The Convent, Gibraltar — the Lady in Grey

OVERVIEW

The Convent was built in 1531 as a church and friary for Franciscan friars on land at La Turba, where Gibraltar's poorer people lived, and has been the residence of the British governors since 1728. Its dining room has the largest display of heraldry in the Commonwealth. The adjacent King's Chapel, part of the original complex, holds the remains of the wife of the Spanish governor of 1648 and of two British governors.

HISTORY

The friars stayed on after the Anglo-Dutch capture of Gibraltar (they are recorded in 1712) before the building was taken over by the governors. In 1903 Edward VII had it renamed Government House after complaints that the head of the Church of England was visiting a Catholic institution; the old name has stayed in use.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

HEARSAY. The house is 'supposedly haunted' by the ghost of a nun, the Lady in Grey, said to roam the corridor outside one guest room because she was walled up alive in it. In the most popular version she was the daughter of a rich Spanish family, forced into the Convent of Santa Clara on Main Street after marrying against her father's wishes; her lover joined the Franciscans, they met in the confessional of the King's Chapel and fled for a boat in the harbour, the alarm was raised, he fell into the water and drowned, and she was walled up as punishment. Filed UNVETTED; the article gives no witnesses or dates.

VISITING

A working governor's residence; the guard mount and the Changing of the Guard are held at the main entrance on Main Street and can be watched from outside.