Berry Pomeroy Castle Reputedly the most haunted castle in Devon, Berry Pomeroy is also one of the county's most romantic ruins perched high on a wooded hillside overlooking the beautiful Gatcombe Valley. It was built by the Pomeroy family who came to England and settled in Devon at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066. Beyond the grand gatehouse and castle wall of the medieval castle are the remains of a flamboyant 16th-century mansion, which was built by the powerful Seymour family who bought the castle in 1547. During the mid-18th century the castle was partially destroyed in a fire and abandoned. Many visitors experience a sense of evil and fear in the atmosphere, which seems to be locked in the very fabric of the place. There are a number of ghosts associated with the castle; the two main apparitions are the 'white lady' and the 'woman in the blue cape'. The white lady is thought to be the ghost of Lady Margaret Pomeroy who was imprisoned by her extremely jealous older sister Lady Eleanor, who was mistress of the castle. Both sisters loved the same man and in order to get her sister Margaret out of the way, Lady Eleanor had her imprisoned in the dungeon of what is now called St Margaret's tower. It was in the dungeon of this place that Lady Margaret starved to death and which her spirit is said to now haunt. The tower still remains and is to the right of the main gate in the north corner. It is alleged that Margaret's ghost can be seen on occasions along Rampart Walk, which runs between the main gate chapel and St Margaret's tower. Is is said that whoever sees the apparition of Lady Margret will die. Many visitors in and around the castle have taken photographs only to find that the pictures turned out to be rather odd and on occasions visitors cameras have been found to malfunction only to find later that there was nothing wrong with them. This even happened to a BBC film unit on one occasion when on an assignment there. The other main apparition is that of the woman in the blue cape. It is thought to be the spirit of a woman who suffocated her baby just after the birth because it was conceived by her own father. She wonders around looking for the baby she killed. [Back][Top][Home] If page is loaded out of frames click Here This material may not be copied, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Ghost Watch UK are not held responsible for any actions taken after reading any of our pages!