The House & Hedge Maze

Elvaston isn't actually a castle - the mis-used label is a classic case of snobbery - but it does have many fascinating links with the past and literally an army of ghosts. A troop of phantom 'Roundhead' soldiers of the English Civil War period have been seen marching and riding in the vicinity.

Across The Lake

The house belonged to the Earls of Harrington - the present building was erected on the site of an earlier 16th Century house. A bay window from the first house was incorporated into its successor - looking through this window, people have seen a woman dressed in white moving backwards and forwards as if in a rocking chair...this has been observed even when the room was without furniture. The estate is now a country park open to the public and the house is devoted to offices, a museum and a cafe. Workers there say that the 'White Lady' slams doors, drops things and interferes with the living by stealing items.

She is often seen going from the house to the nearby churchyard where she apparently reads the gravestones and mutters to herself. Many witnesses have seen her in the company of a large white dog (like a wolfhound) in other parts of the grounds too.

Elvaston Castle On A Misty Morning