd November 1319.
Rigaud of Assier - 1320-1323. He died on 12th April 1323.
John de Stratford - 1323-1333. One time Lord Treasurer of England and
Chancellor. Was not popular with Edward 11 and visited the Captive
King in Kennilworth to persuade him to abdicate in favour of his son.
On 3 November 1333 he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
He died at Mayfield, Sussex on 23 August 1348.
Edward III
1327-1377 Adam Orleton - 1333-1345. He was a supporter with Queen Isabella and Roger
Mortimer against Edward 11 of England. Bishop Adam, wary,
unscrupulous, but at the same time vigorous and of unusual ability,
played a great part in politics to the end of the wretched King's life.
Some historians still believe that he recommended the murder; he
certainly supported the deposition in Parliament, and went to
Kenilworth as one of the commissioners to force the King's
resignation. He died on 18th July 1845.
William Edington - 1346-1366. Treasurer of England 1350. Chancellor 1357.
He started the extensive rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral and for
founding the building of Edington Priory, the church of which still
stands today. He died 7th October 1366.
William of Wykeham - b. 1320 - d. Saturday 27th September 1404 at 8am.
1367-1404. He had immence skill in architecture. He built
the Round Tower and Eastern Ward of Windsor Castle. A College for
Richard II the Order of the Garter (close to St. Georges Chapel). In 1361 he
1377-1399 commenced building on Queenborough Castle (demolished in 1650).
He is said to have rebuilt five castles. In 1394 he undertook the
great work of reformation of Winchester Cathedral. In 1395 he built
at Farnham Castle on a frame the Roof of Westminster Hall, London as
it stands to this day. He also built New College, Oxford and
Winchester Colleges. He devoted his vast riches to the promotion
of learning. He was born to a peasant family but became one of the
Henry IV most influencial and wealthiest men in England in his day.
1399-1413 His Motto was "Manner Makyth Man".
Henry Beaufort - b. 1375 - d. 11th April 1447.
1405-1447. Grandson of Edward 111. Second son of John of Gaunt by
his Mistress Catherine Roet. However, they married sixteen years
later. In April 1430 he accompanied Henry VI of England across the
channel and on 16th December the following year, he crowned him as
King of France at The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. In his youth
he fought in the Crusade against the Hussites. He rebuilt St Cross, he
founded Almshouse of Noble Poverty. His wealth was so great that he
loaned his nephew £20,000. He spent large sums of money on London's
Debtor's Prisons.
In Rouen on 30 May 1431, Beaufort, who had been involved in the
mock trial of Joan of Arc, was watching her from a scaffold as she was
being led to the stake. But he could't bear to watch her burning, and
Henry V left the place in tears before the execution. Afterwards, the English -
1413-1422 at the instigation of Beaufort, according to some sources - saw to it
that Joan's physical remains were collected and thrown into the river
Henry VI Seine, in order "that the world might have no relic of her of whom the
1422-1461 world was not worthy". He suffered from dilireum on his deathbed
and, as he hallucinated, according to legend he offered Death the
whole treasury of England in return for living a while longer.
Edward IV
1461-1483 William of Waynflete - b. 1395 - d. 11th August 1486.
1447-1486. He was Provost of Eton. Appointed by Bishop Beaufort to
the mastership of St Mary Magdalen's Hospital, a Leper hospital on St
Giles Hill, just outside the city of Winchester. He was Chancellor of
England. Founded Magdalen College, Oxford. A very learned man.
He built the brick tower in Farnham Castle.
Richard III Peter Courtenay - 1486-1492. With Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and
1483-1485 others he attempted to raise a rebellion against Richard III in 1483,
and fled to Brittany when this enterprise failed. Courtenay was
restored to his dignities and estates in 1485 by Henry VII, whom he
had accompanied to England, and was Keeper of the Privy Seal from
1485 to 1487. He died on 22nd September 1492.
Henry VII Thomas Langton - 1493-1501. Was Chaplain to King Edward IV. He was elected
1485-1509 Archbishop of Canterbury, but he died from the Plague on 27 January
1501 before his election had been confirmed.
Richard Foxe - b. 1448 - d. 5th october 1528.
1501-1528. Son of Thomas and Helena Foxe. He was attached to the
service of the Earl of Richmond later to become King Henry VII. Henry
made Foxe Lord Privy Seal. In 1487 he was created Bishop of Exeter,
also becoming Bishop of Bath & Wells, Durham and finaly Winchester.
in 1498–1499 he completed the negotiations for that treaty of
marriage between the Scottish king and Henry's VII's daughter
Margaret which led ultimately to the union of the two crowns in 1603
and of the two kingdoms in 1707. The marriage itself did not take
place until 1503, just a century before the accession of James I.
Thomas Wolsey tried to discredit Foxe in the eyes of Henry VIII as he
coveted Foxe's Bishopric. But Foxe was aware of this and defeated
his attempts. Foxe was Godfather to Henry VIII. Joint founder of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He repaired parts of Farnham Castle,
including the Tower now named after him. Bishop Foxe went
totally blind some years before his death and the Steps that lead from
Henry VIII the top of Castle Street up to the entrance of the Castle are known
1509-1547 as Bishop Foxe's Steps as they were built for him when he went blind.
