Treasure Holt Farmhouse
Located on Burr's Road, Clacton-On-Sea, Essex, the Treasure Holt farmhouse is a grade II listed building and possibly dates back to as early as 1138. The farmhouse itself dates back to 17th century use, but before then it is thought to have been used as an inn. The information I've managed to find on this location is very few and far between, with nothing in particular being spoken as certain, and with hardly any specific details such as dates and names being mentioned. The hauntings, however, seem plentiful which is expected for a location with such a long history. Remember though, most of the information I've found seems to be purely speculation from those who have written it. I will link my sources at the end of the post for if you want to judge more about the quality of information. If you have any information at all regarding the history of the location, please feel free to contact me at: thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com
History
As mentioned earlier, Treasure Holt is thought to have been an inn from 1138, although one source has said it was an inn from the 1300's. Smugglers, who were very active in Clacton during the 1600's and 1700's, are said to have used the inn as a place to hide and to transport their goods through. There were three tunnels located behind the building. One ran from the stables and led to a local cemetery, one was never completed, and another led to the other side of the thicket. It's thought the cemetery in question is the graveyard at St. John's church. It's also thought that more tunnels ran from the church to the Ship Inn, which dates back to the 1500's, and then from the Ship Inn to the coast. A smuggler called George Wegg lived beside the Ship Inn, so he may have had connection to Treasure Holt if the locations were really connected through this network of tunnels.
Treasure Holt was extremely isolated and surrounded by dense woodland which made it a perfect space for smugglers to operate. A dirt track led to the property, and this meant most visitors would travel there by foot or on horseback. It's thought that the owners frequently helped the smugglers, and that as a result their inn was constantly stocked due to various tokens of thanks which the smugglers would allow them to have; these tokens being portions of the smuggled goods.
Aside from the tales of smugglers, it seems the owners of the location at the time also have a couple of interesting details of their own. I've found that the innkeeper's wife was a witch who held special witch meetings at the inn. Apparently, these meetings lasted for three days and people would travel for miles on foot to attend.
I've also found that Treasure Holt has a tale regarding the innkeepers which is extremely similar to what is reported to have happened at the Ostrich Inn, which is located in Colnbrook, England, roughly 110 miles away which equates to a two hour drive. The story at Treasure Holt is that the innkeeper's would brew really strong ale, and when a traveller arrived they would be given a free drink and a large meal which was also free. The traveller would always accept these free offerings, especially as the journey to reach Treasure Holt was never easy due to it's isolation.
Once the traveller finished the meal, they would be given another drink, and a comfy room to stay the night in. The innkeeper's wife would follow the man to his room, while bringing him a third drink, and this would put the traveller into a deep sleep, during which the innkeeper and his wife would search through his belongings to find any money. If, once awake, the traveller questioned the missing money then they would be told a lie about paying for the wife's services and that they were too drunk to remember. If, however, they woke up while their belongings were searched through, they would be hit over the head with a club which would either knock them out or kill them.
The story doesn't end there though. According to this story, there were two trap doors in the building. One was possibly located on the ground floor, with the other located above it. The body would go through the first trap door, then they would go through the second. The second trap door was used to dump the body into a well located beneath the building. It's believed that the innkeeper's killed dozens of people with this routine, and that the trapdoor and well still exist beneath a concrete slab.
The reason why I've mentioned the Ostrich Inn regarding this story is because the innkeepers there would do something very similar, except they had a bed mechanism which would dump the still living visitor through a trap door and into a pot of boiling liquid which would kill them. It sounds very similar, and so with how vague the history is regarding Treasure Holt, I don't know if the story of the Ostrich Inn potentially reached the area and this is where the story comes from. I know this is certainly the case with some tales like this, but it also may very well be a case of similar scenarios happening in both locations. It's also been said that mass executions and rituals were held on the site.
I have found though that during 1928, the brick floor of Treasure Holt was being re-laid and workers at the time found leather buckles, human bones, plus a token dating back to 1793. I've also found that apparently the well has been opened up and that body parts were found in it, so maybe there is a good degree of legitimacy to this story.
