History & Haunting of : The Grace Dieu Priory ,Thringstone , Leicestershire, England. The Priory of Grace Dieu at Belton was founded by Rose de Verdon for Austin nuns between 1235 and 1241. The life of the nuns at Grace Dieu seems to have had some special features; they were forbidden ever to leave the precincts of the priory, while shortly before the Dissolution they described themselves as White Nuns of St. Augustine, and thought that there was no other house of their own Order in England. The priory is reputed to be the site of frequent paranormal phenomena, sometimes attributed to the priorys proximity to the Thringstone Fault, several ley lines and some possible Pagan significance attached to the site. The ruins are home to the mythical ghost the White Lady. A comprehensive record of sightings, dating back as far as 1926, has been compiled by Stephen Neale Badcock, with all accounts backed up by information sources. Many of the sightings share a remarkable uniformity in terms of description and specific location, tending to refer to white or grey apparitions,(maybe buried in linen :) robed, with no hands or feet, hovering or gliding above ground level and appearing on the opposite side of the road to the priory, in the vicinity of an old bus shelter. Rose de Verdon passed away in 1247 and was laid to rest within the priory grounds...... Following the disbanding of the priory over 300 years later, Roses remains were exhumed and re-interred at nearby Belton Church. Was Roses spirit disturbed when she was moved from her original resting place? Paul Devereux refers to the Grace Dieu phenomenon in his 1982 book, Earth Lights: Towards and Explanation of the UFO Enigma, and sets out his theory that such manifestations are a rare but naturally occurring phenomenon, wrought by unusual electromagnetic fields associated with fault areas which interfere with the normal cycles of the atmosphere. Expanding on this, Neale Badcocks research has shown that the site of Grace Dieu priory is located directly above the Thringstone Fault, as shown by a geological map produced by the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1965. The site is also located close to a standing stone, in a field to the west of the priory, examples of which are often found close to geological faults. The presence of this stone suggests that the area may have been regarded as a sacred site in ancient times, Mesolithic flint scrapers having been found around the base of the stone. As such, it has been suggested that the sites prehistoric religious significance may have influenced the choice of location for the mediaeval monastic foundation. However, whilst this may have been the case for many Christian foundations during the Saxon period (the nearby parish church at Whitwick for example would almost certainly date back to a Saxon origin, intentionally sited in a sacred place, above a natural spring) it is probable that the link between the much later foundation of Grace Dieu Priory and a site of possible pagan significance occurs more by co-incidence. Hillier and Ryder offer a more prosaic explanation for the location of the nunnery, suggesting that the chief influence would have been its proximity to a fresh water source. en.wikipedia.org/ These ruins are said to be the most haunted place in all of Leicestershire.Read more on The Tamworth Ghost Hunter page here > ttgh.webeden.co.uk/#/grace-dieu-priory/4569200831 Here is what we believe to be a figure caught at Grace Dieu Priory, watch the right hand of the screen, it is very quick but easily seen on the slowed down part.VIDEO HERE > https://youtube/watch?v=ou_EWZgSL8A Fly over VIDEO here > https://youtube/watch?v=E1qn_oMHTzg One of the closest White Lady encounters was that which involved Denis Baker, the well-known local history author and lecturer, who claims that he actually drove straight through her! Mr Baker recounts that the incident took place one evening during the early 1960s, possibly earlier, when he was driving home from Loughborough. He recalls driving under the redbrick railway bridge (which was demolished in 1967) and negotiating the sweep of road which bends round to the signpost for Belton. It was there, on the left hand side of the road, opposite to Belton Lane, that Denis suddenly became aware of a woman standing very close to his vehicle. Due to the abruptness of the womans appearance and the speed involved, Denis had no time to properly observe her, but was conscious that she wore long, light coloured clothing, which did not seem unusual at a time when the maxi-look (long skirts and coats) was in fashion. Neither did Denis have time to stop when the woman stepped out straight in front of his car (there was no way I could have stopped...), but instinctively he braked and looked into the rear view mirror where, to his astonishment, Denis observed the woman continue to cross the road! Understandably shaken by the experience, Denis pulled up at the nearby Bulls Head public house where, equally understandably, he ordered a stiff drink. On relating his experience to the then landlady (who Denis recalls served up super bacon sandwiches), she told him of the White Lady Ghost - something Denis had never heard about until that day. Denis later disclosed his experience to his father-in-law, Mr Ernest Thurman of Swannington, and was surprised to find that he too claimed to have seen an apparition in exactlty the same spot many years previously. THE WHITE LADY OF GRACEDIEU Compiled by Stephen Neale Badcock more stories here > geocities.ws/oliveshark53/whitelady.htm Grace Dieu Priory was founded as a small Augustinian nunnery in the 13th century and remained in existence until 1538 when it was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then converted into a Tudor house. From the end of the 16th century the buildings went into decline although some activity remained on the site, mainly agricultural. The ruins stand in a valley bottom bounded by a small brook on the edge of Charnwood Forest and are situated on the A512 road from Loughborough to Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire The conservation of the ruins has been overseen by the Grace Dieu Priory Trust, a charitable trust company at a cost over half a million pounds which has been obtained from many sources. nwleics.gov.uk/ There is some information about the state of the nunnery during the 15th century. A surviving account book of the priory for the years from 1414 to 1418 gives some insight into the life of the nuns. There were at that time fourteen nuns at Grace Dieu, besides several daughters from local families lodging there. british-history.ac.uk/ Photo 1 by Kevin J. Norman Grace Dieu Abbey - standing arch panoramio/photo/44135956 Photo 2 by ttgh.webeden.co.uk-The Tamworth Ghost Hunter Photo 3 by JohnArmagh - Phot by 4 James Greig panoramio/photo/84162736 Photo 5 Tunnelling under Gracedieu Priory (Photo by Permission of Gracedieu Archaeology Group)geocities.ws Photo 6 by brianaw2010 flickr/photos/ Photo 7 by JohnArmagh -GraceDieuPriory_ChapterHouse. Photo 8 by Peter Smithleicestershirevillages- Grace Dieu Woods 1890 Rusty Mary - Mother Superior - Standing Stone Field
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 11:46:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015