Thomas Wolsey - b. 1471 - d. 29th November 1530
1528-1530. His ruin and downfall were mainly brought about by Anne
Bolyne who held Wolsey responable for the delay in the divorce from
Katherine of Aragon. In November 1530 he was arrested in York,
where he had retired to, for High Treason. He was quite ill at this
stage and travelled slowly towards London to answer the charge. On
arriving at Leicester Abbey he said to the Abbot ' I am come to leave
my bones among you'. He died there on 29th November 1530.
Wolsey had two children by his mistress, Joan Larke (born circa1490)
of Yarmouth, Norfolk. These were a son, Thomas Wynter (born circa
1510) and a daughter, Dorothy (born circa 1512).
Edward VI
1547-1553 Stephen Gardiner - b. 1483 - d. 12th November 1555
1531-1551 and again in 1553-1555. His father William Gardener a
cloth merchant of Bury At. Edmunds. His mother Helen was
an illegitimate daughter of Jasper Tudor, first Duke of Bedford, which
would make Stephen the second cousin of King Henry VIII. He advised
Henry VIII in the divorce from Katherine of Aragon. He crowned Mary I
and performed the marriage ceremony of Mary and Phillip of Spain.
He was responable for a lot of the cruel deaths of Protestants in the
religious controversary during Henry VIII's reign. He spent the last
five years of his Bishopric in the Tower of London and
John Ponet took over for 2 years. He was restored to his Bishopric
when Mary came to the throne in 1553.
Mary I
1553-1558 John Ponet or Poynet - b. 1514 - d. August 1556
1551 - 1553. Appointed Bishop after Gardiner had been deprived
of the See by Edward VI. Himself deprived on the reinstatement of
Gardiner by Mary. In 1545 he was Chaplain to Thomas Cranmer. By
November 1548 he married even though the Bann on Clerical Marriage
had not yet been removed. In July 1551 a Consistory Court of St. Pauls
announced the formal seperation from his wife on the grounds that she
was already married to a Nottingham Butcher!! On the 25th of
October the same year he married the daughter of one of Cranmer's
Financial Officers. When Mary succeeded her Protestant half brother
Edward VI Ponet and his wife along with 800 other Protestants
fled abroad.
Elizabeth 1
1558-1603 John White - b. 1510 - d. 1560
1556-1559. Born in Farnham. Deposes by Queen Elizabeth 1.
Protestant Bishops
Robert Horne - b. 1510 - d. June 1580
1560-1580. Supporter of the reformed religion.
John Watson - b. 1520 - d. 23rd January 1583
1580-1583. Doctor of Medicine.
Thomas Cooper - b. 1517 - d. 29th April 1594
1583-1594. He was a great writer. In 1565 appeared the first edition
of his greatest work, Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae.
William Shakespear is believed to have used Cooper's Thesaurus in
the creation of his many poems and plays. Evidence of this comes
from a close statistical inspection of Shakespeare's word usage.
William Wickham - b. 1539 - d. 11th June 1595
1595. He was a royal chaplain, before 1574. He preached at the
funeral of Mary Queen of Scots, on 2 August 1587 in Peterborough.
William Day - b. 1529 - d. 1596
1595-1596. He was brother-in-law of Wickham. He married Elizabeth
Barlow.
Thomas Bilson - b. 1547 - d. 18th June 1616
1596-1616. In his early life he distinguish himself as a poet. Bilson
gave the sermon at the coronation on 25 July 1603 of James VI of
Scotland as James 1 of England. He was a Judge and a Member of
the Privy Council. He wrote many books.
James 1
1603-1625 James Montague - b. 1568 - d. 1618
1616-1618. He was Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1608 . At Bath and
Wells, he contributed to the legend of the Holy Thorn of
Glastonbury in an entertainment for Ann oif Denmark, when the
character of Joseph of Arimathea presented boughs to the Queen.
He is buried in an alabaster tomb in Bath Abbey.
Lancelot Andrewes - b. 1555 - d. 25th September 1626
1619-1626. Known as the Saintly Bishop "An Angel in the Pulpit". He
was a powerful preacher, a scholar and had great influence over
James I.
Charles 1
1625-1649 Richard Neile - b.1562 - d. 1640
1627-1631. He was the son of a Tallow Chandler. He sat regulary
in the Courts of the Star Chamber. He was Archbishop of York from
1631 until his death.
Commonwealth
1649-1660 Walter Curle - b. 1575 – d. 1647
1632-1647.. Deprived of his See during the Civil War. He went into
exile at Soberton.
Charles II
1660-1685 Brian Duppa - b. 1588 - d. 1662
1660-1662. Chaplain to Charles I and tutor to his sons. During the
Commonwealth he retired to Richmond. Mentioned in Pepy's Diary
July 29th and October 4th 1660. He gave much comford and
support to Charles I during his imprisonment.
