047. Hauntings, Lord Combermere

It’s been a while since we had a fun note on the page and have decided to do three ghost stories.  

I do find the ghost stories fascinating and have been to various “Ghost Locations”, sadly when I’m invited to the locations its always to neutralise the ghost activity.  When I get to the locations the ghosts, it seems to me, are always away on a quick vacation. 

I’ve decided to do the story on Lord Combermere and by coincidence when I showed Graeme the note.  He informed me that there where arrests made for child pornography at the location on the specific day.

This photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet.  The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left.  His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernable.  It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.

Lord Combermere was a British cavalry commander in the early 1800s, who distinguished himself in several military campaigns.  Combermere Abbey, located in Cheshire, England, was founded by Benedictine monks in 1133.  In 1540, King Henry VII kicked out the Benedictines, and the Abbey later became the Seat of Sir George Cotton KT, Vice Chamberlain to the household of Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII.  In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton, a descendent of Sir George, took the title "Lord Combermere" and in 1817 became the Governor of Barbados.  Today the Abbey is a tourist attraction and hotel.

Lord Combermere died in 1891, having been struck and killed by a horse-drawn carriage.  At the time Sybell Corbet took the above photo, Combermere's funeral was taking place some four miles away.  The photographic exposure, Corbet recorded, took about an hour.  It is thought by some that during that time a servant might have come into the room and sat briefly in the chair, creating the transparent image.  This idea was refuted by members of the household, however, testifying that all were attending Lord Combermere's funeral.

Lord Combermere was also involved in another documented paranormal incident,  we will keep this for a next note. 

(http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghostphotos/ig/Best-Ghost-Photos/Lord-Combermere.-04z.htm)

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