Checking stock at all hours of the day, and travelling around and about at different times of day and night we often see strange or unusual happenings. Some are frustrating, like the cattle grid at Hole being moved (presumably physically lifted) out of it's hole and twisted 45 degrees, for no apparant reason. Others are just very odd - so we thought we would share a few with you.
Branscombe has a long history of ghosts and ghouls, with some associated with Manor Mill.
"It was in the afternoon and I went down to see Dinah Denning (at Manor Mill)...somebody came out of her kitchen and went into the door or the barn (the mill room) ... I put my head in the barn and shouted and nobody came ... so I knocked on the door. Dinah came out at once, so I said "Well, that's funny, who went in the barn?" and she said there wasn't anybody ... the person had a long black skirt... a white blouse and maybe an apron" (Sheila Unwin)
"I just had this feeling that the field at the end of Mill Lane was slightly haunted...I heard a very urgent whisper. I couldn't hear the words but it was very, very anxious. I look round, there was nobody there. When my sister came I said "what were you whispering? and she said nothing." (Phoebe Spencer)
Quotes taken from Ghost Stories from Branscombe edited by Barbara Farquharson and Joan Doern
On September 8th 1883, a farm worker John Perryman was the victim of a fatal shooting just on the edge of the ground that we farm at Culverwell. "An old man is shot dead as he makes his way home from harvesting. A local man is accused of murder, two others of being his accomplices. The village is in turmoil...Unsolved murder, or unexplained accident?" (The Shooting at Branscombe Old Pits by Barbara Farquharson and John Torrance).
You can find out more about this case and the ghosts of Branscombe in the books published by the Branscombe Project. Also check out their website, and and the interesting talks and events they have throughout the year, some of which relate to farming.
The fields immediately behind Manor Mill (where there is no public footpath) also contribute some strange happenings. In exactly the same spot over approximately 5 years we have found, a used nappy, a dummy, ice cream containers and most recently an odd cuddly toy - is there a young family living in the woods?
Most recently, early one morning while we were checking the stock, a naked man was spotted walking his dog in a field on the farm. After numerous discussions around the breakfast table, we still can't work out quite why he felt compelled to let it all hang out, but presume he put his clothes back on before returning home.
