Districts of Folkstone & Hythe and Dover
SOUTH EAST KENT
As most of us know paranormal and hauntings are not limited to a building, there are Roads, Lanes, Streets and, Parks, that have had some haunting tales told about them in the past.
Some still being told today in the Kent Tours found on the Events in Kent page
GofEPS is researching and plans to provide you with all the haunted happenings that have gone on within the South East of our county.
THE BAYLE PRIORY GARDENS FOLKSTONE
Described in 2015, in an article on Kent Online, as 'Folkstone's hidden gem', with its 12th century St Marys and St Eanswythe’s Parish Church, and the charming narrow Church Street is full of history and character.
The area has been used as a defensive area, since before the Romans. The Saxon fortress of King Eadbald of Kent. was located in the area and his daughter Eanswythe, founded the nunnery in AD830. Her remains and relics are kept at St Mary and St Eanswythe church.
It is thought that a Roman Pharos may have stood on the spot during the Roman invasion. Ancient fortifications from bygone years, scatter the ground around Caesar's Camp overlooking the harbor.
In 1530 a priory was built by a group of Benedictine monks who may have also taken over the nearby Norman Church, which dates back to 1095. The current parish church near the Road of Remembrance is on the original Norman foundations.
Up until the early 1800s, Folkestone was mainly a center for smugglers.
The railway purchased the harbor in 1842 and it rapidly developed and flourished into a popular holiday resort and a cross-channel port.
An image from 1873, shows the area and roads around as 'The Bail'.
By 1938 the maps had changed to the current name of The Bayle.
A group of houses now covers the site of the priory and its grounds
HAUNTINGS
The paranormal stories have been written In 'Ghost of Kent' by Peter Underwood and Paul Harris in his 'Ghost of Shepway' Booklet, recounting similar stories of the paranormal happenings that have occurred around this area.
One story told is of a resident, Mrs. Ludgate, who was possibly a medium, who held a weekly spiritual healing group once a week at her home, in one of the cottages on the Bayle. She would often sit in her back garden, which is surrounded by a portion of the original church wall. She is said to have seen several monks, apparently working and making garden tools. 'They look quite happy in their work' she recalled 'but are rather ragged in their clothing.
Mrs. Ludgate is not the only witness to the monks, others have also seen the monks in their houses and surrounding area. Residents have heard 'chanting' in the region of their front gardens and in the area which covers part of the priory grounds.
A postman who reported in 1977 that he had seen a tall figure gliding across the street, described as wearing a cape with a hood, rather like a large duffel coat but preferred to ignore it. 'I still don't believe in ghosts' he said. But he could not explain what he saw. The Postman and local Milkman, knew nothing of the stories within the area until they had their experiences. Both have reported hearing 'the singing of religious hymns' and just thought it was 'someone's radio', and 'I must admit it as difficult to locate the source', one admitted.
There are also stories of activity in the local churchyard and the local inn 'The British Lion', all situated in the same compact area, so check out their stories.