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50 Berkeley Square: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°30′31.8″N 0°8′45.1″W / 51.508833°N 0.145861°W / 51.508833; -0.145861
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==History and occupants==
==History and occupants==
The four-story brick townhouse was constructed in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century.<ref name="Floyd2002">{{cite book|author=E. Randall Floyd|title=In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8p8OyMHWTYC&pg=PA29|accessdate=24 July 2011|date=October 2002|publisher=Harbor House|isbn=978-1-891799-06-8|pages=29–}}</ref> Until 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister [[George Canning]], commemorated by a plaque on the house today. The house was then bought by the [[Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted|Viscount Bearsted]], who rented the property to one Mr. Myers.<ref name="BP">{{cite news | last = Gray| first = Chris| title = PROPERTY TYCOONS IN BIDDING WAR FOR EXCLUSIVE ADDRESS| pages = 9|work=The Independent |location=UK | date = 14 April 2001| url = }}</ref> Myers acquired the house in 1859. He was a recluse who never left the house, only answering the door to receive food from his servant.<ref>E. Randall Floyd. (2002). ''In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings''. Harbor House. pp. 29-30. ISBN 978-1891799068</ref>
The four-story brick townhouse was constructed in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century.<ref name="Floyd2002">{{cite book|author=E. Randall Floyd|title=In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8p8OyMHWTYC&pg=PA29|accessdate=24 July 2011|date=October 2002|publisher=Harbor House|isbn=978-1-891799-06-8|pages=29–}}</ref> Until 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister [[George Canning]], commemorated by a plaque on the house today. The house was then bought by the [[Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted|Viscount Bearsted]], who rented the property to one Mr. Myers.<ref name="BP">{{cite news | last = Gray| first = Chris| title = PROPERTY TYCOONS IN BIDDING WAR FOR EXCLUSIVE ADDRESS| pages = 9|work=The Independent |location=UK | date = 14 April 2001| url = }}</ref> Myers acquired the house in 1859. He was a recluse who never left the house, only answering the door to receive food from his servant.<ref>E. Randall Floyd. (2002). ''In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings''. Harbor House. pp. 29-30. ISBN 978-1891799068</ref>

It is suspected that Mr. Myers was Thomas Myers, the son of a member of parliament. <ref>Collins, Paul. (2015). [http://mentalfloss.com/article/63012/secret-50-berkeley-square "The Secret of 50 Berkeley Square"]. Retrieved 06 December 2016.</ref>


It was later bought by [[British Petroleum|BP]].<ref name="BP"/> From 1937 to 2015,<ref>http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9f677a3a-9e69-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74.html#slide0</ref> the building was occupied by [[Maggs Bros]], a firm of antiquarian book dealers.<ref name="Jones"/> In 1998 the building was thought to be the oldest unaltered building in London.<ref name="conclusion">{{cite news | last = Jenkins| first = Simon| title = A most fitting conclusion|work=The Times |location=UK | date = 27 November 1998| url = }}</ref>
It was later bought by [[British Petroleum|BP]].<ref name="BP"/> From 1937 to 2015,<ref>http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9f677a3a-9e69-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74.html#slide0</ref> the building was occupied by [[Maggs Bros]], a firm of antiquarian book dealers.<ref name="Jones"/> In 1998 the building was thought to be the oldest unaltered building in London.<ref name="conclusion">{{cite news | last = Jenkins| first = Simon| title = A most fitting conclusion|work=The Times |location=UK | date = 27 November 1998| url = }}</ref>

Revision as of 17:57, 6 December 2016

50 Berkeley Square is a reportedly haunted townhouse on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, in Central London. In the late 19th Century, it became known as one of the most haunted houses in London.[1] However, by 1906 an entirely rationalistic explanation for the alleged 'haunting' phenomena was proposed by the relative of one of the occupants.

History and occupants

The four-story brick townhouse was constructed in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century.[2] Until 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister George Canning, commemorated by a plaque on the house today. The house was then bought by the Viscount Bearsted, who rented the property to one Mr. Myers.[3] Myers acquired the house in 1859. He was a recluse who never left the house, only answering the door to receive food from his servant.[4]

It is suspected that Mr. Myers was Thomas Myers, the son of a member of parliament. [5]

It was later bought by BP.[3] From 1937 to 2015,[6] the building was occupied by Maggs Bros, a firm of antiquarian book dealers.[1] In 1998 the building was thought to be the oldest unaltered building in London.[7]

Legend

Legend varies, but mostly states that the attic room of the house is haunted by a spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there.[8] She purportedly threw herself from a top floor window after being abused by her uncle;[9] and is said to be capable of frightening people to death. The spirit is said to take the form of a brown mist; though sometimes it is reported as a white figure.[10] A rarer version of the tale is that a young man was locked in the attic room, fed only through a hole in the door, until he eventually went mad and died.[11] One story states that the attic room is haunted by the ghost of a little girl that was killed by a sadistic servant in that room.

