… The transporting of things out of one room into another, and striking and the like by invisible agents, minds one of Mr Lloyd’s story, as ’tis called in Mr Glanvill’s papers, whom in a letter he tells he may rely upon it for truth, as being sent from a person of quality and integrity in those parts. It is of a house haunted of one Walter Meyrick of the Parish of Blethvaught, in the County of Radnor, some two and twenty years ago. Where, besides strange kind of tunable whistlings in the rooms, where none was seen to whistle, there were stones flung down out of a loft of great weight, the doors bolted or barred against them on the inside, when returned from the church, nobody being within. And at prayer at home when some of the women out of fear held one another by the arms, some invisible power would pluck asunder at their arms, whether they would or no.
By such an invisible force, one as he was sitting at supper, was struck flat to the ground, and a trencher struck out of the maid’s hand that waited, and a smart box on the ear given to another, no visible thing being near that did it. A purse lost with two gold rings, and six and fourpence in it, the party complaining thereof, the purse dropped down from the top of the room, which had no room over it, and fourpence only in it.
That men were struck down with stones, and yet had no great hurt, shews plainly they were not flung but carried. But there was one beaten with two staves black and blue, but none to be seen that thus belaboured him, though in the day.
We pass by the frying-pan, beaten with a little piece of iron, and tinkling over a man’s head in the night, to his being struck down with a stick by day, while he tended the goose roasting, which that invisible striker seemed to have a plot upon, as also by his knocking a pickaxe against the lid of a coffer, to have a design upon a bag of mony. These and the like feats, that narrative relates, which Mr Glanvill calls Mr Lloyd’s story, who assures him he may rely on the truth thereof, he procuring it from a Justice of the Peace, who took the parties’ testimonies that dwelt in the house, or upon occasions were present there, and were eye-witnesses of the strange pranks that were played in the place. And there being that congeneracy betwixt James Sherring’s story [Little Burton] and this, they mutually corroborate one another.
Sadducismus Triumphatus, by Joseph Glanvill (fourth edition with notes, 1726)
A Bleddfa Ghost.
An old story recalled.
A correspondent in the “Hereford Times,” recalls an old story of strange doings at Bleddfa, as follows:- “In a certain house there, occupied then (in or about the year 1666) by one Walter Meyrick, the following phenomena, vouched for by ‘persons of quality and integrity in those parts’ and ‘sworn to before a Justice of the Peace’ took place. ‘There’ (I copy from the authenticated document) ‘besides strange kind of tunable whistlings in the rooms, where none were seen to whistle, were stones flung down of great weight out of a loft, the doors bolted and barred on the inside against those returning from Church, nobody being within.
‘And at prayers at home, when some of the women through fear held one another by the arms, some invisible power would pluck asunder the arms, whether they would or no. By such an invisible force one, as he was sitting at supper, was struck flat to the ground and a smart box on the ear given to another and a trencher struck out of the maid’s hand that waited, no visible thing being near that did it.
‘A purse lost with two gold rings, and six and fourpence in it, the party complaining thereof; the purse dropped down from the top of a room, which had no room over it and fourpence only in it. That men were struck down with stones and yet had no great hurt shows plainly they were not flung but carried. But there was one beaten with staves black and blue, but none to be seen that thus belaboured him though in the day.
‘We pass by the frying-pan (the narrative goes on to say, as if that were a trifling matter), ‘beaten with a piece of iron and tinkling over a man’s head in the night, to (the more important fact of) his being struck down with a stick by day while he tended the goose-roasting, which that invisible striker seemed to have a plot upon, as also by his knocking a pickaxe against the lid of a coffer to have a design upon a bag of money, etc.’ – very serious matter indeed, especially the design upon the goose.
Now, what I should like to know, is – how stands Bleddfa at the present day as regards these extraordinary events? Are they remembered there? And do they still continue? And was the house where they occurred (as I suspect) the old mansion house of Monachty and was the occupier of it, Walter Meyrick, one of the family of the Meyricks of Wigmore and Goodrich, and a relative (son or grandson, perhaps), of rowland Meyrick, of Gladestry, who represented Radnorshire in Parliament in the session of 1614? And were all these strange doings a seventeenth century manifestation of what we now call spiritualism, or merely practical jokes?
Here are problems for Radnorshire readers. Can they solve them?
Radnorshire Standard, 17th July 1907.