The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

Raynham Hall in Norfolk has been the seat of the Townshend family for almost 400 years. Charles George Townshend is the 8th and current Marquess Townshend and a British peer.

As you can imagine, Raynham Hall has seen it’s fair share of history.

Around 1713, the 2nd Viscount Townshend, also called Charles, married Dorothy Walpole. She herself was an English aristocrat and the sister of Robert Walpole. Robert is regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. To this very day, the Prime Minister of Great Britain lives in 10 Downing Street, a house gifted to the position by Robert Walpole under the auspices of King George the 2nd.

But back to the story.

Rage and an Untimely Death

Charles was allegedly notorious for his violent rage, probably not helped by his moniker “Turnip Townshend“.

The story is told that Lady Dorothy was of “loose morals” and liked the company of men. When Charles caught her with the Marquis of Wharton, he flew into a rage and locked her away. Effectively imprisoning her before holding a mock funeral.

According to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a friend of Lady Dorothy’s, this story is incorrect. She was in-fact trapped by the Countess of Wharton. She invited Dorothy over for a few days, despite the knowledge that her husband would never let Dorothy leave, not even to see her children.

She remained at Raynham Hall until her death in 1726. It is believed she died of smallpox.

Ghostly Goings On

The first ever recorded sighting of a ghost at Raynham Hall was during Christmas 1835. Two guests on their way back their bedrooms encountered the Brown Lady. The following evening, the same reveller claimed to have seen her again. He reported being drawn to her empty eye sockets, dark in her glowing face. Some staff at the Hall were so terrified by the description, they left, never to return.

Over the years a few more sightings were reported. But it’s in 1936 that the magical moment happens. An actual photograph of the brown lady.

Country Life Magazine

September the 19th, 1936. Captain Hubert C Provand and his assistant Indre Shira are taking pictures of the Hall for Country Life magazine. Shira saw:

A vapoury form gradually assuming the appearance of a woman.

Thinking quickly they snap this picture.

This photo, along with the story, was published in Country Life magazine on December the 26th, 1936.

Noted paranormal investigator Harry Price interviewed the pair and reported back as follows:

I will say at once I was impressed. I was told a perfectly simple story: Mr. Indre Shira saw the apparition descending the stairs at the precise moment when Captain Provand’s head was under the black cloth. A shout – and the cap was off and the flashbulb fired, with the results which we now see. I could not shake their story, and I had no right to disbelieve them. Only collusion between the two men would account for the ghost if it is a fake. The negative is entirely innocent of any faking.

Reception to the Publication

Critics have offered up various explanations for how the picture was produced. Ranging from putting grease on the lens, double exposures, superimposed pictures placed over each other and even by putting a bedsheet over themselves and recreating a similar picture.

Others have pointed out that the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall looks remarkably like a standard Virgin Mary statue as found in any Catholic Church. This would strongly suggest that the picture is two images, one superimposed over the over.

Whatever the real explanation, this story and picture endures and is still one of the most famous ghost pictures in existence.

Sources:

Brown Lady of Raynham Hall (Wikipedia)

The camera never lies? (Unexplained-mysteries.com)

Brown Lady of Raynham Hall (Web.archive.org)

Header Image (Pixabay)