Haunted Marwell Hall ~ Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn's connection to the legend of The Mistletoe Bride

The ghost of Jane Seymour is said to walk the corridors of Marwell Hall. It was home to one of her brother's, Sir Henry Seymour, and is believed to have been visited by Henry VIII several times. Local folk lore suggests that Henry and Jane married there shortly after the execution of Anne Boleyn but prior to their official 30th May wedding at Whitehall Palace.

Anne Boleyn is said to haunt the Yew Tree Walk seeking vengeance on Jane for stealing the King's affections.

Other ghostly activity at Marwell includes phantom footsteps, moving objects, voices, shadowy figures, the sound of heavy objects being moved and poltergeist activity.

Marwell Hall is one of several old English houses that lays claim to the Mistletoe Bride. The tale, popularised in the early 19th century By Thomas Bayly's Christmas ballad “The Mistletoe Bough”, tells of a game of hide and seek that goes horribly wrong. During a Christmastime game of hide and seek a young bride gets locked in an old chest. No one can find her and she dies in the chest, her body is found many years later. Other claimants to the Mistletoe Bride include Bramshill House in Hampshire, Castle Horneck in Cornwall, Berkshire's Basildon Grotto, Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, Exton Hall in Rutland, Norfolk's Brockdish Hall and Bawdrip Rectory in Somerset.

Visitor information:

The Marwell Hall Estate is owned and run by the registered charity Marwell Wildlife. The Hall sits in the centre of the wildlife park.

Marwell Wildlife is open everyday except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Marwell Hall itself is available to hire for special functions.

Address:

Marwell Wildlife

Colden Common

Winchester

Hants

SO21 1HJ

Telephone: 01962 770 549

Email: marwell@marwell.org.uk

Website: www.marwell.org.uk

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