Oxford Castle

The Oxford Castle and Prison is one of the most haunted locations in the UK and with over a 1000 years of history, it is used by many paranormal groups for investigations.

A couple of extracts taken from the Castle and prisons website…..

"Black Bess seems to have a connection with Brother Bernard, the eternally drunken monk who resided here when the chapel existed. On two occasions Bess has caught the scent of alcohol in the crypt where, whilst those above him prayed, he is said to have brewed his beer. What's more, whilst taking a tour through the crypt one morning, Bess also believes she saw Bernard sitting in the back right-hand corner, but on second glance he had vanished and all she saw were the cold stone walls. This is not the first time Bernard has been glimpsed here; in fact that particular corner of the crypt is commonly known as 'Bernard's corner' here at the castle."

"Mr Holloway had quite a shock at the end of one of his tours which he believes was Mary Blandy paying him a visit. Records state that although Mary had a very attractive figure, like so many during the Eighteenth Century her face was left badly marred by small-pox. This goes some way to explain why Mary's father felt the need to offer such a large dowry, to coerce people into marrying his "ageing", "damaged" daughter. Mr Holloway had conveyed these details to his tour group and, shortly afterwards, as he was getting changed in the staff room, the door that he had firmly closed behind him flew open with an almighty crash. Then, almost immediately afterwards, the nearby fire door did the same. The peculiar thing was, these doors open in different directions so it was unlikely to have been caused by a sudden draft. The consensus was that Mr Holloway had upset Mary by insulting her appearance and this was a demonstration of her anger."

We have exclusive access to St Georges crypt, the base of the tower, the prison cells, debtors tower and the top of D-Wing.

Free tea and coffee will be provided throughout the night from the Castleyard Cafe.

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