Markyate Cell- Markyate- Hert's - Ghosts and Hauntings on Waymarking.com

Markyate Cell
Markyate Cell was the home of Markyate's most famous, and notorious, resident Katherine Ferrers, the Wicked Lady, a murderous highwaywoman. It was there she died after being mortally wounded when trying to rob a waggon on Nomansland.

Her ghost has been seen fully clad in her highwayman clothes riding her horse at full speed and even swinging through the branches of the old trees near the Cell. This latter sighting was from the gang of workmen who had come up from London to break into Katherine's secret chamber that had remained sealed for a hundred years. The men reported seeing her swinging through a giant sycamore tree standing near the house. In 1840 part of Markyate Cell was destroyed by fire which was blamed on Katherine. Whilst helping to put out the fire several of the locals said that they were being watched, by Katherine.

In his Journal of November 1894 August Hare said that the ghost of Katherine Ferrers constantly haunted Markyate Cell and that Mr Adey who lived there kept meeting her on the stairs and wishing her ‘goodnight'. Once he saw the ghost with arms outstretched standing in a doorway. Knowing his wife was on the other side of the door he called to her and both ran towards each other to trap Katherine but there was nothing there. Katherine even appeared during a parish tea party that was being held in the grounds of Markyate Cell.

Katherine is not the only ghost that haunts the cell. In the late 1850s builders were repairing a wall at Markyate Cell when they saw the figure of a nun. She walked up to a gate in the wall then disappeared. The workmen knew that the gate had not been used for years and when they checked they found no evidence that it had been recently opened. The nun was seen several times after this incident both at the Cell and walking in an avenue near St John's Church. It appears that the Cell stands on the site of a Priory built for Benedictine nuns and founded in 1145. It was dissolved in 1537.

A baronet who was staying at Markyate Cell was awoken by the feeling of hands on his shoulders. He tried to move but the hands kept forcing him into the chair. He swung his arm around to remove the hands and was surprised when he encountered nothing. The grip then released and he was able to stand up only to find that there was no one there.



For a detailed account of The Wicked Lady see our article on Katherine Ferrers.

Public access?: The house is a private dwelling but can be viewed from the nearby Churchyard. Website about the location and/or story: [Web Link] Visting hours: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

• Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. Photos you took of paranormal activity are great. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit
• Tell your story if you saw, felt, or smelled anything unusual. Post pictures of what you saw.
• Add any information you may have about the location. If your information is important about the location, please contact the waymark owner to see if it can be added to the description.
• Be careful and do not enter areas which are off limits or look dangerous. No waymark is worth harm. Use your 6th sense, because sometimes there are unseen things which are telling you to stay out.
• Use care when using your camera flash so you do not disrupt any possible nearby residents. Time lapse can be the best tool on your camera in many circumstances.

 

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.