A Salisbury Ghost Story of 1669.
The following succinct and circumstantial narration of an occurrence at Salisbury, nearly 200 years since, is recorded in a contemporaneous M.S. of the period: –
Some particular circumstances concerning an apparition at Salisbury, in the month of July, attested by credible witnesses, as followeth: –
One Dr Turberville, a physician and skilful oculist, lived in Salisbury in a fair and handsome house, suitable to his degree and employment, and capacious for the entertainment of strangers and patients, but had been visited and haunted with spirits at several times. This month the Dr and his wife took a journey to London, intending, on their return, to come by Oxford, and to see the Act which was then approaching, and a sister of the Doctor’s was left at home with a maid servant to look to the house. The Doctor’s sister being in this solitary condition, though she was observed to be a very pious woman, and so the less fearful of such noises which might be made and which she had been used unto, yet had procured a gentlewoman, a neighbour of hers, to beare her company sometimes and to lie with her at night in case of disturbance.
It so came to pass that so few people being in the house the noises and disturbances now increased, and that by degrees, first as the two women lay in bed, great noises were made over their heads in the chamber above them, with rushing and tumbling, next it came into the chamber where they lay, with great rushing and knocking, and sometimes with motion from one place to another in manner of a racket ball, but yet they neither felt nor saw anything. In the next place a great weight or heavy thing seemed to lie upon the gentlewomen in their bed, one after the other, that under the weight thereof they were not able to stir until at last the Doctor’s sister, putting her hands out of bed to feel about, felt a hand laying hold upon hers, which she endeavouring with her other hand to lay hold on, and if possible to scratch or pinch it till she could draw blood of it, but it vanished away and slipped from her. Upon this she called up her maid who lay in the next chamber to alight a candle, who arising and bringing in the light as she had heard nothing of the noise before she arose, so she could see nothing of an apparition when she came in, she was sent to lie down again, leaving the light the gentlewomen read and prayed msot part of the night, and were no more disturbed for that night.
On July 10 (being the Act Saturday at Oxford), in the morning the Doctor’s sister went into the garden to gather some physical herbs, and when she had gathered them she went and laid them in a n upper room for to dry for the Doctor’s occasion, it was three or four stories high, where, at the upper end of a fair staircase, there were two or three chambers, the doors whereof opened one upon another; here, as she came out of the chamber where she laid her herbs, the door of the other chamber being open against her, there came out thereat a gentlewoman whom she knew not, but was decently attired in a habit which was used by gentlewomen about 20 years before: this seeming gentlewoman beckoned to her, but she was so much affrighted thereat that for teare she hastened from her and went down stairs backwards, where, on going down in that manner, she brake off the heel of her shoe.
Upon the sight of this apparition the Doctor’s sister went to the minister, Mr Hinchman, to acquaint him with her condition, and to ask his advice and opinion how she should behave herself. He told her at first according to the opinion of ancient Divines, that seeing the house was infested with evil spirits he thought it fit she should desert the house and go to inhabit at some other place, to whom she replied that she could not do so, because the Doctor, her brother, and his wife being gone from home had left her in charge in the house, and that she was obliged in all civil respects to tarry there: upon this the minister proceeded to direct her that if the apparition discovered itself to her again she should charge and command it in the name of Jesus Christ to speak to her, and to make known unto her what she was and for what end she came thither, and withal to take heed that she be not too familiar with the apparition though it should pretend great kindness for fear it might do her some harm in the end. The gentlewoman thanked the minister for the good advice, but withal being not fully satisfied therewith desired him to come to the house to try if thhe vision would appear whilst he was there, which he would be willing thereto, but that it being Saturday in the afternoon he was almost ready to go to evening prayer, and could not come till it were ended.
When evening prayers were ended the minister came to the house, when the Doctor’s sister went with him up the stairs, and so into the room, from whence the apparition came to her that morning, and whilst they were there a noise began of knocking under the boards of the floor, and they thought verily and hoped that it would then appear to them; and after some expectation the Minister called out, and charged the spirit to answer and appear, but no voice could be heard, or anything thereof be seen at that time. Then the Minister began to speak his opinion, that sure some murther or such like crime had been formerly committed in the house, which was the occasion of this disturbance, and therefore advised that the boards of the room might be taken up, and hereupon a search was made, but nothing could be found answerable to their expectation. So the Minister having given some directions departed, and went to his own home.
The next morning being the Lord’s-day the Doctor’s sister went to church with great devotion, and came home again, when, whilst her maid was gone to the cook’s or baker’s to fetch home dinner, and stayed somewhat long, it being supposed that the provision was not thoroughly dressed, in the mean time the same apparition of a gentlewoman discovered itself to her, like that the day before, and beckoned unto her to follow after her. The Doctor’s sister fortifying herself with prayers and ejaculations as well as she was able took courage and followed after it, until it had led her into the upper room, from whence it appeared the day before. Here she spoke to the apparition and charged it in the name of Jesus Christ to speak to her and to tell her what she was, and for what end she thus appeared. Hereupon the apparition spoke, and charging her not to touch her she told her that she was a gentlewoman, and had been formerly the wife of such a gentleman (whom she named, but withal gave a strict charge that his name should be concealed), that she had been his second wife, and had in her lifetime committed a heinous crime in persuading her husband to defeat his first wife’s children of their livelihood, and to make away their estate from them wrongfully, which he had done; and for a further testimony of the fraud herein committed there were the articles of his first marriage, or some such writing, hidden in the very room, which would evidence the fact (which writings were supposed afterwards to be laid there by the said gentleman at some time or other, when he lodged in the house, coming thither as a patient to the Doctor as divers persons used to do.)
