I had a great day out yesterday with volunteers and staff from Penrhyn Castle. We visited Powis Castle. I was chatting with one of the other volunteers about a ghost story on an interpretation board at Powis when she told me that something strange had happened to her at Penrhyn a couple of days previously. I had been there on the same day but she had not told me about it. I asked her to explain what had happened to her and she told me the most extraordinary story. She was hurrying to get to the Keep Bedrooms because she had been delayed by an accident on the road on her way to the castle. She decided to go up the spiral stairs from outside Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room up to the Keep bedrooms to save time. She went up the stairs towards the Sitting Room, which is not normally open to the public, then turned left along the passageway to go towards the door to the spiral stairs.
As she reached Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room she suddenly noticed a man standing in the doorway. She described him as tall and slim with high cheekbones. He had a beard and was wearing a long, dark jacket and striped grey trousers. He had a high collared shirt with a type of ruffled cravat at the neck. He seemed to be holding a book or some papers in his hands, which were very pale. She was surprised to see someone there and asked if he was lost. He asked her, "Where are you going?" in a voice which she described as an "Oxford English" accent. She explained that she was in a hurry to get to the Keep bedrooms as as she was running late and asked him if he would be going to a meeting on Friday morning. He answered, "No!" very firmly. She said that his voice went up at the end of the word.
She hurried up the spiral staircase and did not think too much about the man. Unfortunately she tripped near the top of the stairs and cut her leg open, injured her knees and elbow. She was going to go back down the spiral stairs but thought it would be better to go the usual way down the Grand Staircase because she needed first aid. I saw her just as she got back to the Stewards room and found the duty first aider to help her. I went up to the Keep bedrooms to cover her place while she was being treated for her injuries. She said that she asked the people in the Stewards Room if anyone knew who the man could be? There was nobody in the castle of that description. The castle had not been opened for visitors and there were definitely no staff wearing a morning suit!
I had not heard anything about the incident until yesterday. I was fascinated to think that it could have been one of the Lord Penrhyns and that she was able to have a conversation with him! I have asked her to look up photos and portraits of the Lord Penrhyns in the castle guide book to see if she can recognise the man she saw. Could it have been the 2nd Lord Penrhyn George Sholto?
As she reached Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room she suddenly noticed a man standing in the doorway. She described him as tall and slim with high cheekbones. He had a beard and was wearing a long, dark jacket and striped grey trousers. He had a high collared shirt with a type of ruffled cravat at the neck. He seemed to be holding a book or some papers in his hands, which were very pale. She was surprised to see someone there and asked if he was lost. He asked her, "Where are you going?" in a voice which she described as an "Oxford English" accent. She explained that she was in a hurry to get to the Keep bedrooms as as she was running late and asked him if he would be going to a meeting on Friday morning. He answered, "No!" very firmly. She said that his voice went up at the end of the word.
She hurried up the spiral staircase and did not think too much about the man. Unfortunately she tripped near the top of the stairs and cut her leg open, injured her knees and elbow. She was going to go back down the spiral stairs but thought it would be better to go the usual way down the Grand Staircase because she needed first aid. I saw her just as she got back to the Stewards room and found the duty first aider to help her. I went up to the Keep bedrooms to cover her place while she was being treated for her injuries. She said that she asked the people in the Stewards Room if anyone knew who the man could be? There was nobody in the castle of that description. The castle had not been opened for visitors and there were definitely no staff wearing a morning suit!
I had not heard anything about the incident until yesterday. I was fascinated to think that it could have been one of the Lord Penrhyns and that she was able to have a conversation with him! I have asked her to look up photos and portraits of the Lord Penrhyns in the castle guide book to see if she can recognise the man she saw. Could it have been the 2nd Lord Penrhyn George Sholto?
George Sholto Douglas-Pennant. Second Baron Penrhyn (1836-1907)
Update!! I saw the Room Guide who told me the story today and showed her a photo of George Sholto Douglas-Pennant. She confirmed that he was the man she had seen in the doorway of Lord Penrhyn's study.
