The manor of Creslow in Buckinghamshire, owned by Lord Clifford of
Chudleigh, is a pasture-farm of eight hundred and fifty acres, and is
said to raise some of the finest cattle in England; it was the home of
the regicide Holland. The mansion is an ancient one, spacious and
handsome, much of it, including the crypt and tower, coming down from
the time of Edward III., with enlargements in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. It is a picturesque yet venerable building, with
many gables and curious chimneys, and surmounted by a square tower and
loopholed turret. But its chief interest attaches to the two ancient
cellars known as the crypt and the dungeon: the crypt is about twelve
feet square, excavated in the limestone rock, and having a Gothic
vaulted ceiling, with a single small window; the dungeon is eighteen
feet long, half as wide, and six feet high, without any windows, and
with a roof formed of massive stones. This is the "haunted chamber of
Creslow"--haunted by a lady, Rosamond Clifford, the "Fair Rosamond" of
Woodstock, often heard, but seldom seen, by those who stay at night in
the room, which she enters by a Gothic doorway leading from the crypt.
Few have ever ventured to sleep there, but not long ago a guest was
prevailed upon to do it, and next morning at breakfast he told his
story: "Having entered the room, I locked and bolted both doors,
carefully examined the whole room, and satisfied myself that there was
no living creature in it but myself, nor any entrances but those I had
secured. I got into bed, and, with the conviction that I should sleep as
usual till six in the morning, I was soon lost in a comfortable slumber.
Suddenly I was aroused, and on raising my head to listen I heard a sound
certainly resembling the light, soft tread of a lady's footstep,
accompanied with the rustling as of a silk gown. I sprang out of bed and
lighted a candle; there was nothing to be seen and nothing now to be
heard; I carefully examined the whole room, looked under the bed, into
the fireplace, up the chimney, and at both the doors, which were
fastened as I had left them; I looked at my watch, and it was a few
minutes past twelve. As all was now perfectly quiet, I extinguished the
candle and soon fell asleep. I was again aroused; the noise was now
louder than before; it appeared like the violent rustling of a stiff
silk dress. I sprang out of bed, darted to the spot where the noise was,
and tried to grasp the intruder in my arms: my arms met together, but
enclosed nothing. The noise passed to another part of the room, and I
followed it, groping near the floor to prevent anything passing under my
arms. It was in vain; I could feel nothing; the noise had passed away
through the Gothic door, and all was still as death. I lighted a candle
and examined the Gothic door, but it was shut and fastened just as I had
left it; I again examined the whole room, but could find nothing to
account for the noise. I now left the candle burning, though I never
sleep comfortably with a light in my room; I got into bed, but felt, it
must be acknowledged, not a little perplexed at not being able to detect
the cause of the noise, nor to account for its cessation when the candle
was lighted. While ruminating on these things I fell asleep, and began
to dream about murders and secret burials and all sorts of horrible
things; and just as I fancied myself knocked down by a knight templar, I
awoke and found the sun shining brightly."
This ancient house was originally the home of a lodge of Knights
Templar, and the dungeon, which is now said to be appropriately
decorated with skulls and other human bones, was formerly their
stronghold. At this weird mansion, within a few minutes' ride of the
metropolis, we will close our descriptive journey through Midland
England, and its mystic tale will recall that passage from the _Book of
Days_ which counsels--
"Doubtless there are no ghosts;
Yet somehow it is better not to move,
Lest cold hands seize upon us from behind."