At least two deaths were attributed.[12] The first ghostly happenings were reported by George Canning, who claimed to have heard strange noises and have experienced psychic phenomena whilst living there.[8]

After George Canning's residency in 1885, the house was bought by a Mr. Myers, who had recently been jilted by his fiancee.[8] It was said that he would lock himself in the room and slowly went mad over the rest of his life.[9] During his stay at the house, it fell into gross disrepair and it is during this time that its reputation began to build.[8][9]

As a bet, in 1872, Lord Lyttleton stayed a night in the building's attic.[10] He brought his shotgun with him, and during the night fired at an apparition. In the morning, he attempted to find the apparition, but could only find shotgun cartridges.[10] The next year the local council brought a summons to the house's owners for failure to pay taxes, but due to the house's reputation as haunted they were not prosecuted.[13]

In 1879, The Mayfair Magazine reported that a maid who had stayed in the attic room had been found mad.[9] It was later reported that she died in an asylum the day after.[8] On the day she was found, a nobleman purportedly took up the challenge to spend a night in the room, and his was the first death recorded in the house. The coroner pronounced him dead of fright.[8]

It is said that after one nobleman had spent the night in the attic room, he was so paralysed with fear that he couldn't speak.[14]

In 1887, sailors from HMS Penelope stayed a night in the house.[8] By morning one was found dead, having tripped as he ran from the house.[8] The other reported having seen the ghost of Mr. Myers, approaching them aggressively.[8]

Modern interest in the site was spurred by its inclusion in Peter Underwood's 1975 book, Haunted London.[15]

No phenomena have been reported since the house was bought by the Maggs Brothers in the late 1930s[8] and though many contemporary media outlets reported happenings at the house, more recent investigators claim nothing unusual has ever taken place there.[16] They remark that Lord Lytton's story "The Haunted and the Haunters" bears a remarkable resemblance to the supposed hauntings at 50 Berkeley Square.[17]

Skeptical reception

In her 1906 autobiography, Lady Dorothy Nevill stated that "Mr. Myers" was a relative of hers. After losing his fiancé, his behaviour "bordered upon lunacy" and he stayed in the house all day, becoming active at nights where he would ramble about making strange sounds. According to Nevill the "old house would occasionally appear to be lit up at the dead of night." These nocturnal activities of Myers were considered by Nevill to have been misinterpreted by others as the result of a ghost. She concluded that the haunting had no factual basis and the "whole story was nonsense".[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Richard Jones, Walking Haunted London, New Holland Publishers Ltd: 4th edition (28 September 2007). p. 69
  2. ^ E. Randall Floyd (October 2002). In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings. Harbor House. pp. 29–. ISBN 978-1-891799-06-8. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b Gray, Chris (14 April 2001). "PROPERTY TYCOONS IN BIDDING WAR FOR EXCLUSIVE ADDRESS". The Independent. UK. p. 9.
  4. ^ E. Randall Floyd. (2002). In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings. Harbor House. pp. 29-30. ISBN 978-1891799068
  5. ^ Collins, Paul. (2015). "The Secret of 50 Berkeley Square". Retrieved 06 December 2016.
  6. ^ http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9f677a3a-9e69-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74.html#slide0
  7. ^ Jenkins, Simon (27 November 1998). "A most fitting conclusion". The Times. UK.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Floyd, Randall (19 July 1998). "SUPERNATURAL OCCURRENCES FILL HOUSE'S PAST". The Augusta Chronicle. pp. E2.
  9. ^ a b c d Cheung, Theresa (2006). The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World. Harper Element. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-00-721148-7.
  10. ^ a b c Dave (11 August 2007). "The Saturday Strangeness". Londonist.
  11. ^ Watts, Peter (26 October 2005). "Haunted London – City of the dead". Time Out. p. 14.
  12. ^ Masey, Anthea (24 October 2007). "The haunting; London's grand mansions rattle with old bones and spooky experiences. Go on a ghost tour if you're brave enough, says Anthea Masey". The Evening Standard. UK. p. 8.
  13. ^ Heather Ludgate (19 November 2007). London Laid Bare. Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Pu. pp. 131–. ISBN 978-1-84386-319-9. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  14. ^ Jones, Richard (31 October 2006). "Haunted Britain". Independent Extra. p. 24.
  15. ^ Alzina Stone Dale; Barbara Sloan-Hendershott (6 April 2004). Mystery Reader's Walking Guide: London. iUniverse. pp. 117–. ISBN 978-0-595-31513-0. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  16. ^ "The Big Smoke – London's urban legends; From ghosts to nursery rhymes, the real origins of the capital's myths". Time Out. 13 November 2008. p. 8.
  17. ^ Nick Rennison (October 2007). The book of lists London. Canongate. pp. 281–. ISBN 978-1-84195-934-4. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  18. ^ Nevill, Lady Dorothy. (1906). The Reminiscences of Lady Dorothy Nevill: Edited by Her Son Ralph Nevill . London: Edward Arnold. pp. 261-264

Further reading

51°30′31.8″N 0°8′45.1″W / 51.508833°N 0.145861°W / 51.508833; -0.145861

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