by Angus Young
Myths and superstitions from Holderness feature in a new exhibition exploring folklore in the East Riding.
Titled Boggles, Ghosts and Ragwells, the new temporary exhibition at Beverley Guildhall delves deep into the ancient past as well as looking at more recent strange happenings and events across the county.
Guildhall curator Fiona Jenkinson said: “There has been a lot of research done for this exhibition and we are looking forward to revealing what we have discovered to the public.
“With multiple areas of interest in our county, including ritual monuments and paranormal activity, the East Riding has a varied history of being a mysterious area.
“From a selection of ghosts to more minor superstitions, the exhibition is sure to intrigue those with an interest in the supernatural.”
Highlights from Holderness include ghostly goings-on at Burton Constable Hall, often dubbed “the most haunted house in East Yorkshire”.
They include the ghost of 18th-century owner William Constable, who reputedly appeared to tell a descendant that he “wanted to see what you had done to my room”, while the footsteps of Dame Margaret Constable – imprisoned in the 16th century for her Catholic beliefs – are still heard in the hall’s Long Room where her portrait also hangs.
Other odd noises include giggling voices in the old servants’ quarters. Elsewhere in the hall, things move by themselves and lights turn on and off in a cellar where a brewer is said to have hanged himself 150 years ago when a batch of beer went bad. Visitors also claim to have felt the ghost of a family dog from the 1970s brushing past them on a staircase.
There have also been sightings of a former nanny in the North Tower and a mystery woman wearing a check shift and brown shoes in the South Wing.
There are even reports of Roman Legionnaires marching along the hall’s main driveway and through the surrounding woodland.
The Boggles featured in the exhibition’s title are said to be imaginary mischievous shape-shifting hobgoblins that often haunt springs, wells and pits around the East Riding.
Legend has it that one Boggle has made its home in a spring-fed pool known as the Helliwell (Holy Well) near St Lawrence Church in Atwick. When it appears, the Helliwell Boggle takes the form of a one-eyed woman wearing a cloak. Opinions are divided on who she might be.
The Boggle name was also given to many ancient roads across the East Riding and while many have been replaced with newer ones, Boggle Lane still survives in Sproatley – suggesting the continuing presence of a hobgoblin in the village.
Mystical and possibly magical water at Great Hatfield also features in the exhibition courtesy of St Helen’s Well, an old holy well once used for healing, prophecy and prayer. Such wells are also known as “ragwells” because tradition dictated that rags taken from the clothes of an afflicted person were dipped in the water and then placed on a nearby tree, often a hawthorn.
Last but not least, some of the legends surrounding towns and villages lost to the sea along the East Yorkshire coast are also recounted. They include the spooky sounds of bells from a destroyed church at Aldbrough which still ring beneath the waves, and a ghostly submerged choir from another lost church at Owthorpe delivering a mournful dirge to the sound of bells tolling, which signal an approaching storm.
Back on dry land, the council’s cabinet member for culture, Councillor Nick Coultish, said: “Every exhibition at Beverley Guildhall is fascinating and this one promises to live up to the standard of those before it.”
The exhibition is open to the public on Wednesdays, 10am to 1pm, and Fridays, 10am to 4pm, until May 30. Admission to Beverley Guildhall in Register Square is free.