Hylton Castle
Various dates during 2007
I
have been to Hylton Castle in Sunderland a few times. Sometimes by myself
and other times with Northern Ghost Investigations. I haven't discovered anything
of a paranormal nature but the place itself is lovely and has quite a good
story behind it.
The castle and chapel are both derelict. The castle is closed off but you can freely enter the chapel. A few orbs made it onto some photos, but nothing significant. Two of the photos show a mist, I'm sure one is breath as I could reproduce the effect but the other I'm not sure about as it was away from me and I was at the front of the group at this point.
We spent time sitting in the chapel, calling out and taking part in a séance, but without success. Some people believed they heard sounds from inside the castle, like furniture being dragged, but I could not confirm this.
The woods are nice to walk through but some of the team were scared and felt there is a presence lurking in the foliage. To me it was just a load of trees! Another attempt was made here to communicate through a seance as well as calling out, but there was no response.
All mini-investigations here left me disappointed. There are a few famous ghost stories linked to this castle, but none of them occured on any of the visits I made. See below for more details of the castle and ghosts.
A Brief History
Sir William Hilton, Baron of Hylton built
Hylton Caste around 1390 to 1400. Few alterations were made to the castle until
the 16th century, when floors and galleries were inserted into the Great Hall.
In the 18th century, Baron John Hylton completely redesigned the interior and
inserted large Italianate style windows. He also added a north wing. His son
later built a south wing and added crenellations (battlements) to both wings
and restored the main central entrance. As there was no male heir the Hyltons
sold the castle when John died in 1746. When William Briggs bought it in 1863,
he knocked down the north and south wings, gutted the interior and added new
windows. But the castle soon fell into disrepair.
In 1950, the castle was taken into the care of the State. The castle is now a listed building, and together with the chapel forms a Scheduled Ancient Monument, under the guardianship of English Heritage.
The ruins of St. Catherine’s chapel date from the early 15th century. The building was modified during the period from the late 15th to late 16th century, when a window and transepts were added. The chapel fell into disrepair and it too later became the responsibility of the State.
The Cauld Lad of Hylton is believed to be the ghost of stable boy Roger Skelton. The ghost is normally associated with his murder that took place in 1609. This came about when Lord Robert Hylton had ordered his horse to be made ready for an important journey. One hour passed and it was not ready. Lord Hylton went to the stables and found the stable boy asleep. In his anger, he is said to have drawn his sword and decapitated the stable boy. He tried to hide the body, but it was later discovered and the baron was tried for murder. He was acquitted, and so the spirit of the dead boy came back to haunt him.
Supposedly there was a poltergeist that liked to tidy the castle kitchen if left in a mess, but would make it untidy if it was left clean. The servants grew tired of his pranks and left out clothes for him, which was the way to banish ghosts. On taking them he disappeared from the castle saying "Here's a cloak, and here's a hood. The Cauld Lad o' Hylton will do na' mair good." However, his ghostly voice continued to be heard long afterwards.
Reference
Kerry S. Davis
Photo Gallery Here