Berkshire History for Kids: Lady Hoby's Ghost

Still walks through Bisham Abbey at Night

Lady Hoby was rich and famous, and a good friend of Queen Elizabeth I. She lived at Bisham 'Abbey' Manor.
She was also very clever and full of her own self-importance. She used to teach her own children because she didn’t trust anyone else to do it properly.
It wasn’t much fun for the kids though as their mother was very mean and strict. She also had a terrible temper.
Her little boy, William, wasn’t as bright as his brothers and sisters and Lady Hoby used to get very annoyed with him.
One day, he was practicing his writing when his pen started to put big black ink blots all over the place.
Lady Hoby saw red and started hitting him hard with her ruler. She beat him so badly that she was splattered with blood as he fell unconscious. So his mother locked him in his room.
Suddenly a messenger arrived from the Queen and Lady Hoby hurried off to Windsor Castle. The servants thought she had taken William with her.
When she returned to Bisham, a few days later, she found he was dead!
Wicked Lady Hoby was never forgiven and her ghost has haunted the Abbey ever since her death. She flits through the rooms all in white, constantly trying to wash the blood off her hands!