The Folklore of Warwick Castle

A ley line is believed to run from Childswickham in Worcestershire through Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, ending at the mound of Warwick Castle keep. Leys are believed to attract a variety of anomalous phenomena including ghosts, so this may explain some of the otherworldly happenings associated with the castle such as the phantom cow which is said to appear in the castle courtyard whenever a death in the Greville family is imminent. The spectral bovine is the ghost of the Dun Cow, in life a gigantic beast killed by the legendary warrior and hermit Guy of Warwick. The spectral bovine, now the size of an ordinary cow, is completely silent and its hoofs leave no mark.

Inside the castle phantoms take on human form, the most famous being that of the ghost of a previous occupant: the author, poet and statesman Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628). Although Greville was murdered by his manservant in London, Greville’s shade is said to haunt the Water Gate Tower (now known as the Ghost Tower). In the 1970s, a cleaner reported strange unaccountable noises coming from behind the panelling where Greville’s portrait hangs.

Unaccountable sounds

More unaccountable sounds occur in the Japanese corridor where footsteps have been repeatedly heard. During World War I, an American guest was in the corridor when the footsteps began. As they trudged closer, he stood still and experienced the sensation of something walking right through him. Frances, Countess of Warwick (1861-1938), also heard what she described as “a strong masculine step” outside her bedroom although when she checked there was no one there.

Other phantom footsteps were heard in the nursery corridor by her children’s nurses. Frances suggested that next time the footsteps occurred, both women should fling the doors of their rooms open at the same time. This they did only to see the corridor completely empty while the disembodied footsteps continued to stomp along.

Moll Bloxham

A more visible spectre was that of a ferocious black dog that terrorised the castle occupants many centuries ago. The dog was believed to be the spirit of Moll Bloxham, an elderly woman rumoured to dabble in witchcraft, who lived in a cottage by the castle walls. The Earl of Warwick allowed Moll to sell surplus dairy produce from the castle kitchens for her own profit. However, Moll sold by the adage:

“Milk and butter I sell ever.

Weight and measure I give never.”

The town’s people protested to the earl who withdrew her concession. Moll Bloxham vanished, never to be seen alive again but shortly after her disappearance, a large black dog appeared in the castle. Believing the dog to be the vengeful spirit of Moll, three priests were called in to exorcise the creature. They eventually managed to force it to the top of Caesar’s Tower where it leapt into the river Avon below and was trapped in a chamber built beneath a fletcher dam. According to folklore, the spirit of Moll Bloxham resides there to this day.

Sources

Meg Elizabeth Atkins, Haunted Warwickshire (London: Robert Hale, 1981).

J. Harvey Bloom, Folk Lore, Old Customs and Superstitions in Shakespeare’s Land (London: Mitchell Hughes and Clarke, 1929).

Paul Devereux and Ian Thomson, The Ley Hunter’s Companion: Aligned Ancient Sites. A New Study with Field Guide and Maps (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1979).

Frances, Countess of Warwick, Discretions (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1931).