Ruthin Castle

OVERVIEW

A castle begun in 1277 for Edward I on a ridge above Ruthin, granted to Reginald de Grey, besieged when Owain Glyndŵr burned the town below it in 1400, slighted after the Civil War and rebuilt as a mansion in 1826 by the Cornwallis-Wests. It was Britain's first private clinic for obscure diseases from 1923 to about 1950 and has been a hotel since the 1960s, with the medieval walls in its grounds. Most Haunted filmed here in 2018 and the Daily Post has covered its ghosts.

HISTORY

The Grey Lady story: the wife of the castle's second-in-command under the de Greys discovered his affair with a local woman, killed her with an axe, was executed and, refused consecrated ground, was buried outside the walls, where a sign marks the spot. It is tradition; the de Greys' documented history is of the lordship and Glyndŵr's revolt, which began with a quarrel over land with Lord Grey of Ruthin.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

The Grey Lady on the battlements, in the chapel and the banqueting hall; a soldier with one glove in the grounds; a girl running the corridors. The hotel tells them and hosts ghost weekends. Recorded as the hotel's tradition.

VISITING

A working hotel; grounds and ruins for guests, restaurant open to the public. The town of Ruthin is a fine one.