At some point in time, potentially the 1600's but maybe later, the inn became 'Pearl's Farm' and today Treasure Holt stands as an extraordinary looking ancient cottage which is on the site of a garden centre and tea room. It gained it's grade II listing on the 19th of August 1976.
Hauntings
By my research, there are nine spirits in total said to haunt Treasure Holt. Along with these spirits it's been reported that smells of decay occur as do re-enactments of the mass executions and rituals. I have found extremely little on each of the nine hauntings, so I will list them below and then follow that with some comments on the details I've found.
1. 'Uncle Percy'
2. The Crinoline Lady
3. A young boy
4. A cavalier
5. A monk
6. A lady with long blonde hair
7. A highwayman
8. A man
9. A lady riding a white horse
I have no information at all on Uncle Percy or the young boy. The Crinoline Lady is said to be dressed in a crinoline gown and has been seen throughout the house, possibly often in the lounge. The cavalier is said to be from the English Civil War and has been seen wandering around the lounge. The monk has been seen in the garden, usually floating a foot above the floor. The lady with long blonde hair sits near the fireplace playing a spinet, and may very well be the same lady who rides a white horse down the lane outside. The reason I've said there are nine hauntings when this lady may be the same is to account for the ghostly horse.
The highwayman has been seen hanging from a tree around the corner from the building, and it's thought that he was hung there by locals after a spree of robberies he committed in the area. Finally, the man is thought to have been beaten to death by a mob and I've found no information on any particular area he haunts.
My Thoughts
This is probably the most simple location I've written about, which I wasn't expecting given how many years it's said to have existed for. I find it extremely odd that I can't find any information, aside what I've written about, online; and even then most of that sounded very iffy regarding if it was factual. If you do go and investigate this location, make sure you take what I've written about with a grain of salt. I don't doubt something will be here, there is too much history for something to not be here, but it's all hearsay and very vague. I have speculated in previous posts though on whether or not the vagueness makes it more true.
So, a good question, which is more likely to hold truth: an unknown location with vague information, or a well known location with highly detailed information? What I'm getting at here is maybe because Treasure Holt is just a garden centre, there is no information because they haven't used the hauntings to drive popularity like more well known locations do. It's kind of like asking which is more likely to be true out of a local legend and a worldwide phenomena. I would be inclined to think the local legend, and Treasure Holt seems like a local legend. There's near to no conversation about it online to the extent of not even knowing it's history very well, and so any speculation on it's hauntings possibly won't have been twisted too much.
An issue, however, is that Most Haunted did investigate the location back in 2002, so perhaps this is where certain hauntings came from. We know Derek Acorah had a tendancy to either get things wrong, or to muddle up locations, so maybe this is where some of the nine come from. If human bones were really discovered beneath the floor, and if there really is a well, then I don't doubt that the location is definitely haunted though. It's also interesting that this is the second location I've covered with many hauntings, all seeming to be apparitions, and that there is a well beneath the location. The other location with this was the Red Lion pub in Avebury, so maybe there really is a connection between the strength of a haunting and a well being beneath a location, especially if the bodies were dumped down the well as is also featured in both locations. It's strange though that none of the hauntings here seem to be connected with the story about the innkeepers robbing visitors and dumping their bodies down the well.
Thank you for reading to the end of this post! I'm really sorry about how little detail there was on this location and that there were so many uncertainties with the information featured. This is likely to happen occasionally though, especially with the more out there locations. As I said at the start, if you have any credible and detailed information on the history of this location which I haven't mentioned then please do email me at thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com as I will update the post with any new information. I want to say a special thank you to Damain, Nicolette, and to everyone else who follows and supports The True Paranormal. If you want to follow, you can do so on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, Tumblr, or YouTube. I mostly use Facebook, but I do try to post everything on all platforms.
The Sources I Have Used:
3. Greg Lashmar
10. Essex Live
11. Connect Local
13. Spooky Isles
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