This
beautiful Tudor mansion now forms part of the Marwell Zoological Park,
situated just outside Winchester. Once called 'Merewell', it's history can
be traced back to over a
thousand
years ago when it once belonged to Anglo Saxon King Eldred. It is hardly
surprising then that the Hall has become home to many ghosts over the years.
Jane
Seymour, one of the wives of King Henry VIII, is said to haunt the corridors
of the Hall, as does his previous wife, Ann Boleyn. She reputedly haunts the
Yew Walk, behind the Hall, planning her revenge on Miss Seymour.
Perhaps
the best known story involving Marwell Hall is that of the 'Mistletoe
Bough'. This ghostly tale is quite a common one and legend has it that a
party was taking place at Christmas one year, for a young married couple.
When it was almost midnight the guests decided to play a game of hide and
seek. The young bride offered to hide and off she went. After a short time
the rest of the guests went to look for her but she could not be found. They
searched all night and the rest of the week but still they could not find
her.
Years
later the young bride's skeleton was found in an old chest, with a piece of
mistletoe by her side. She had become trapped inside after the catch had
snapped shut. It is said that on the night after Boxing day the footsteps of
the guests looking for the bride can be heard, wandering up and down the
corridors.
Another ghostly story involves the
sounds of bumps and voices coming from one of the bedrooms at night. The
noises are reputedly the sounds of barrels and cases of smuggled goods being
pushed along the floor and down a secret staircase. It is thought that the
room once acted as a storage place for smuggled treasures.
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