Michelham Priory

Located in East Sussex, England; Michelham Priory was founded back in 1229. Although no tragic events are said to have occured within the building, the priory has still had quite the history ranging from drunken monks to serving as a headquarters during World War Two. Michelham priory is also said to be extremely haunted with a number of spirits reported to reside here. These hauntings include a little girl who hides at the top of the stairs, a previous owner who is said to be a threatening presence, and a lady in grey who stares at people as they sleep.

History

It is thought that the land Michelham Priory stands on was once a Saxon settlement. The name 'Michelham' is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and means 'the great watermeadow'. It's thought it have been named this way due to being located near a large bend in the river Cuckmere. During 1279, the name was spelt as 'Mykeleham'; but by 1325 the name had changed to be spelt as 'Michelham'.

Michelham Priory was founded by the Lord of Pevensey; Gilbert De L'Aigle. Land was awarded to the L'Aigle family following the Battle of Hastings, where the L'Aigle's had been loyal supporters of William the Conqueror. Engenulf L'Aigle had even died fighting for William during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A few generations later, Gilbert De L'Aigle, gave eighty acres of land at Michelham to the prior and convent of the Holy Trinity at Hastings. He also provided them with other lands so that they could create and establish a religious house at Michelham. This led to the Augustinian Priory of the Holy Trinity operating the newly constructed Michelham Priory in 1229.

I have found that Gilbert De L'Aigle was banished to France by Henry VIII, but that doesn't line up at all given that Gilbert died before Henry VIII ruled England. The priory was visited by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Peckham, during the June of 1283. This visit indicates that Michelham Priory was a well established location by this time, although following the Archbishops visit power was granted to the Archdeacon of Lewes to levy fines imposed on the convents for non-residence.

The priory was served by twelve canons under a prior, the first of which was called Roger. I've found conflicting reports over how much land the Michelham Priory site consists of. I've found a source saying that there are seven acres of grounds and buildings, but I've found other sources claiming that the site is a thirteen acre moated island. It is possible that the site started as seven acres, but then grew to be thirteen. On the 13th of September 1302, the priory was even visited by King Edward I.

It is thought that the moat and gate tower were both added by John Leem during either the late 1200s or early 1300s. Again, this is where facts have been muddied through the retelling of history as John Leem was a medieval era prior at Michelham Priory from 1374 to 1417. If he added the moat and gate tower, then that would date them as likely being constructed during the mid to late 1300s. It's thought these additions were put in place to defend against a possible French attack. It was also thought it was to protect the priory from the peasants revolt which occured in 1381. As John Leem also served John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, it was suspected that Michelham could be targeted by peasants who thought the Duke may have stored money there.

The Black Death, which struck the priory in either 1349 or 1350, had a huge impact on the priory. One result of the Black Death was an overall sense of lawlessness, and this led to the priory being fined in 1353 for not having enough canons to fulfil it's obligation to say prayers for the souls of 'Gilbert De Aquila, his ancestors and his heirs for ever'. By 1478, two mills were in ruins, the granges and canon's dormitory were falling apart, and the priory's assets were sold off so that the canons could have enough food. To add to Michelham Priory's troubles, a sub-prior was fined for consortium with the wife of a priory servant, and other canons had to be told to stop visiting local taverns.

Due to an act of 1536, the priory was dissolved and on the 1st of October 1537 it became the first monastic site awarded to Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell closed the priory and confiscated it's wealth, although the prior, servants, and canons did recieve a pension. Cromwell did not own the priory for long though as in 1540 he was executed for treason and so the property reverted to the Crown. Henry VIII gave part of the estate to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, as part of a divorce settlement. Anne leased Michelham Priory to Thomas Culpeper, a close friend of Henry VIII. The majority of the estate went to William, the Earl of Arundel.

During 1544, Henry, who had become the Earl of Arundel, traded Michelham Priory with Queen Mary for one of the properties she owned. After Anne of Cleves died in 1557, Michelham Priory went entirely back to the Crown and passed through a number of people until Herbert Pelham bought it in 1587. Pelham began to rebuild the monastic buildings as a large house, but he ran out of money. During the 1500s, a wing was added to include a dining room and parlour.

In 1601, Michelham Priory was sold to Thomas Sackville, Lord Brockhurst and the first Earl of Dorset, for £4,700. The location was then passed down through generations of Earls until the third Duke of Dorset, John Sackville, died during 1799. During the 300 years of the Sackvilles owning Michelham Priory, they often rented it out; most notably to the Child family. After John Sackville died, the priory was passed to his daughter Mary, the Countess of Plymouth. She married William Amherst, the first Earl of Amherst, in 1839.

The next owner of Michelham Priory was James Gwynne, who purchased the location on the 14th of November 1896. He employed the architect Walter Godfrey to assist in the restorations of the property, and he began to refurbish it in 1905. Following James Gwynne's death, Michelham Priory was sold to the wealthy banker Richard Beresford. More restorations were made under his ownership.

