Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2023

The Spanish Lady Ghost of Thorpe Hall Lincolnshire

  The 18th century folksong "A Spanish Lady's Love to an English Sailor" is reputed to tell the story of Sir John Bolle and Donna Leonora Oviedo. There are serval versions of the story, one states that Donna Leonora fell in love with Sir John Bolle ( 1560 -1606) when he was in charge of keeping her in custody at the time of the Siege of Cadiz. The other version has Sir John Bolle as the prisoner and Donna Leonora arranging his escape. Both versions agree that Donna Leonora loved Sir John Bolle very much, and that he returned to his wife Elizabeth. Upon parting Donna Leonora gave Sir John a portrait of herself in a green dress. Versions differ as to what happened next, some say Donna Leonora Oviedo entered a convent where she spent the rest of her life. The more dramatic version of this tale of unrequited love has the Spanish lady following Sir John to his home, Thorpe Hall, in England where she committed suicide in the garden.  Wherever Donna Leonora died, be it in a Span