Preston Manor
We visited Preston Manor is Brighton for the first time in July 2010.
We have wanted to visit Preston Manor for many years but due to restrictions and pricing from Brighton and Hove City Council this has been a challenge.
Read and see what happened when we visited Preston Manor
Information on Preston Manor
Preston Manor in Brighton, was originally built about 1600, and rebuilt in 1738 and substantially added to and altered. The Manor was bought by the Stanford family in 1794 and for 138 years was their family home. The last member of the family to live at Preston Manor was Ellen Thomas-Stanford who, following the death of her mother in 1903. Ellen had the Manor altered and re-furnished in keeping with the conventions of upper Edwardian taste.
Preston Manor is considered to be the most haunted house in Brighton, tales of it ghostly sightings and supernatural experiences 500 years. In the late nineteenth century the family living in the Manor were disturbed by paranormal activity including a disembodied hand floating by the four-poster bed, petrifying noises and appearances of a White Lady. The family hired a medium to conduct a series of seances. A transcript of one seance is in existence amongst private documents held by Brighton & Hove Museums.
The seance was held on 11 November 1896, the medium revealed to the family that she had made contact with the White Lady, she was a nun called Sister Agnes who had been wrongly excommunicated from the Church and buried in unconsecrated ground outside the house.
A year later when drains at the house were being inspected, the skeleton of a woman was discovered, the bones were certified as being about 400 years old. These bones were believed to be that of Sister Agnes, they were re-buried discreetly by a local gravedigger. The Lady in White is reported to have made further appearances, but not within living memory.
After Preston Manor became a public museum in the 1930's the strange happenings continued in the building and grounds. A Grey Lady appeared to firewatchers during the Second World War and in the 1950's the caretaker's children frequently saw the ghost of a nun. A ghost has been seen trying out a child's toy tractor during the 1960s.
Some modern day staff and visitors to Preston Manor have reported feeling a variety of unusual sensations including inexplicable scents and sounds. Doors have been known to inexplicably lock, from the inside and furniture move position overnight. Sighting's of non-existent visitors, lights turning off for no reason, and a ghostly hand has been seen holding onto a doorknob. The basement/scullery has a reputation for making people have the sensation of being watched. Staff have heard the servants' bells ringing even though they have been disconnected for years. Visitors attending the ghost tours have reported the sensation of being pushed from behind whilst in the basement.
Source: ghost-story.co.uk