Maybe it suited himas it did Miss Angelica Read of Stamford Streetthat people thought that the house was haunted. She was muttering dont let it touch me. In season 3 of TV show Whitechapel, historian Edward Buchan tells the story of 50 Berkeley Square. Depending on which version of the story you encounter, he either died of fright or committed suicide 4 years later. Thomas Hardy, author of Far From The Madding Crowd and architect of one of London's strangest landmarks: The Hardy Tree. 
Portrait of John Robinson. And its a good thing he did. Lets start at the beginning, the story of young Adeline seems the most likely to have actually occurred but I could find no evidence of it actually happening. The Mayfair Magazine printed an article in 1879, which stated that a maid had a strange encounter in the attic room that had turned her mad. Wood engraving by Charles-douard de Beaumont dated 1871. Check. Unfortunately I only learned that after the video was finished.\"Bloody Bones\" is among its residents. Sceptics claimed that the stories were made up by writers. Its said during his tenure living at the townhouse Canning had heard strange noises in the night and experienced wild nightmarish dreams but feared talking out in the open about them. There were so many tales that it was said that the house was haunted by Bloody Bones. One of the most haunting is that of Captain Kentfield. His name was Thomas Myers. He lived at no. On that faithful night, the other inhabitants heard his screams from upstairs and a gunshot. With no reports of any ghost or monster activity all the way up to when they moved a few years ago. His face was contorted and twisted in terror.
Shortly after midnight Blunden awoke to the sounds of creaking and the weight of something near them. If, Leadenhall Market is home to Harry Potter's Leaky Cauldron pub. By then the house had become decidedly shabby, which must have annoyed his illustrious neighbours. What is more, Thomas had stopped paying his taxes, so much so that in 1873 the tax collector for the parish of St George Hanover Square, whose name was Knox, was forced to apply to the magistrates for a warrant of distress against his goods. He was not poor but he was certainly eccentrica point made by a newspaper report on the Berkeley Square hauntingsand at his death in November 1874 he left his sister the lease on a house that was dirty and neglected. She had a comfortable home of her own in Tilney Street, and 50 Berkeley Square stood empty until 1884, when the lease ran out and the house was bought by Lord and Lady Selkirk. A being now better known as The Bogeyman. 'Don't let it touch me,' the maid is reported to have said. He explains that different things were told and seen because it was all invented and none of the stories were real. My book: https://london-beyond-time-and-place.com/london-and-its-genius-loci-a-journey-beyond-time-and-place/Print: https://www.amazon.de/London-its-genius-loci-journey/dp/396317188X#ace-9134271203Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/London-its-genius-loci-journey-ebook/dp/B07ZKZMCX5I appreciate all the support I get from my subscribers through sharing, comments and likes. He is drummer for PARIAHLORD. Thomas Myers had purchased the home in 1859 for himself and his bride to be but just days before the wedding she left him for another man.
Subsequently little is known about him other than that he owned a house in Tilney Street in Mayfair and a property called Greys Hall in Sible Hedringham in Essex. He died in 1835 at the age of seventy-onehe was buried in the recently opened Kensal Green Cemeteryand he left Thomas and Mary very wealthy. They were now in their thirties, and unmarried, which in view of their society connections is surprising. Mary lived in what had been the former family house in Tilney Street with two or three servants. Her living arrangements appear quite modest when compared with those of her next door neighbours, Mr and Mrs Reginald Brettand their one-month-old son, who had nine live-in servants to care for them. As for Thomas . Not wanting to come across a coward, the Captain resolved to stay in that room regardless. Mary Shelley famously started writing her classic novel 'Frankenstein' during a stormy stay at Lord Byron's Lake Geneva, The Viktor Wynd Museum: where else can you find old master etchings alongside celebrity faeces; Happy Meal toys next to. There are strange lights and noises in the night. Despite not believing, he did insist on bringing a shotgun with him just in case. Other versions have Martin describe the thing that attacked them as a silhouette of an abnormally large man appearing from a mist. In the 19th century it became known as the most haunted house in London. Some variations have the family regarded as the Kentfields and not the unfortunate fianc. On top of that there are other stories that supposedly occurred in the 19th century in the townhouse, ones of people losing their minds and others being locked in the attic. Known locally as Flicker Alley, Cecil Court was a vital hub of early British cinema with international connections. Philipp feels deeply connected to London, more than to any other place in the world.