During 1927, a fire damaged the Tudor Wing of the building. Most of the interior has since been refitted in this wing, but the fire did prompt a major rebuild. In 1939, Michelham Priory became home to evacuees from Rotherhithe during World War Two. At the time the owners were the Beresford-Wrights. In 1942, the Canadian army took residence at the priory while they planned their part in the Dieppe Raids. In 1943, the priory was the county headquarters of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Richard Beresford-Wright died in 1951 and, as the farm was no longer viable, the property was sold to a large land owner and then to Stella Hotblack; a wealthy widow. Mrs Hotblack and her sister wanted to look after Michelham Priory and, as they saw its tourist potential, they opened it to the public on the 1st of May 1957. It had 130 visitors on its first day. Stella Hotblack didn't own the property for long though as on the 1st of November 1959 she gifted it to The Sussex Archaeological Society which had been established since 1846.

Currently, the location stands as a tourist attraction. It boasts the longest medieval water-filled moat in England, and the moat was even a topic of debate in the UK Parliament on Tuesday the 15th of September 2020 due to it being at risk of drying up. The main building is Grade I listed, and the barn which was built at some point between 1587 and 1610, or between 1597 and 1601, is Grade II listed. The monastic buildings have been completely converted into a large house with many outbuildings over the years, and the house is furnished with oak panelled rooms above the original medieval vaulted crypt.

The outbuildings include the great barn, the medieval gatehouse, the watermill, and the forge. There are even herb gardens. One story I haven't discussed yet, due to it having doubts in validity, revolves around a man called Thomas Becket. It's said that Richard, or Richer, De L'Aigle either employed or was friends with Thomas Becket. On a hunting expedition during the 1140s, Thomas fell into the river after his horse slipped on an icy bridge. As Thomas was being swept towards the nearby mill, the miller chose that moment to turn off the wheel; unaware of Thomas being in the water at the time. It was at this point that he heard Thomas in the water and helped him out of the river. Thomas deemed the miller saving him as a miracle and so joined the church and devoted his life to God. This story is said to have happened at Michelham as it is said the mill has been there since the 1200s, possibly earlier; however, the earliest documentation of milling occuring in the area is dated from 1434.

Hauntings

This is quite a strange location regarding it being haunted as usually haunted locations, especially ones this old, have some sort of tale regarding a murder or death that has happened on the site. Michelham Priory does not have such a tale. Instead, the hauntings all seem to be people who have had an involvement with the property such as having lived there or worked there. There isn't lots of detail on these hauntings but I will include everything I've found mentioned through the sources I have used.

It is said that the servant's wife who a sub-prior consorted with, who is apparently called Alice Ford, haunts the priory grounds. It is also said that a grey lady haunts the property and can be found near the moat, bridge, and gatehouse. This lady in grey has been seen staring into the water, apparently mourning the death of her child who drowned there. She has also been seen staring in the faces of sleeping guests, and then floats away through a wall.

A black hooded Monk is said to drift through the undercroft, and a maid is said to haunt the hall. A woman in 1940s clothing is said to haunt the old nursery, and apparently a female cook haunts the kitchen and lifts her long skirt to show visitors her legs. She tends to stand near the fire and stir the pots. Spoons on the wall rattle and the door handles are also said to shake in the kitchen; plus a young boy is said to haunt there.

Apparently a young boy called Edward lived in the priory during 1790, and it's said that he also haunts the location and likes to play the harpsichord. A woman's voice has been heard on the upper floors, and is said to whisper in people's ears, plus a scruffy haired man wearing a dark red or black coat is said to wander the stairs and upstairs corridors.

A maid is said to haunt the hall of Michelham Priory, and a lady dressed in Tudor clothes is said to walk the corridors. I have read that Thomas Sackville, a former owner, haunts the property; but I have also read that Robert Henry Sackville, who owned the building in 1601, haunts the locations. It could be the case that both men haunt the priory, or it could be the case that names have been muddled up across sources. Apparently Thomas walks through the location and torments a young girl said to be there, and apprently Robert is a threatening male presence.

The little girl who haunts the priory is called Rosie. She tends to hide in the wood panelling at the top of the stairs from Thomas. Poltergeist activity is also said to occur through the building, such as windows opening, doors slamming and opening, and a chair has moved by itself. Footsteps have been heard, as has loud knocking in the watermill. Cold spots have been felt in the basement of the gatehouse, which was possibly once used as a prison. There have also been problems with electrical equipment in the watermill, and high emf has been detected within the refectory building.

