Many of us have heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but have you heard of the leaning Augustine Steward House and its ghost? This house is located in Norwich, county of Norfolk, England.
Some say the building was constructed by Augustine Steward in c1549, others say earlier. He was a wealthy merchant who was Sheriff in 1526, Mayor of Norwich in 1534, 1546 and 1556 and Burgess in Parliament in 1547.
The house was famously used by royal troops to quash the 1549 Kett Rebellion.
Steward led negotiations between the rebels and the king's army, and entertained the king's representative, the Marquis of Northampton, at his house. Some of Kett's more uncontrollable followers looted Steward's house, but didn't hurt anyone.
The house is a typical example of a Tudor merchant's townhouse and has been kept in an exceptional state, even if it looks a little wonky from the outside.
In August of 1578, Queen Elizabeth along with an entourage of 2000 people to visit Norwich. In anticipation of her arrival, authorities made sure that the heads an body parts of executed criminals were removed from city walls hoping to impress the Queen. Usually when I have guests, I just have to sweep, mop, and throw clutter into a closet. No body parts here to get rid of.
The Queen spent five days at the Bishop's Place, which is close to Augustine Steward's House, and was entertained with theater, dancing, and speeches. After she left, a devastating plaque started spreading through the city of Norwich, killing at least 4800 people. I'm not saying the Queen brought the plaque to Norwich, but the timing is definitely interesting.
No matter who started the plague in Norwich, the overall effect was terrible. For almost two years, the plague swept through the city killing thousands of people. The dead were piled up in carts and graveyards were raised to add as many bodies as they could. A little side note - this reminds me of a scene from the Monty Python movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Guys are pushing a cart and another guy is banging a triangle yelling, "Bring out your dead." Eventually a random guy walks up to them with another man on his shoulder trying to put him on the cart because he can make some money and the guy on the shoulder is arguing, "I'm not dead yet."
After some time, an order was sent through the city to seal up the buildings. Sick or infected people would be moved from houses and the houses then shut up and locked for 40 days with a red cross and Lord Have Mercy Upon Us in capital letters written on the door. Talk about a whole different level of "sending prayers".
After 40 days, a white cross would be placed on the door for another 20 days during which time the house would be fumigated, cleaned, and painted with lime. Clothes and household items had to stay in the house for three more months.
As this process was happening in Norwich, it's said that the Augustine Steward family was boarded up in their house with people not realizing they were still inside. Either they were already dead or were too weak to shout for help.
After many weeks, the house was reopened and the town bailiffs found a gruesome sight. They found the bodies of Augustine, his wife, and a daughter dead inside the house. In the overall picture of the plague, that was not the disturbing part of the discovery. What was disturbing was that the bodies of Augustine and his wife were found with what looked like bite marks on their bodies and some of their flesh was missing. Initially, they thought this might have been because of rats in the house, but supposedly the daughter was found dead with flesh in her throat. The story goes that the daughter was still alive when the parents died and tried to survive by cannibalism. So either the daughter died of the plague, itself, starvation, or choking to death on the flesh of her parents.
The daughter has become known as the 'Lady in Grey', haunting the Augustine Steward House and surrounding area. Residents in the Augustine Steward House over the years stated they have felt or even seen her presence, dressed in shabby grey clothing with legs that disappear beneath the knees. I have no idea where her lower legs are and why they are missing. I also do not know if it's a young girl or a younger aged lady. I cannot find that information. Overall, I want to know where the rest of her legs are!
Some people have said that she has moved objects around during the night (good luck finding your keys in the morning, I guess) or opening and closing doors. I guess as long as she doesn't leave the front door open and 'let the heat out' or 'cool the outside', most dads are probably happy. Stupid dad joke, my apologies.
It is also said that the 'Lady in Grey' is said to haunt the area of Tombland and Tombland Alley behind the Augustine Steward House where the graveyard of St George's church had to be raised in order to cram the victims of the plague into a series of graves.
The former vicar of St George's, Reverend John Minns, was practicing a sermon for the following weekend one day when he saw a young woman dressed in grey enter the church through the main doors, walk across the back of the church and leave through the doors leading to Tombland Alley…doors which had been sealed for many years.
A DJ at Ritzy's nightclub – which was based at Samson and Hercules House next door to Augustine Steward House from 1982 to 1999 – heard some strange noises upstairs and went to investigate. A private party was booked that night and it was not unheard of for youngsters to try and gain access through the toilet windows to join the party. By the ladies' toilets, the DJ saw a young woman dressed in grey – challenging her, he was perturbed when she ignored him completely and walked past him. As he turned to see where she was headed, he realized she appeared to have no feet and was gliding down the corridor. Seriously - where are the rest of her legs?!?
In 1973, the following report was printed in the Eastern Evening News:
'A local woman confided in Mr Hugh Thompson, manager of the Norwich Tourist Information Centre, whose headquarters are at Augustine Steward's House on Tombland, that she was startled to find a 'grey lady' gliding along the cobbles of Tombland Alley.
The apparition, she said, clothed in grey from head to foot, was in full view for an appreciable time and then faded rapidly through a solid flint wall. Unfortunately, Mr Thompson did not take the name of the woman (the solid one) at the time, but, he says. She was thoroughly convinced that she had seen the ghost.
Can she be one of Augustine Steward's two wives, who should be cosily ensconced beside her husband in St Peter Hungate Church? Could it be a nun who has lost her way between Norwich's many churches? Perhaps it was a seamstress employed by tailor Steward, who was waylaid on her way home…Perhaps the woman who was privileged to see the grey lady would come forward and furnish us with a more precise description. Until then, late revellers who take a short cut home through Tombland Alley should beware.'
Over the years, the timber of the Augustine Steward House has warped and created a leaning type structure. Even if there was not a haunting, the house would be neat to see just because of the odd structure. I think the history of the house and the haunting stories make it even better.
Nowadays, you can check out the Augustine Steward House and participate in an escape room run by Cryptic Escape. In their themed room 'The Haunted', ghost hunters enter the house and explore her sad tale. You may end up seeing her yourself...will she help you escape?
-- Audre
Photo by: britishlistedbuildings.co.uk
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