Hidden
amongst farm buildings in a corner of rural Essex is an abandoned graveyard. It
is barely recognizable as such today, with just a few headstones rising up
above the long grass. There is no church to be seen. The medieval building was
finally demolished in the early 1960s after years of decline. You may wonder
why anyone would care to remember the site of a building that was not cared for
enough in its lifetime to have survived. For lovers of the paranormal the
answer is obvious. For several years before its eventual demise, it was claimed
to be one of the most haunted churches in the country. That is not where we
begin this tale though, for before it was known for its ghosts, it was known
for being one of the only churches in England to be destroyed in an earthquake.
Earthquakes,
strong ones at least, are not common in England. The one that struck at this
time was determined to be 4.6 On the richter scale. Small by the standards of
many places around the world, but for the sleepy parts of rural England it was
something never experienced before, and never again.
During the
last week of April in 1884 people around the country woke up to news of an
earthquake striking Eastern England. Newspapers began spreading the word that
destruction had been wrought in the villages around the town of Colchester in
Essex.
The Guernsey Star on Saturday 26th
April reported that:
“At Langenhoe, a few miles further on, farmhouses
are wrecked, or partially so, all along the high road, while Langenhoe church
an ancient Norman structure of stone, is shattered in remarkable manner.”
In early May
a letter appeared in the Essex Standard
from Mr L. E. Wright which read:
“Sir, It would be rendering the parishioners of
Langenhoe a great service if you will allow this letter to be inserted in your
valuable newspaper. Your readers will have read (most probably seen) the
terrible wreck wrought upon our church here in Langenhoe from the effects of
the earthquake on April 22nd. The general opinion is it must be
entirely rebuilt, but unless extraneous help is forthcoming this will be
impossible. I am begging your readers to come forward and show their sympathy
by helping towards the fund for rebuilding. Any contributions, however small,
will be most thankfully received and gratefully acknowledged by the Rector of
Langenhoe or myself.”
The
Illustrated Weekly Telegraph on Saturday 3rd May 1884 shared
drawings of the destruction.
It took eighteen
months to rebuild the church and the re-opening was announced in newspapers up
and down the country. Reports of the re-opening noted that, as far as was
possible, the church had been rebuilt on the same footprint and using as much
of the ancient masonry as possible. This gave the church the appearance of
antiquity and in the following years the casual passerby may not have noticed
that this was the scene of such devastation. It is likely around this time also
that the dedication was changed. You will see many articles today referring to
the church at Langenhoe as St Mary’s. For the longest time though, and marked
on maps through the early days of Ordnance Survey, it was called St Andrews. It
doesn’t seem clear as to why it would be changed, or exactly when it happened.
It was in
the few decades after this that the hauntings seem to have become most talked
about. Many of the reported phenomena were experienced by one of the rectors, Reverend
Merriweather. He came here in 1937 and would stay until 1959, when Langenhoe
was merged with its neighbouring parish. He would be the last of Langenhoe’s
vicars. That he encountered most of the unusual activity may be fair enough, as
he was the one in the church the most and it is said that he had never
previously had encounters nor much interest in such phenomena. He recorded the
experiences in his diary and these accounts would be used by paranormal
researcher Peter Underwood when he undertook his own extensive study of the
location. It’s is covered at length in the Gazetter, so I will encourage you to
find a copy of your own rather than duplicating it here.
Many of the
early reports were the slamming of doors and other audible phenomena rather
than apparitions. Eventually, though, the figure of a young woman was witnessed.
Into the 1950s a man in a tweed suit and a woman in old fashioned, possibly
medieval dress, were also seen. It wasn’t just the Reverend Merriweather
experiencing these sightings now, either. Other witnesses were added to the
list and it became apparent that even before his arrival there was talk of a
woman in black walking the graveyard and possibly also a cowled nun. I’d argue
that both of those could be the same apparition, perceived differently,
however.
Depending
on what you may believe ghosts to be, it could be argued that some of the heavy
energy that seemed to encircle the church came from the harrowing events of the
surrounding area. Unfortunate tragedies seem to have plagued both the adjacent
Langenhoe Hall and the village. The people tied up in these events would have
naturally sought comfort in the local church at one time or another and may
have been bound to the place after death.
Today the
churchyard is well hidden along a public footpath behind a farm. It’s peaceful,
slightly eerie, and hard to imagine as a sight of such intrigue.
