The Haunted Palace Blog

London is so full of ghosts that sometimes it’s amazing that there is any room left for the living. These ghosts come in all shapes or sizes, with very different tales to tell. Some of them are heartbreaking Ann Nailor: The Screaming Spectre of Farringdon Station and Echoes of the Past: Bethnal Green Tube Station, while others are just silly The Strange Case of Sir Francis Bacon and the Frozen Chicken. One ghost story that definitely fits into the second category is said to takes place at the site of the long gone churchyard of Christchurch Greyfriars.

The site of Greyfriars, a former Franciscan religious house destroyed by Henry VIII during the English Reformation, has a reputation for being haunted. Various ghostly figures have been seen over the years, including that of a greyhound and a cowled monk. The monk dressed in the brown habit of the Franciscan’s has reportedly been seen during the autumn months in the pre-dawn hours¹. This type of haunting is pretty typical for a religious site. However, the other haunting the site is famous for is definitely not.

The ghosts in question are those of 2 very beautiful women who despite living about 200 years apart share one very important thing in common – they are both believed to have had their husbands murdered.

Before getting down to the actual sightings, let’s first take a closer look at the contestants in this beyond the grave wrestling match.

Isabella, Queen of England

The first contestant is the more famous of the two – the French born, Queen Consort of England, Isabella. Over the centuries since her death, her reputation has gone through the grinder. Historians have called her unnatural for her role in the murder of her husband, Edward II, a traitor for overthrowing the rightful ruler of England, a whore for her lustful relationship with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and a She-Wolf. The evocative title She-Wolf of France, wasn’t actually given to her until the eighteenth century when Thomas Gray’s poem, The Bard, was published. In his poem, Thomas Gray depicts the She-Wolf Isabella ripping open her husband’s bowels with her fangs. The imagery and symbolism is hardly subtle and you get a pretty clear idea of how Gray felt about the French².

However, recent revisions of her history have cast her in another light. She is no longer seen as a villain but rather a victim, a defenceless pawn in the hands of powerful men. A woman humiliated by her husband who flaunted his male lovers in front of her, denigrated her position and cruelly separated her from her children. A women who in fear of her life and either with her lover’s help or manipulated by him (depending on the historian) put into motion the actions that lead to her husband’s assassination.

In truth, the real Isabella, has been lost to myth and time. Probably, neither description would be one that she herself would recognise. This is a position taken by the excellent historian, Kathryn Warner, in her biography of Isabella. To me, Isabella comes across as a proud, resourceful and strong woman who like any of us was not perfect and made mistakes. To regard her as either a one-dimensional villain or victim, does a disservice to her.

Then there is the mystery surrounding the death of Edward II. Edward, deposed by Isabella and imprisoned in Berkeley Castle, died in September 1327. What role, if any, did Isabella play in her husband’s death? Was she the instigator, did she simply go along with Mortimer’s plan, or did she only learn about the assassination after the foul deed had been done? This is a question that has and will continue to torment historians. Trying to work out her role and her motives are further clouded by her decision on how she wanted to be buried.

Isabella, dowager queen of England died on 22 August 1358, at the age of 62, at Hertford Castle, and was buried in the graveyard of Christchurch Greyfriars in London³. She was reported to have requested to be buried in her wedding dress and holding the silver casket containing the heart of her husband. Burying the heart separately from the body was not unusual in the medieval period but what is confusing is her motive for doing so. You would think that if she hated her husband so much she wouldn’t have wanted to be buried with any part of him or that if her son, Edward III had believed her to have killed his father, he wouldn’t have let her. Maybe she felt genuine grief or remorse over his death or maybe it was just a cynical attempt to try to prove that she was innocent of his murder.

What isn’t in question is her beauty. Her beauty is described by many contemporary scribes including the Chronicler, Geoffrey of Paris. On her visit to Paris in 1313, Geoffrey using poetic over-the-top language described her as a beautiful sun, the most beautiful woman of her era, ‘splendid of body and fine of heart’, and ‘the fairest of the fair, the rose, the lilly, the flower and the exemplar’.⁴ And it’s her supposed vanity over her looks that is at the heart of this particular haunting and her eternal rivalry with the second contestant – Lady Agnes Hungerford.

Lady Agnes Hungerford

On the 20 February 1523, the Chronicler John Stowe recorded that Lady Agnes (sometimes referred to as Alice) Hungerford was hanged for murdering her first husband, John Cotell. Stowe goes onto say that she ‘was led from the Tower of London to Holborne, and there put into a cart with one of her servants [William Mathewe], and so carried to Tyburn and both hanged’.⁵

The case against Agnes, was that she procured 2 of her servants, William Mathewe and William Ignes to murder her husband. The foul deed was carried out on the 26 July 1518, when the 2 men grabbed and strangled Cotell with his own linen scarf or kerchief. The murder must have taken place close to or within Castle Farleigh as Cotell’s body was thrown into the kitchen furnace⁶. Some reports say that Agnes was the one who discovered the badly burnt body of her husband.

