Upwood
Upwood House was once lived in by the Hussey family. Charles Tebbutt in Huntingdonshire Folklore (1984) reports that, in 1757, the occupants were Thomas Hussey and his daughter Maria Ann. She wanted to marry Captain Richard Bickerton, but he had no money, so her father refused his consent.
Then one night, when Thomas Hussey had had to go to London, Maria woke from sleep to see her father pulling aside the curtains of her bed and smiling down at her. Her maid, who was sleeping in the room with her, also saw him. The next day, a horseman brought the news from London that her father had died and that his last words were: ‘Tell my daughter that I withdraw my opposition to her marriage.’
Maria duly married Captain Bickerton, who died in 1792. His career had prospered: he was created a baronet in 1778, and was Member of Parliament for Rochester and Port Admiral of Plymouth.
SEE ALSO:
SOURCE:
Haunted England : The Penguin Book of Ghosts – Written by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson –
Copyright © Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson 2005, 2008
