Our London walks ghost tours have taken a well earned respite in August and will be back chilling the marrow in mid September.
But if you are seeking a London ghost story then here is the story taken from our Coven Garden London walks of the strange case of the haunting of a very illustrious bank. Are you sitting comfortably?
Coutts Bank is the largest of London’s private banks whose most illustrious client is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11.
In November 1993, the directors took the unusual step of calling upon the services of the psychic medium Eddie Burks, in the hope that he would be able to lay to rest the phantom that was making a decided nuisance of itself in the banks computer room.
A bank spokesperson told The Times how some staff had reported “strange happenings…like lights going on an off… and an apparition, a shadow was how it was described.”
One unfortunate woman was most alarmed when the ghost appeared before her minus is head!
A séance was duly held in the course of which, Burks made contact with the spirit and learnt that it was Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1538-1572), whose plot to marry Mary, Queen of Scots and depose Elizabeth 1st in Mary’s favour, resulted in his execution.
“ I was beheaded on a summer’s day,” the dejected Duke informed Burks, “ I have held much bitterness and…I must let this go. In the name of God I ask your help…”
Eddie Burks was able to persuade the spirit that the time had come for him to depart and, on 15th November 1993, a congregation that included the present Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, gathered at the nearby Catholic church, to say prayers for the repose of his soul.
On leaving the service the present Duke was asked by a reporter if he was glad that his ancestor was finally at rest. “Actually” came the reply “I don’t believe in ghosts.”
Our Alleyways and Sahdows and Hidden Horrors of London walks will be back on Fridays and Saturdays in September.
Tags: 4th Duke of Norfolk, Coutts Bank, Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, London walks, Mary Queen of Scots, medium Eddie Burks, Thomas Howard