When he came to visit the house in Berkeley Square, the maid was sent to the attic to prepare a room for him. The eldest of the daughters supposedly complained of a musty zoo-like smell coming from the top floors. Further accounts tell of children experiencing strange zoo-like smells, trespassing sailors tripping and dying mid-flight, and a nobleman bringing a bell up to the attic with him, just to ease his nerves. 
The gruesome legend of 50 Berkely Square is made up of many isolated incidents. It is an odd fact that hauntings and generally unpleasant events that were originally associated with other places in this part of London came to be attached to number 50. There were fictional stories in the newspapers, and a popular novel set in Berkeley Square which many took as based on fact, and this once run-down building gained a reputation that has persisted to the present today. It even appears as a venue for a Charles Dickens Ghost Club Mission in the Assassins Creed Syndicatevideo game! When he did not appear in court, the magistrate excused him because he was known to live in a haunted house. Or are they just stories?Here's the tale of the most haunted house in London.Would you spend a night in the attic?You can also read the the full article on my homepage: https://london-beyond-time-and-place.com/50-berkeley-square-the-most-haunted-house-in-london/My name is Philipp Rttgers. If anything were to go wrong he should ring the bell immediately. The only way the magazine was able to verify this was due to the lack of payments in property tax leading to a tax summons in 1873. While many accounts have Robert dying from fright, other accounts say he lived having run out of the room when the landlord opened the door. Philipp studied English Literatures and Cultures in Bonn, Germany. https://london-beyond-time-and-place.com/, https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/terrifying-story-londons-haunted-house-16900766, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Bones, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_O%27Donnell. He is also a Ripperologist (and was already featured in the magazine of the same name) and of 2020, he also lead walks through London. Aquatint dated 1812. In the 19th century it became known as the most haunted house in London. The maid was not the only one that was driven insane by the ghost in the attic.
The household was then terrified by her screams coming from the attic. An 1876 newspaper article states that the London Association of Spiritualists wished to exorcise it of a presence that had dwelt there for fifty years. And then, silence. By the time they reached the bedroom, the Captain's body was twisted and pale. Theres an account of a Spiritualist Society wanting to perform an exorcism or seance at the place but never getting the chance. 
Robert had heard of the stories of ghosts and monsters that reside in the house but being fueled by alcohol, he was there to disprove them. So far none of the stories involve a real person and all appear to be made up. The girl purportedly threw herself from the rooms window after being abused by her uncle. Twisted and contorted by terror. In the end what haunts mepun very much intendedis not the rumours of ghosts and ghoulies but the sad lives of Thomas and Mary Myers. Neither married. Strange things began to happen when its next inhabitant moved in in 1859. The door to 50 Berkeley Square opened allowing the 20 year old Robert Warboys to enter the four story brick townhouse. He and his hosts raced upstairs to find a young maid gibbering on the floor of what was to be his bedroom. Sure it looks nice BUT MONSTERS! Allegedly. The truth of number 50 is likely less fantastical and more sad. But are these stories real? The development of a rock band (2015), London and its genius loci a journey beyond time and place. All overshadowed the truth of what the magazine Notes & Queries revealed in 1880. Ill be interested, whats your email address? This walk was written. No one knew who occupied the home for decades and anyone who came knocking was shooed away by a tight-lipped servant. Despite this Captain Kentfield believed himself to be above whatever frightened the maid and claimed, without fear, he would spend the night in the room. With all the sounds they needed to make with their machines they began spreading rumors the location was haunted so no one would be willing to investigate. Image in Edric Vredenburg The Haunted House in Berkeley Square (1891) page 7. 