Ravens walk 4 - The Haunted House Traditional Geocache
Ravens walk 4 - The Haunted House
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(large)
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Parking is available at the given coordinates to the West of the House for visitors to the House and grounds. There is an entrance gate and an exit gate to the East of the House.
This one is best done at night (why not All Hallows Eve, Samhain or All Souls, Day of the Dead) if you are not easily spooked
Littlecote House
Littlecote House lies on the banks of the River Kennet on the border between "Wyld" Wiltshire
and "Beautiful" Berkshire.
The present mansion stands on the site of an earlier 13th century medieval house inhabited by the
de Calstone family (of Calne, Wiltshire) from around 1290. The present Tudor manor house was mainly built between 1490 and 1520 by Sir George Darrell. It is probably the earliest brick built house in Wiltshire. (The south front, including the Great Hall, were completed in 1592) .
King Henry VIII is said to have courted his third wife Jane Seymour here in 1535 .
Jane Seymour was a descendant of Sir George Darrell. (Jane Seymour's father Sir John Seymour lived at Wolfhall near Burbage. He was the son of John Seymour and Elizabeth Darrell, daughter of Sir George Darrell) .
After the death of Henry VIII in 1547, Sir Edward Darrell was able to purchase the Manor of Chilton Foliat and Littlecote, but he died soon after in 1549. He was succeeded at Littlecote by his son William, often referred to as "Wild Darrell" because of his legendary crimes and illicit amours.
It is also known that Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, and William of Orange stayed here.
In September 1943 the US 101st Airborne Division requisitioned part of the house, and it became home to the 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
From airfields in this area, including Ramsbury just to the west of here, the Airborne Division took off on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as part of the invasion of Normandy.
Easy Company from this regiment have become famous through the book and TV mini-series Band of Brothers.
In 1985 Littlecote was sold to the entrepreneur Peter de Savary. It was closed to the public between 1991-1993, but re-opened in April 1993.
In 1996, Warner Holidays acquired the house and estate and now operate it as a large country house hotel and resort (202 rooms in 2011).
The Grade I listed building has a number of magnificent formal rooms. Of special importance are the Great Hall, the Long Gallery, and the Cromwellian Chapel, believed to be the only complete example remaining today.
"Wild" William Darrell
The last of the Darrell owners is connected with several scandals and the house's resident ghost story. William Darrell's father had left the house to his mistress Mary Danyell, but Darrell was able to recover it when he came of age in 1560. He spent lavishly, left his debts unpaid, and went to law with most of his neighbours, acquiring enemies in the process.
He had an affair with the wife of Sir Walter Hungerford, his neighbour; when Sir Walter sued for divorce, she was acquitted, and Sir Walter sent to prison.
Some years later, Mother Barnes, a midwife from Great Shefford, recalled being brought blindfold in 1575 to the childbed of a lady, with a gentleman standing by who commanded her to save the life of the mother, but who (as soon as the child was born) threw it into the fire. Barnes did not name or indicate either Darrell or Littlecote, but his enemies quickly ascribed this murder to him.
William Darrell was killed in 1589 whilst hunting. He was killed in a riding accident on 1 Oct 1589 at a spot known as Darrell's Stile, probably near Shefford Woodlands where the current Hungerford to Wantage road crosses Ermin Street. He was buried 3 Oct 1589 at St Lawrence's Church, Hungerford.
The Ghosts
Legend has it that whilst hunting, the ghost of the murdered newborn appeared to William Darrell, causing his horse to shy and throw him.
Darrell is said to haunt the site of his death, known as Darrell's stile as well as the church at Ramsbury, two miles away.
For more details of this and other ghostly apparitions said to have been recorded at the house see :
http://hauntedwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/littlecote-house.html
Please re-hide this cache carefully so it it is not visible from a distance.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fcbbxl fghzc-b-syntr.