So who was the notorious Lady Agnes Hungerford? Unfortunately, next to nothing is known about her, except for the fact that when married to Cotell, she was said to be from Heytesbury (a village in Wiltshire). It’s thought that her husband (described as a knight) was in the service of Lord Hungerford, possibly as a steward or bailiff at his Somerset seat, Castle Farleigh. Shortly after her husband’s untimely death, she married Lord Hungerford, who himself had very recently been widowed. For Agnes this would have been a leap up the social ranks, as although not of humble birth, her status was certainly lower than that of her husband’s. What their marriage was like is nearly impossible to tell. Were they happy? – Who knows. However, Edward did change his will to leave all his possessions to Agnes, disinheriting his son, Walter in the process⁷. Was this will change a result of manipulation on Agnes’ part or simply a man obsessed and in love with his lovely wife. Whatever the case, on Edward’s death, on the 24 January 1522, Agnes gained and lost everything, including her life.

It seems an odd coincidence that shortly after Edward’s death, the accusation of her having orchestrated the murder her first husband suddenly raised its head. Once the charge was made and presumably enough evidence found, Agnes and her accomplices were arrested and sent to the Tower to await interrogation and trial. It seems more than likely that it was Walter who was behind the accusation. Could he have heard a rumour about Cotell or did he know the truth? Or maybe he simply wanted revenge on the woman who had taken everything from him.

It does seem that Edward’s position while alive had protected Agnes, otherwise why would it have taken 5 years to prosecute her. There are so many unanswered questions. Had Edward known about the murder? And if he did, when did he find out – afterwards or had he known all along? Had they been lovers and plotted the murder together? The fact that the murder happened shortly after his wife, Jane’s death does seem rather convenient. On the other hand, there is always the possibility that Agnes was innocent. Maybe it was Edward who had arranged the murder out of his desire for his servant’s beautiful wife.

What is interesting is that Agnes was convicted of procuring the men who murdered her husband, not of actual murder. If she had then she would have been burnt at the stake – convicted of treason, a crime against authority.

The Vanity of Ghosts

Both the ghosts of Isabella and Agnes have been seen at and near the old graveyard. People have reported seeing the ghost of Isabella carrying her husband’s heart and wailing in grief. However, one ghostly report adds a further dramatic element to these women’s hauntings. Legend has it that during the Victorian period, a night watchman while patrolling the area saw the figures of 2 beautiful women wandering around the site of the ancient burial ground.

As he continued to watch them, he realised that neither of the women were aware of the other’s presence. Then everything changed and all hell broke loose. The women on seeing each other for the first time and realising they were of equal beauty, became enraged. These women known in life for their dignity and poise in life, lost it in death. They flew at each and tumbled to the ground. The watchman terrified by the sight of this vicious and furious ghostly wrestling match, fled the scene and quit his job shortly afterwards⁸.

This tale of Greyfriar’s ghostly catfight became an urban legend. Over the years, other reports have been made of 2 spectral women fighting in the street. In fact, a driver who crashed in the area, told the police that the accident had occurred when he had swerved to avoid 2 women rolling around in the road. When asked what had happened to the women, the man said they had disappeared into thin air. It’s pretty easy to imagine what went through the mind of the police officer who logged the incident.

Over the years, I have heard this story many times, including whilst on a ghost walk in the City of London. The tale stayed with me, partly because I was fascinated by the real story of these women and also because I found the idea of ghosts, especially a rivalry that never existed in their lifetimes, funny.

Referee? The Mad Maid of Kent

Isabella and Agnes are not the only famous women to be said to haunt the site. Enter Elizabeth Barton. Barton is known by many titles including the Nun of Kent, the Holy Maid of London and the Mad Maid of Kent. Barton was a devoted Catholic who was reported to be blessed with holy visions before becoming a nun. She was widely believed at the time to be a true prophet, with even the highest in the Church, consulting her on religious matters. However, she went too far when she prophesied that if Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and remarried, he would die shortly afterwards⁹. She even stated that she had seen the Hell that he would go to. This was too much for Henry, who had her arrested on the charge of treason. Barton was convicted of being a false prophet and hanged at Tyburn in 1534. She is believed to be the only woman whose head was spiked and exhibited on London Bridge¹⁰.

Going back to the wrestling women, I quite like the idea of the wrestling match taking place with Elizabeth Barton as referee. However, unlike with Barton’s usually prophesies in which she would see an outcome, I doubt there would ever be a winner between these 2 strong willed women.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

1. 5 Ghosts That Haunt Christchurch Greyfriars, London | Spooky Isles ↩︎
2. Thomas Gray, The Bard, The Bard: A Pindaric Ode | The Poetry Foundation ↩︎
3. Kathryn Warner, Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen ↩︎
4. Kathryn Warner, Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen ↩︎
5. The Antiquary, Volume 2, 1880 ↩︎
6. Ibid ↩︎
7. Christ Church, Greyfriars – Mysterious Britain & Ireland ↩︎
8. Christ Church, Greyfriars – Mysterious Britain & Ireland ↩︎
9. Victims of Henry VIII: Elizabeth Barton – Tudors Dynasty ↩︎
10. Alan Brooke & David Brandon, Tyburn: London’s Fatal Tree ↩︎

Bibliography

Alan Brooke & David Brandon, 2013, Tyburn: London’s Fatal Tree, The History Press

Kathryn Warner, 2016, Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen, Amberley