50 Berkeley Square The most haunted house in LondonUPDATE: It is pronounced \"Barkley\". Why that house?, to which Buchan only answers: What a very good question. It was Christmas eve 1843 and the two sailors had spent all their funds including the money needed to purchase a room for the night on drinks. And then there is the tale of a young man who was locked in the attic room and was fed only through a hole in the door, until he died in madness. A classic victim. Humbug!- A Guide to the locations of Charles Dickenss A Christmas Carol, London and its genius loci a journey beyond time and place (2019), Two eras of Genesis? Required fields are marked *. Kensal Green Cemetery in the nineteenth century. A spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there haunts the house. Chromolithograph of Lady Dorothy Nevill by K. Image in Vanity Fair volume 6 (November 1912). Private militia dolled up in Victorian frock coats? The house fell into disrepair and, when he passed, was left to decay. Next, it was inhabited by a Miss Curzon, until her death at the age of 90. A maid was driven insane by a spectral presence and a nobleman wanted to disprove the haunting.These are the stories of 50 Berkeley Square, a house in Mayfair in Central London. That would at least have been one way of getting others to leave him alone! Your email address will not be published. Many people did not believe in these ghost stories. Stare at the dark too long and you will eventually see what isnt there. Upon reaching the basement they found his body, dismembered and with the eyes wide with unimaginable horror. Other magazines and books would be printed throughout the years and decades further reinforcing these tales. His second book London and its genius loci a journey beyond time and place was published in 2019. After its construction in the late 18th century, its said the ghost stories were purposely started by counterfeiters who took residence in the building in 1790. The story of the sailors was attributed to Elliott ODonnell. Whatever he saw, whatever he shot at, the fear of it, killed him. They claim that residents of Berkely Square, having watched a lonely, flickering candle slowly move from window to window, night after night, simply let their imaginations run wild. Check. Engraving by John Shury. The attic in particular is said to be a place of devilish happenings. The latest news, articles, and resources, sent to your inbox. Unsurprisingly the final story we covered also could not be verified or even partly verified. Interested in finding more places like this? So many, in fact, that it was at one point made exempt from Council Tax. 50 Berkeley Square The most haunted house in London. The marriage, which was regarded by the Nevill family as a msalliance, took place on the 20th of January 1802 at Wyke House, Robinsons country pile in Isleworth. (Wyke House gained fameor infamyas a mental asylum later in the nineteenth century. He could only find his shotgun cartridges the next morning when he went to look at what he had fired. POOR MR HAVISHAM Luxury goods? The classic ghost. Lady Nevill described Thomas as eccentric, to a degree which bordered on lunacy. And once he was left at the altar so to speak, its no wonder he became such a recluse. Yet, the reason the stories continued to spread despite the truth being out is because no one knew who he was. Martin began to see slivers of grey and the sounds of something large dragging itself through the room terrified the two. Campbell | Topic: Bow Street Society, Episode 11: Vanessa Woolf & George Hoyle | Topic: Storytelling, Episode 12: Jack Chesher | Topic: Londons Body-Snatcher Gangs, Episode 13: Siwan Hill | Topic: Peculiar London and Dark Side of Docklands, Episode 14: Stephen Coates | Topic: Time, space and London myths, Episode 15: Bradley Harper | Topic: A Knife In The Fog, Episode 16: Angela Buckley | Topic: Amelia Dyer and the Baby Farm Murders, Talks beyond time and place Mini episodes, Mini Episode: Karen Egan (Ripper Street), Mini Episode: Magdalena Korpas (Whitechapel), Mini Episode: Alicia Gerrard (Ripper Street), Mini Episode: Kunjue Li (Ripper Street), Mini Episode: Juan Carlos Medina (The Limehouse Golem), Mini Episode: Dominik Scherrer (Ripper Street), Mini Episode: Elva Trill (Ripper Street) Interview at The Ten Bells, Jack the Ripper: A walk through Whitechapels Ripper streets, Nicholas Hawksmoor: A walk along his East End churches, Lets All Go Down The Strand A walk through the West End from The Strand