Ghosts of Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle, over 900 years old, stands as one of England's best-preserved medieval castles. Built soon after 1090 by Robert de Romille, who sought to deter frequent Scottish raids of northern England, its original ramparts were wooden.
King Henry I soon expanded Romille's lands, and the castle rose again in stone. When the Romille line ended in 1310, Edward II granted the castle to Robert de Clifford, who promptly ordered sweeping improvements, only to die at Bannockburn in 1314.
Skipton Castle survived the Great Raid of 1322. During the English Civil War, it stood as the last northern Royalist stronghold, surrendering only after a three-year siege in 1645. Cromwell ordered the roofs removed, leaving the fortress slighted.
Amid these turbulent periods, the last Clifford to own Skipton Castle was Lady Anne Clifford. Following the damage of the Civil War, she restored the castle and planted a Yew tree in the central courtyard to honor her accomplishment.
Skipton Castle's multiple sieges and its long occupation by the Cliffords are often cited as reasons for the reported ghost stories associated with the castle.
The castle's most famous ghost is a young girl in a Georgian bonnet and white dress, sometimes described as featureless. Local Mark Whitaker's photograph captured her eerie form peering from a wall, which he noticed only afterward on his computer. Other visitors report strange lights in their photos.
In addition to the girl's apparition, there have been multiple reports of ghostly soldiers. Some sightings are linked to the Scottish raids, while others are attributed to the castle's three-year siege during the Civil War. Spectral soldiers are said to appear in different parts of Skipton Castle.
The castle dungeons are also said to be haunted by prisoners from the 15th century or earlier, a haunting attributed to the harsh treatment and despair experienced by inmates during times of war and unrest.
Some legends claim that Lady Anne Clifford's ghost roams the castle corridors. Born at Skipton Castle, she fiercely defended her inheritance rights. Locals believe they have heard or sensed her within the castle, and she is also said to haunt other English castles she restored, such as Appleby and Brougham. One legend states that Lady Anne's spectral carriage is supposed to drive madly up the High Street, through the castle's closed gates, where it stops outside the door, where she collects the spirit of the castle's owner upon their death.
