Ghostly Folklore for Bonfire Night. The Spirit of Holbeche House.
A Bonfire, on which burns the effigy of Guy Fawkes.
The Gunpowder Plot, was an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament on the 5th November 1605, when the protestant King James I was in residence, it failed when the gunpowder and the man guarding it, Guy Fawkes, was discovered. Now throughout England, on the anniversary of the event, fire works are detonated, and effigies of Fawkes are burned on bonfires to celebrate the foiling of the attack.
When their actions were discovered the men behind the plot, a small group of provincial English Catholics, took shelter in the West Midlands in the home of Stephen Lyttleton, located close to the village of Kingswinford (originally named, Kings Swine Ford.) The Property was called Holbeche House.
They were in turn discovered when a barrel of gun powder they were attempting to dry out by the fire, caught a spark, and exploded - health and safety gentlemen, please. Drawing the local sheriff and his men to the property, a musket battle ensued, the scars of which can still be found on the walls of the house.
Naturally, the place (now a care home) has a reputation for being haunted, I remember being told, as a boy, that you could hear the ghostly sounds of that final fight yearly on its autumnal anniversary. But the chief spectre of the place is a phantom horseman, said to be the unfortunate servant of Stephen Lyttleton, a man who went by the name Gideon Grove.
When the sheriff arrived to apprehend the plotters. Poor Gideon, innocent of any knowledge of the conspiracy, attempted to flee on horseback, he was chased by some of the sheriffs men, and could well have made good his escape, had he not become bogged down in some marshy woodland close to Himley Hall. It was here that his pursuers caught up with him, and despite pleading his innocence, they shot him dead.
His ghost is said to have terrified many a local cyclist and driver as they make their way along the Bridgnorth Road. Silently galloping past them before, turning towards Himley Hall and vanishing into the woods.
With the 5th November upon us, I have little doubt that he will ride again, galloping those roads and lanes, following that fateful route from house to swamp before disappearing for another year.
I hope you enjoyed this horrific little tale, I will leave you with the famous, Bonfire night poem.
Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and the Parliament
Three score barrels of powder below
Poor old England to overthrow
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys
God save the King!