to Covent Garden, Secret London: The mysterious area of Clerkenwell, Strange tales from the River Thames: A walk along the Southbank, Bah! He is an expert in the capitals (and Britains) literature and culture. Various eye-witness accounts claim to have seen her ghostly white figure or a strange brown mist. He later claimed 50 Berkeley Square was quote Supernaturally fatal to body and mind. Its said he took his own life four years later by throwing himself down a flight of stairs having never recovered from the trauma of the supernatural event. With the further use you agree to this. Having recently been rejected by his former fiance, Thomas began to devolve. It was only minutes later her loud screams pierced the home. But people still had a hard time believing in the stories, one such man was Lord George Lyttelton who wanted to spend the night in the attic of the townhouse. But unlike Kentfield, he did not die nor was he driven insane. Mae Jemison once said, 'when God made the colour purple, God was just showing off'. He never saw a living soul and walked through the house at night only with a candle in his hand. Other accounts say he died of fright the next day in the hospital. He moved into the attic and slept during the day. Apparently a nobleman spent the night in the attic room. After his death, the house stood vacant for a long time. It's most magical resident, however, might be a Victori. London Picture Archive, The childrens father, who never remarried, served as Member of Parliament for Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight between 1810 and 1812, after which he retired from public life. At this point in the story 50 Berkeley Square had yet to acquire its notoriety. For many years it had been occupied by the Hon Elizabeth Curzon, who died aged ninety-one in April 1859, whereupon Thomas Myers moved in. He remained there until his death in 1874. His odd habitsit was put about that he did not go out of doors for twenty years, and that he slept by day and wandered the house by nightcertainly contributed to rumours of hauntings. And he is strangely absent from the 1861 and 1871 censuses, both of which list only single occupants. The sole entry for 1861 is a servant in her early forties, a Yorkshire woman called Eleanor Porter, while that for 1871 is a cook in her early seventies whose name lies buried forever beneath the enumerators illegible scrawl. So could it be that at the time of the censuses the reclusive Thomas was in the house but did not want to declare himself? Many spectacular spirits are said to haunt 50 Berkeley Square, the most haunted house in London: According to legend, the house is so charged with psychic tension, you only need to touch the exterior brickwork in order to receive a tingling sensation that sends shivers down your spine. Thomas Myers lived in the house until the early 1870s. OTHER STORIES ON OUR WEBSITE YOU MIGHT ENJOY, The Sadness of Clowns, or, The Strange Death of Giuseppe Grimaldi, The Poisonous Pownall Sisters of Stoke Newington, Staring Death in the Face, or, The Atrocious Attack on William Day.
Although the landlord attempted to discourage him, he soon relented. Of course the early years of the townhouse are shrouded in mystery and we may never know if anyone truly died there out of hate or fear. 
And finally other versions have Blundens body not being found in the basement but instead having been tossed through a window and being impaled by the cast iron gates surrounding the townhouse, which you would think would be much bigger news and very easy to corroborate. The supernatural beings associated with this most haunted of houses include a ghostly child who wears a kilt, a young woman who committed suicide, and who appears as either a brown or a white mist, and a young man who went mad and was locked in the attic. But the horror does not end there, and many who supposedly spent time in the house came to a sticky end. A maid driven mad by the sight of an apparition died of fright a day later in hospital. A nobleman who spent a night in the house committed suicide four years later. A young man engaged to be married to a daughter of the house died of fright, like the maid. A sailor who took refuge in what he believed was an empty house was chased to his death by a phantom. Well, the story cannot be correct, for Thomas only lived in the house for fifteen years. Possibly he had moved there to start married life in 1859no reason why a man in his fifties should not get marriedbut I doubt it.