An Investigation's Findings

One of my sources on the hauntings details two investigations they conducted in the location. The team visited the property with some psychics, so I thought it important to document their experiences here. The psychics present were Stacey Logan, Paolo Summut, Debbie Lewington, and Darren Woodyer. Stacey said that Rosie dressed in tatters and wore a ribbon in her hair. She also picked up on a Mary Howell who she felt was a maid or a lady in waiting that had fallen down the the stairs or over the banisters. Stacey also heard a man shouting get out in the music room, and picked up on a black dog and little boy called Jasper in the kitchen. She felt that Jasper was a kitchen hand, and she also kept getting the name Jasper.

Paolo and Debbie sensed a male presence by the name of Prester in the music room. They found him to be from the 17th century, that he was happy to talk, and that he liked the women. They also sensed him sitting in one of the wooden chairs. Darren picked up on the name 'Sarah' when in the priest hole at the top of the stairs which Rosie hides in. The team also experienced a temperature drop at the top of the landing which leads into the Archivist's Library, plus a sweet smell which was similar to burning incense. They also encountered orbs, a metallic tapping, a normal tapping, and they heard a harpsichord play.

Summary of Hauntings

1. Rosie, little girl, dressed in tatters with ribbon in hair - hides top of stairs

2. Grey Lady - moat, bridge, gatehouse, watches over sleeping visitors

3. Thomas Sackville

4. Robert Henry Sackville

5. Edward, young boy

6. Peter, young boy - kitchens

7. Monk, black hood - undercroft

8. Alice Ford, servant's wife - the grounds

9. Mary Howell, a maid/lady in waiting, fell down stairs/over banisters - the hall

10. A lady, tudor clothes - corridors

11. A woman, 1940s clothing - old nursery

12. A female cook, lifts long skirt - kitchen, near to the fire

13. Prester, 17th century man - music room

14. A black dog, (Jasper?) - kitchen

15. Sarah - priest hole

16. Scruffy haired man, dark red or black cloak - stairs, upstairs corridors

17. Footsteps

18. Loud knocking - watermill

19. Cold spots - gatehouse basement, landing leading to Archivist's Library

20. Electrical problems - watermill

21. High emf - refectory building

22. Spoons on wall rattle - kitchen

23. Door handle shakes - kitchen

24. Woman's voice - upper floors

25. Window's open

26. Doors slam

27. Doors open

28. A chair has moved

30. Tapping

31. Metallic tapping

32. Harpsichord heard

My Thoughts

With thirty two individual occurances of apparitions and reported activity, I would say Michelham Priory definitely seems to be one of the most haunted locations I've written about. This really is surprising to me given the lack of information about somewhat tragic events. It's also important to mention that I have combined certain bits of information the investigative team found with other bits of information I found in other sources; so, for example, where they gave the name of a maid, I've classed that as the same entity as the nameless maid discussed in a seperate source. The only time I questioned this in the summary was with the name Jasper as that could be the name of the dog, or the name of a seperate spirit in the kitchen, or just someone a spirit was discussing at the time.

Also, I've treated the investigation results I've found as though the psychics are genuine. Personally, I am skeptical when it comes to psychics; however as the things they've said have been reported I've still found it important to include them for the benefit of other teams who may want to investigate the priory. This means other teams can investigate what the psychics found, and they can determine for themselves if there is any validity to it.

I suspect that there aren't as many hauntings as what have been reported for a number of reasons. I've found that ghost walks have been held around the property and, as discussed in the history section, the realisation of profitable tourism did occur through the site's previous owners. This indicates to me that this could be a location which has tried profiting from the age of the building through paranormal means. As said earlier, I've found no records of traditional reasons as to why the location should be haunted; so for it to alledgedly have so many spirits present seems unusual to me.

I do think that people can return to places they have had a connection to in the past, but I also think the intensity of that connection determines the length of time you can remain there for. So, I do think previous owners could be there along with other residents of the property. I don't think the servant's would have enough of a connection to actively make themselves known though. Information surrounding the spirits seems quite vague too for how haunted it seems to be. It seems like the most haunted room of the location is the kitchen, so if you're wanting to investigate thenlocation then I would definitely start there.

I've got to say that this is also definitely one of the places I've written about with the creepiest hauntings. A lady in grey watching you as you sleep, plus a little girl hiding at the top of the stairs, are definitely things I wouldn't like to experience. From the sounds of it, the chances of seeing an apparition here may be quite high.

Thank you for reading to the end of this post! Michelham Priory was a strange location to write about given how old it is, but the history kind of disappeared after it started changing hands. It's also strange how many hauntings there are dispite the lack of events which have occured here. I certainly wasn't expecting drunk monks, but that's the joy of these location posts; you never know what you'll find out.

A special thank you to Damain, Nicolette, The Cornish Ghost Whisperers, and Kerry for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to follow The True Paranormal you can do so on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tumblr. You can also subscribe to The True Paranormal on YouTube, or directly to this website through the bar on the left which will give you email notifications. That bar also lists all of the links which will take you to The True Paranormal's various social media platforms. If you want to contact me about your own experiences, or about anything at all paranormal, you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com