George Morley - b. 27th February 1597 – d. 30th October 1684
1662-1684. Constant supporter of Charles I. Leaving England, he
joined the court of Charles II, and became one of the leading clergy
at The Hague. Shortly before the Restoration he came to England
on a highly successful mission to gain for Charles the support of the
Presbyterians. He founded the College for Widows of the Clergy
near the Close in Winchester. Benefactor of Farnham Grammar
School. Died at Farnham Castle aged 87.
James II
1685-1688 Peter Mews - b. 25th March 1619 – d. 9th November 1706
1684-1706. He took part in the Civil War and was taken prisoner at
Naseby but was soon released. He then followed Charles II
to Flanders in 1648. After he became Bishop of Winchester he
William & Mary took part in the Battle of Sedgemoor and was wounded.
1688-1702
Anne
1702-1714 Jonathan Trelawny - b. 24th March 1650 - d. 19th July 1721
1707-1721. Baronet. As Bishop of Bristol in 1688, he was one of
the seven Bishops tried in the reign of James II. He was
imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of Seditious Libel.
George I
1727-1760 Charles Trimwell - b. 1663 – d. 1723
1721-1723. He was a Whig in politics, and known for his attacks on
High Church views, writing on the subordination of the Church of
England to the state. After the accession of George I of England in
1714 he was in the royal favour and influential. He died suddenly
at Farnham.
George III
1760-1780 Richard Willis - b.1664 – d. 1734
1723-1734. His father was a Tanner. In 1694 he was chaplain to
William III on a journey to the Netherlands.
Benjamin Hoadley - b.14 th November 1676 – d. 17th April 1761
1734-1761. A low Churchman. The poet Pope satirised him for
his verbose eloquence. He was Chaplain to George I.
John Thomas - b. 14th November 1696 - d. 17th April 1781
1761-1781. Tutor to George III.
Hon. Brownlow North - b. 1741 – d. 1820
1781-1820. He was the son of Francis North 1st Earl of Guildford.
His wife brought the seeds of Cedars of Lebanon, which can still
be seen in the Castle grounds to this day.
George IV
1820-1830 George Pretyman Tomlin - b. 9th October 1750 – d. 14th November 1827
1820-1827. Baronet.
William IV
1830-1837 Charles Richard Sumner - b. 22nd November 1790 - d. 15th August 1874
1827-1869. The last of the Prince Bishops of Winchester.
Private Chaplain to George IV at Windsor. He is remembered
best for all the work he did for the well being of Farnham. In
1869 he resigned his see, but continued to live at the official
residence at Farnham until his death on 15 August 1874.
Victoria
1837-1901 Samuel Wilberforce - b. 7th September 1805 – 19th July 1873
Son of William Wilberforce the emancipator of slavery. He was
chaplain to Prince Albert. He criticised Darwin's theory on
scientific grounds, arguing that it was not supported by the
facts, and he noted that the greatest names in science were
opposed to the theory. Was killed on 19 July 1873, by the shock
of a fall from his horse near Dorking, Surrey. He never lived in
Farnham Castle as his cousin Charles Sumner lived there until his
death in 1874.
Edward Harold Browne - b. 1811 – d. 18th December 1891
1873-1890. He was very much like in Farnham.
Anthony Wilson Thorold - b. 1826 – d. 1895
1890-1895. He wrote a number of Devotional Books. He had
travelled extensively preaching in The United States in the late
1800's. He was also well liked by the people of Farnham.
Edward VII
1901-1910 Randall Thomas Davidson - b. 7th April 1848 – 25th May 1930
1895-1903. 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth also to become the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
George V
1910-1936 Herbert Ed Ryle - b. May 25th 1856 – d. 20th August, 1925
1903-1911. He resigned in 1911 to become Dean of Westminster
Abbey.
The idea of a Tomb of The Unknown Warrior in Westminster
Abbey was first conceived in 1916 by the Reverend David
Railton, who while serving as an army chaplain on the Western
Front, had seen a grave marked by a rough cross, which bore
an inscription written in pencil saying 'An Unknown British
Soldier'. He wrote to Dean Ryle in 1920 proposing that an
unidentified British Soldier from the battlefields in France be
buried with due ceremony in Westminster Abbey "amongst the
kings" to represent the many hundreds of thousands of
Empire dead. The idea was strongly supported by Ryle and the
then Prime Minister Lloyd George. There was initial opposition
from King George V and others, who feared that such a ceremon
would reopen the wounds of a recently ended war, but a surge
of emotional support from the great number of bereaved families
ensured its adoption. The inscription on the tomb was composed
by Dean Ryle.
Edward Stuart Talbot - b. 19th February 1844 - d. 30th January 1934
1911-1924. He married Hon. Lavinia Lyttelton (*10 October 1849),
daughter of George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton and Mary
Glynne, on 29 June 1870.
Frank Theodore Woods - b. 15th January 1874 - d. 27th February 1932
1924-1932. The last Bishop of Winchester to be associated with
Farnham.
I would like to thank my friend and local Archeaologist Romana Golicz for the very useful information he had researched and allowed me to use as the basis for my History of Farnham Castle.
