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Ghost · Battlesden

The brown monk of Battlesden

A boy practising the organ looks up and sees a monk in a brown habit watching him. The trouble is, no monks round here ever wore brown.

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Ghost

The Brown Monk

Blue eyes, ginger hair, and a habit no local monk ever wore.

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What's there
A small rural church
Legend from
1969
Tone
Eerie
GhostsMonks

Before you go

It's a small rural church that may be locked, so check before you go; you can walk round the churchyard.

  • Church of St Peter and All Saints, Battlesden
  • Near A4012
  • The pin marks the spot.

Close by is Battlesden church, where a boy at the organ looked up and saw a monk in a brown habit watching him.

The little church of St Peter and All Saints at Battlesden, near Woburn, has an unexplained visitor. In 1969 the rector told the county record office that a boy practising on the organ had seen a monk-like figure in a brown habit, with blue eyes and ginger hair. On the same occasion the verger and a helper saw a man in a brown overcoat leaving the church. The nearest monks, at Woburn Abbey, were Cistercians who wore white, so who he was remains a puzzle. In 2000 a member of the archive staff felt a sudden chill there, traced to wind through the large keyhole, but their young son became upset and tried to hide in a corner.

One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.

Sources

  1. Bedfordshire Archives: Battlesden Church Haunting