That the Doctor’s sister might the sooner find the writings, the apparition pointed to the place where they lay, which was on the wall next the slates and rafters, where not being able at first to reach so far as to find them, she took a stool and stood thereon and then presently found them and drew them forth, wrapped up in a handkerchief or some such cloth which was much eaten with moths or spiders. When she had thus taken down the writings, the apparition charged her to carry them to the gentleman who had been her husband, and to show them unto him, and to tell him that she came on a message from one who had been his second wife, who had persuaded him formerly to defeat the children of his first wife of their estate, contrary to the agreement made in these writings, and that she having been now for a long time troubled for this her wicked fact (it being about 18 years ago), entreated him by all means, as he tendred his salvation and eternal comfort and the welfare of his first wife’s children, to alter his deed of covin and fraud, and restore the means to the first wife’s children again, and moreover the apparition told the Doctor’s sister that the said gentleman was not then in town but would come to town the next day, and be at such a place where she should meet with him.
Upon this the Doctor’s sister went the next day according as she was directed, and upon enquiry was told that such a gentleman was there, but that he was with some company within and talking about earnest business she sent in word again, that she had very earnest business with him, and must needs speak with him though in few words, whereupon the gentleman came forth to her, and then they went into another room for their discourse, but when the gentlewoman had told him what things she had seen and on what message she was sent to him, he made strange thereof as a thing never done by him, and when she shewed him the writings he utterly denied them. Then the gentlewoman told him that if he would not acknowledge and confess the fact, forasmuch as there had been such an extraordinary apparition and discovery made unto her, wherein she thought she was not deceived, she would presently make the whole matter together with his name known to the whole world, and moreover would herself go to the King and acquaint him with it to his great shame. At last the gentleman considering of the evidence of the fact, and of the resolution of the gentlewoman began to confess the same, and in conclusion faithfully promised to give his first wife’s children their right again, and so the Doctor’s sister left him.
Shortly after, either the same afternoon or within a day or two, the maid servant of the house being gone forth into the City, the Doctor’s sister being left alone by herself, was going through the hall as intending for the avoiding of solitariness to sit awhile at the door next the street, and to view passengers or the like, but as she was going an appearance of the gentlewoman stood in her way, whom she knew by her countenance to be like the former, but her habit and dress was quite altered, and she was clad all in white. At this appearance the Doctor’s sister was as much or more affrighted as at the first, and endeavoured to have gone by it to the door, but could not, it stood so full in her way. Then the apparition beckoning unto her went again into the former chamber whither the Doctor’s sister followed her, and being come thither it told her that forasmuch as she had been with the gentleman, her husband, and had done her message accordingly as she had desired her, she, therefore, was now come to thank her for her pains therein, for that her husband had hearkened to the message, and had already allowed the deeds, and so restored the estate to his first wife’s children, also the apparition mentioned what joy and ease she felt thereupon, forasmuch as hitherto she had been confined to a solitary and desolate wood ever since her death, where she had been much perplexed, and moreover it said that in her lifetime she had been very much troubled in her conscience for this fact, and when she was near her departure she said she had sent for the minister to confess the same unto him, but that when he was come she was fallen speechless that she could not declare her mind to him, and presently thereupon she died, and had been ever since in the perplexity aforesaid, because no restitution had been made, but now she said she felt abundance of rest and joy, for which she thanked this gentlewoman as an instrument in procuring the same.
Then the apparition bade the Doctor’s sister ask her any question she desired to be informed in and she would tell her. Hereupon she asked the apparition some questions concerning salvation, and the true marks of one that should be saved, for resolution whereof she commended sincerity unto her very much, and piety, and a strict life, and conversation, and the performance of holy duties, and sabbaths, and among other things she very much pressed satisfaction and restitution for wrong committed, from Matt. 3 24, and James 5, besides a great deal of other very wholesome and savoury discourse, for confirmation whereof she brought many texts out of the Bible for the hour or two they discoursed.
At last the Doctor’s sister perceived a white thing to arise as out of the boards, which coming to the former apparition and going as it were under her, the apparition was taken up to the covering of the chamber and so vanished away as between the slates and rafters, and upon its beginning to vanish the Doctor’s sister heard a most excellent concert of music and voices in the room, singing the anthem for the Communion “Glory to God on high” etc., and after this the Doctor’s sister nor any of the family heard no more noises or saw any more apparitions.
The writer of this extraordinary narrative adds the following: – “This is the sum and substance of the story as I heard it from Mr Bee, the minister of Wendlebury, who spake with the Doctor’s sister, and received a full account thereof from his own mouth, and went up into the chamber where the apparition had been, and saw and put his hand in the place where the writings lay.”
Wiltshire County Mirror, 21st August 1861.