In another version it was Lord Lyttleton who stayed a night in the buildings attic in 1872 because of a bet. His first book about his favourite band Genesis was published in 2015. Your email address will not be published. The house has been referenced in television shows, such as Whitechapel, and has even appeared as a point of interest in the videogame Assassins Creed Syndicate, in a mission associated with Charles Dickens. A huge foodhall in the heart of one of London's most vibrant and bizarre neighbourhoods, Seven Dials Market is the perf. Some versions have Blunden not dying from an attack but dying by tripping while running out of the room with Martin. A moment later the deafening sound of a pistol going off awoke the landlord. Depending on who you ask, her spirit either appears in the form of a brown mist or as a white figure. But the owner of the place didnt keep up with maintenance of the building. The tales are so wild and frightening that, in his book, Haunted Houses, published 1913, Charles Harper claimed that 50 Berkeley Square was haunted by an unnamed Raw Head and Bloody Bones. This one is not for the faint-hearted! He is also a solo artist and performs as acoustic duo Un-Plugged with his fiance, the singer Nadine Pruim. But where did this reputation come from? In 1789 a young woman named Adeline suffering from the abuses of her uncle took her own life and jumped out of a window from the top floor. Another investigator was arrested for trying to break in possibly because he was also drunk when attempting it as he needed to build up the courage to approach the home. We keep your information private and only share it with third parties who make this service possible. Lady Dorothy Nevill wrote in her autobiography The Reminiscences of Lady Dorothy Nevill from 1906, that she was a relative of Mr Myers and that his behaviour was the only scary thing about the house. It turned out the owner from 1859 to his death in 1874 was a man by the name of Thomas Myers. In one of these he had leased and furnished the house over fifty years previously in order to prepare for a marriage that never took place. Only days before the ceremony his unfeelingand unnamedfiance jilted him. Then he became a recluse, and he lived with two or three crusty servants as a male version of Miss Havisham. She is not alone there, however. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A Wife on Both Sides of the River, or, A Brush with a Bigamist, A Vision of Beauty, or, William Henry Hudson in Kensington Gardens. This fact is commemorated in the form of a blue plaque stuck to the house's exterior. Across many websites and books the stories Ive recounted are almost never exactly the same. 50 Berkely Square may look like an unassuming Georgian house, but its history is full such incidents. In the early 19th century the townhouse became home to George Canning, the short lived Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A common conclusion was that the neglect of the house had inspired them. 50 Berkeley Square in Mayfair. But there was an owner who was nocturnal and would be up at night wandering around his home by candlelight. Soon the building became dilapidated to the point where people thought it was abandoned. That night he fired his shotgun at what he described as a brown, tendrilled, misty apparition. The house fell into disrepair and people were scared of the strange lights and noises at night and its mad inhabitant. If youd like to further support me, you can through PayPal: https://paypal.me/londontimeandplace?locale.x=de_DEBecome a Patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/londonbeyondtimeandplace This, of course, only added to its legend: the reclusive Myers whose spirit succumbed to a deep and lonely depression. This hasnt stopped its myth being explored to the present day, however. An Iron Maiden Walking Tour through London sounds not difficult at first. ) Poor Lady Mary only lived to be twenty-four, but by the time she died she had given birth to two children. The older, who was born in July 1803 and baptised in St Georges Hanover Square, was the Thomas of our Berkeley Square tale. The younger was a girl called Mary. He quietly woke Martin and they both stared into the darkness wondering what was now in the room with them. A child believed to have been killed by a servant and the ghost of a young man, locked there and fed through a hole in the door until he evetually succumbed to madness and death. Also, the ghost of a little girl who was killed there by a sadistic servant, is said to haunt the attic. 50 Berkeley Square would appear to be an unlikely location for the most haunted house in London. This elegant Mayfair townhouse on the west side of the square certainly does not look from the outside as if it would be troubled by disturbed spirits. Its reputation is probably connected to the popularity of haunted house stories in nineteenth-century newspapersfor which see my earlier piece on Stamford Street. With no television for a little evening entertainment, huge crowds would gather outside, waiting to see if a ghost would appear. Once declared the most haunted house in London, 50 Berkeley Square has a body count to send shivers down your spine. So how do so many stories involving so many different beings, entities, and spirits happen in one location? In 1859 a new owner took the place and here is where most of the stories really began to spread. