Ancient Well • Holywell

July 1974

Grade two listed. Ancient well fed by a natural spring. Capping stone of the 13th or 14th century. The inscription on the plaque reads:

Rev. S B Beckwith Rector of this Parish AD1845

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The Castle • Leighton Bromswold

Listed at 'The Towers' on the reverse of the photo, this is shown as 'The Castle' on the English Heritage register of listed buildings. It was offered Grade II* status in 1951.

The house was built as the gatehouse to a large manor that was never realised. Sir Gervase Clifton proposed the new Estate in 1616, but only the gatehouse was ever built. 

In the mid 17th century the archway was blocked in and it was converted to a private dwelling. It was further altered in 1904 when a staircase reclaimed from Stow Longa Manor House was installed. 

The house was once used as the vicarage, but it today a private residence.

This image is from the Jeevar Archive and was taken in 1977. 

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Dovecote • Godmanchester

18th Century Dovecote at Porch Farm.

When photographed it was in poor condition. It was given Grade II listed building status in 1977, so is now protected.

This image is from the Jeevar Archive and was taken in 1974.

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Bodsey House • Ramsey

In Saxon times and during the founding of Ramsey Abbey this spot was an island in the undrained Fens. A mile of water separated it from the settlement of Ramsey.

A succession of hermits chose the site for their devotions and the house that stands here today developed from a 12th Century hermitage that was built here. The site was owned by Ramsey Abbey from around 670 until the Dissolution in 1537.

Legend states that two of King Cnut's sons drowned while out on nearby Whittlesey Mere and were brought to the house for burial. A tombstone for them is said to still be found within the house.

The house is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a girl who was murdered here in the 14th century. Legend states that she visited the house in secret, to visit her brother who was a monk. He was dying and she wanted to see him one last time. Some say she was a nun herself, and the ghost that's seen us in a nuns habit.

Unfortunately, she was caught at the house and her punishment was harsh. She was bricked up in one of the chimneys and left to starve! 

It seems like an unnecessary punishment for visiting a sick relative, even if it were against the rules. I think it's also possible that she died here accidentally and her body hidden to cover up the fact she was somewhere she shouldn't have been. The wonderful thing about folklore is that we will never know, and you can pick whichever version you like! 

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GRID REF: TL 29522 87349

Headstone of Emily Darlow • Ramsey

Emily Darlow was born on 22 July 1869. Her headstone reads:

In loving remembrance of Emily Jane

the beloved daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Darlow

who in the discharge of her duty as nurse at Grimsby Hospital attending the sick and comforting the dying caught typhoid fever and died herself.

December 30th 1887

in the 19th year of her age

"She being dead yet speaketh" 

She is buried in Wood Lane Cemetery, Ramsey, Huntingdonshire 

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GRID REF: TL 29256 85500

St Thomas a Becket • Ramsey

Saint Thomas a Becket Parish Church

The original parts of the building were built in the late 12th century as part of Ramsey Abbey, possibly as a hospital, before becoming more widely used as a Parish Church.

There are dome impressive stained glass windows, a beautiful organ and decorative lectern.

The font is made of blue marble and was rediscovered in the 1840s buried below the aisle. It's thought to date to around 1200. 

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GRID REF: TL 29054 85147

Almshouse • Ramsey

 Built in 1839 using stone from the nearby Abbey. It was intended to house 12 of the town's poor women.

Grade II listed.

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GRID REF: TL 28994 85146

K6 Telephone Box • Ramsey

 Grade II Listed K6 telephone box, now housing town defibrillator.

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GRID REF: TL 28976 85151

Phone Box and Post Boxes • Ramsey

Exhibits at Ramsey Rural Museum 

The phone box was originally situated in Warboys. The post boxes are early VR and GR boxes.

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GRID REF : TL 29486 85308

Mortuary Window • Ramsey

 

Mortuary Window

The mortuary chapels at Wood Lane Cemetery were built in 1858 and opened in 1860. One side was for Anglican parishioners, and the opposite was for nonconformists.

​Each chapel has a contagion window, allowing the body of the possibly infected deceased to be placed in an isolated space on the outer side of the window of the grieving mourners.

​The windows here were boarded up in 1940 and only recently rediscovered. They are now thought to be the only intact survivors of this type in the country. 

​Wood Lane Cemetery

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GRID REF: TL 29245 85542