The Ghosts of Pluckley
The village is nestled in the Weald of Kent, surrounded by beautiful orchards and fields of grazing sheep.
Pluckley is named in the Domesday book as Pluchelei. Activity in the village dates back to Roman times. The church, St. Nicholas, is Grade 1 listed and there are over sixty listed buildings in the parish.
In the early 1990s, the village was the setting for TV series “The Darling Buds of May”. The author, H. E. Bates lived only a few miles away. Buss farm, in nearby Bethersden became the Larkins farm and the Black Horse pub in Pluckley became their local, the Hare and Hounds.
However, as pretty as the village undoubtedly is, it is also known as the most haunted village in Britain, earning a place in the 1989 Guiness Book of Records, with twelve different ghosts being reported. Here are some of the sightings:
The Coach & Horses
This has been spotted in various locations around the village. A lady called Peggy Theobald and her husband saw a bright light heading towards them as they drove home around midnight. As her husband slowed down, a coach and horses came into sight, with nobody on it, or riding in it. It quickly disappeared into the night.
In the mid-1990s a medium, David Morgan, sensed a vehicle along the same route. He also mentioned the ghost of a woman who had been run over by it.
The Highwayman
The ghostly highwayman is said to have been fatally stabbed during a brawl and pinned to a tree. This supposedly took place at the aptly named Fright Corner. The tree had been removed around the late sixties/early seventies, but the highwayman’s deathly cries are still said to be heard on certain nights.
The Red Lady
Lady Dering died in the 1100s and was buried in a lead coffin in St. Nicholas’ Church graveyard. Several sightings of her have been reported. She wanders around crying and howling, searching for the grave of her stillborn baby.
She is known as the Red Lady because a single red rose was laid on top of her grave after she was buried.
Gypsy Ghost
The unnamed woman always appears on a bridge in the village, sitting down smoking her pipe and surround by a haze.
She made a living by selling watercress that she got from the stream. Known to be a heavy drinker and smoker, one day she dropped her pipe and with a spark from that and the alcohol fumes, ignited the rags she wore for clothing and she literally went up in flames. Her charred remains were discovered the following day.
The Schoolmaster
The ghost of a schoolmaster who took his own life is said to haunt Dicky Buss Lane. Some children, on their way to school, discovered his body, which was hanging from a tree.
Local villagers cut him down and took his body away. He was not a local man but is still said to be seen on occasions swaying from a tree.
Screaming Man
There used to be a brickworks in the village. Many years ago, a worker fell into one of the clay holes, in what appeared to be a tragic accident.
People have claimed they still occasionally hear the screams of the man, who was crushed to death by a wall of clay.
The Tudor Lady & The Reclusive Cleric
Rose Court in Pluckley is a Grade II listed building. It is also said to be haunted by the Tudor Lady, who is believed to have poisoned herself with a cocktail of juices made up of Ivy and other poisonous berries. She lived there with her dogs.
She apparently died by a window, looking towards another property, Greystones, which was inhabited be the cleric. The two were thought to be lovers. The cleric is said to have died from a broken heart after the supposed suicide of the Tudor Lady.
His ghost was last seen by an American Journalist in 1989, who saw the figure drifting behind the house.
However, the Tudor Lady has been known to move things around the house at Rose Court. It has also been reported that her voice is often heard calling her dogs, as she walks between the two properties.
Black Horse Pub
The 15th century building sits in the high street and boasts stunning views and several footpaths leading to the orchards.
Many ghosts are thought to haunt the pub, with different sightings by staff and customers alike. Many of the different owners have had items of clothing go missing over the years and there is thought to be the presence of a child around the bar area.
Beer glasses have been known to move on their own, as well as cutlery in the restaurant. Some owners who have had pet dogs in the past say there’s a room upstairs that the dogs would refuse to enter.
Summary
I guess we’ll never know for certain how many ghosts, if any at all, are in the village of Pluckley. But there are many people who visit Pluckley – it’s especially busy on Halloween – in the hope of seeing a ghostly figure or two. You can even book to go on a Pluckley ghost walk.
In fact, back in the 1970s, the then rector, Reverend John Pittock, allowed a group of psychic researchers to stay in St. Nicholas Church overnight.
They were armed with cameras, tape recorders and other equipment in the hope of capturing something.
The following morning, they expressed their immense disappointment to Reverend Pittock when he went to see them. They were bored for most of the night, with nothing out of the ordinary to report. They told him the only thing that kept them entertained was the constant visits from his dog.
“Actually,” the vicar replied. “I don’t have a dog.”
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