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Between 1859 and the early 1870s, 50 Berkely Square was occupied by a heartbroken Thomas Myers. Try one of our Treasure Hunts in London - untangle cryptic clues as a team, as you are taken on a journey to the most unique, unusual and bizarre corners of London. The eldest daughter disliked the smell in the house which reminded her of the animals in the zoo. This cemented all the ghostly and monstrous rumors as facts for those that feared the unknown. By the time Robert Warboys dies of fright in 1840, Canning was no longer alive and ownership of the townhouse had passed to a Miss Curzon. Some histories of the townhouse dont even mention it as having occurred. And the tale begins with Myerss father, Thomas Myers of Appleby in Westmoreland, who with the help of a wealthy and well-connected great uncle, John Robinson, sailed to India at the tender age of seventeen to join the East India Company. Others claimed to have seen her pushed out of the window with no intention of suicide. Mary never had children, and lived in joyless frugality, despite leaving a hundred and sixty-nine thousand pounds in her will. Thomas suffered a degree of self-neglect that would now be recognised as a mental health condition. Indeed, the only recognition his condition received was in the form of half-baked tales of a haunted houseof the haunted housethe Haunted House at 50 Berkeley Square. A guest at the Mayfair house, his visit got off to an uneasy start when a terrified scream ripped through the ceiling. After this event people began to claim to see glimpses of a greyish blob passing by the windows at night. Today were looking at what is considered the most haunted townhouse in London. In 1879 a family consisting of a man and his two teenage daughters moved in. He stopped going outside, barely even slept, just roamed the house night and day, muttering strange thoughts. In the nobleman's case, the house was awoken at midnight by the bells frantic ringing. The terrifying aspect of these sightings were they all occurred after she had already died, many claimed to see her ghostly image hanging then dropping from the ledge on a regular basis for years after. London Picture Archive. Of course he wanted Robert to be prepared, so he handed the young man a pistol and told him of a bell in the bedroom of the 2nd floor. Where if you believe the stories its inhabitants include ghosts of those who have died, a mist that can drive you insane, and a monster that could rival some of the creations from the mind of H.P. And the house was also home to an eccentric jilted recluse. He rushed up to the second floor, opening the door to a seemingly empty room.
For that lets look at the actual history of 50 Berkeley Square which is also marred in mystery and legend. Image in Charles George Harper Haunted Houses (1924) page 107. Alternatively, find more tales of ghostly happenings in our article on York Ghost Merchants. Some variations tell of him bringing his own pistol instead of the landlord supplying him with one and other variations tell of the bell having been rigged up by the landlord as part of the deal for him to stay in the room as opposed to it already being there. Martin ran out of the room in fright screaming at the top of his lungs and caught the attention of a police officer nearby. There are stories of many incidents that happened in the house. The next story of the two sailors, Robert Martin and Edward Blunden, on christmas eve varies wildly depending on who you're asking, some versions take place in 1843, others in 1887, and even some in 1943. Believe in these ghostly apparitions if you will. The fact remains that most of the people who supposedly saw them were fictitious, or could not have had any opportunity to go inside the house. The only part of this story that seems to be true is that which concerns the reclusive eccentric mentioned above. A. I and two friends had an interesting afternoon there in 1997 with the owner. Get in touch via mail for more information. Edward Blunden immediately felt a presence in the room, as if being watched but Robert Martin convinced him to ignore it for the night and the two were soon asleep on the rotting floorboards. Check. This site uses cookies to improve the user experience. A recluse who purchased the home in 1859 and never left the home until his death. ), born in 1989, is author, musician and writer. All of a sudden the bell began to ring furiously and the other inhabitants rushed upstairs. An hour later, just past midnight, a shrill clanging of a desperate bell rang through 50 Berkeley Square. Read our privacy policy. She was put into in an asylum, where she died. It doesnt take long in researching the history of 50 Berkeley Square to start finding contradictory information. Though the police officer took some convincing due to the smell of alcohol on Martin the two eventually made their way back to the townhouse only to find the room empty. Robert agreed scoffing at the idea of such accommodations and proceeded to the 2nd floor.
