The Blue and White Ladies of Newsam:
If you are looking for historic homes with a colorful history and then wanting an opportunity to delve into its four corners, visit Leeds, Yorkshire because there you will see a house so beautiful and ancient with a presence that takes its place even in the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book incidentally is the book that classifies all properties known to have existed by 1086 which means the history of this historic house Temple Newsam set against 1200 acres of wooded parkland, has been a long and vivid one.
It has gone by many names sometimes even spelled as "Newsham" and lovingly addressed as "Tempsy" by the locals who live around it. The Domesday Book records it first as "Neuhusam" then owned by Ilbert de Lacy with a prior listing ownership known to a Dunstan and Glunier. The Knights Templar was said to have acquired it sometime in 1155 but when a royal decree claimed that they had lost it, the estate was handed to Sir Philip Darcy. Sometime in the early 1500s, another property was built in its place in Tudor-Jacobean style and it came to be known as Temple Newsam or by its nickname of "Hampton Court of the North".
In 1537, the property was seized by the English Crown when one of the Darcy members was said to have participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace intended to defy Henry VIII's disconnection with the Catholic Church. The property was then handed over to King Henry VIII's niece Margaret, Countess of Lennox and her husband Matthew Stuart. Their son, the nasty Lord Darnley married Mary, Queen of Scots who later refused to offer him the Crown Matrimonial if she died childless. After his untimely death marked by suspicious circumstances, Temple Newsam was seized by the Crown and then granted to Ludovic Stewart, a Scottish nobleman but it was the Ingram family who acquired the estate thereafter who were to have a longer history with the house that spanned some three centuries.
During this time, the house was to be renovated with additional wings and many rooms added including furnishings and paintings which are priceless and historical. The wine, coal and beer cellars for instance run the whole south wing of the house. There is also an underground passage that is known to link the north and south sections of the house so that the maids can run from the kitchens to the dining rooms in a short time. It was also one of the earliest establishments to have an underground reservoir to satisfy the water supply needs of its residents, designed in the 18th century by the engineer John Smeaton. The rooms were planned for a specific function like the Brushing Room which was intended to remove mud as one enters through the rear of the house, while other rooms were designated for making pickles and jams. In its heyday, at least 30 servants were known to service Temple Newsam and were set up in the servants' hall.
In 1910, the Leeds Corporation at Knostrop purchased about 610 acres of the estate under the legal requirements of the law to build a sewage plant and perform coal mining projects. In 1922, the estate was sold to the Leeds Corporation with covenants placed that Temple Newsam would be preserved for the historic value it offers to the community. Today, it is the Leeds City Council which oversees the management and maintenance of this outstanding Jacobean mansion and the public have the opportunity to not only make their rounds viewing the place and its interesting features but may also get a chance to participate in the many activities which are set aside for tourists every year including one that is hosted during Halloween.
Like all historic homes across England, Temple Newsam has witnessed centuries of living, some good and some bad. Most believe that Temple Newsam is one of the most haunted houses in Yorkshire. It was the home of the in-laws to Mary, Queen of Scots who was executed for her part in the plot to assassinate her half-sister Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant and who eventually acquired the right to be Queen of England. The ghost of Lady Jane Grey who haunts the Tower of London, is also known to haunt Temple Newsam. Her ghost is referenced as the "White Lady" in Temple Newsam.
One of the well known ghosts known to haunt Temple Newsam for at least five hundred years is Mary Ingram, also referred to as the "Blue Lady". She was said to have gone visiting relatives one day and was returning home to Temple Newsam when three robbers set upon her and dragged her out of her carriage, stealing her possessions against her obvious cries for help. This incident was said to have scarred Mary Ingram so much that she became mad. The robbery was said to have frightened her so intensely that she hid all her valuable possessions in her own secret places in Temple Newsam. After her death in 1652, Mary's ghost is seen as a blue lady who goes about the house trying to find her possessions in places where she hid them. Her portrait is said to be hung above the fireplace in The Green Damask Room. She died young at age 14 and possibly out of fright from being attacked by the robbers. Mary's ghost is also known to brush past people on the staircase.
The ghost of Lady Jane Dudley better known as Lady Gray or the "White Lady" is one of the other tortured souls to haunt Temple Newsam. Those who have seen her claim she shows herself as a spooky form in the house. Incidentally, she is the nine days Queen who ascended the throne due to her father-in-law's ambitious interests to secure power and in the course of fulfilling his own desires, was executed by Mary I who was the rightful heir to the English throne. She is known to be one of the shortest reigning Queens in English history.
Other than these ghosts, there are many other ghosts which haunt the house. There are two known monk ghosts which are said to haunt the premises of the historic mansion. One is known as the "Hissing Monk", the sighting of which was recorded in 1980. It got its title when it hissed into the ears of a woman who claimed to have seen his ghost standing near a door on the south side of the house. The other monk ghost which has been frequently sighted is known as the "Lawn Monk" and is said to run from Temple Newsam to the golf course in the area. He never leaves footprints though.
There is also another strange ghost of a little boy climbing out of the cupboard in the house. No one knows who he is but he can be seen running out of the Darnley Room. Some people have also reported seeing strange shadowy formations which they claim to be misty looking and no one knows what they are.
Another ghost is said to be a Knights Templar. In the past, Temple Newsam had also been used by the Knights Templar. This group was one of the most powerful military orders in the medieval age. They fought in the crusades and are said to have lasted two centuries.
There is also a ghost of a young servant girl who was murdered and known to haunt the back stairs of Temple Newsam.
Others have claimed to hear screams from the south wing of the house and get the feeling that someone or something is being dragged across the floor. A closer check has revealed nothing though at such times.
Temple Newsam is a unique historic place to explore your senses and is set within acres of beautiful protected parkland. It has also been beautifully restored so people can get an idea of the kind of living quarters which the rich thrived in during the past centuries. Be prepared to also view some unique decorative arts collection. Those who are willing to visit the place may find themselves involved in the music festivals and many family activities that the historic mansion is said to host at different times of the year. And when you visit during the Halloween Season, just be mindful about which ghosts you really see because they could be real humans dressed up to take visitors on ghost walks. And of course, there are the monks too so watch out which ones are real and which ones are not because the staff members who manage the house also steer the interest with their brown robed costumes and I am not sure they really like hissing into anyone's ears. If someone, or better put, something does that, you have probably just met the notorious Hissing Monk. What a rude awakening that would be….