Littledean Hall () is a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

in the village of

Littledean Littledean is a village in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire, England. The village has a long history and formerly had the status of a town. Littledean Hall was originally a Saxon hall, although it has been rebuilt and the current house da ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has been described as one of the most haunted houses in England and is thought to be the oldest house in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which is still occupied. Saxon and Celtic remains have been uncovered in the cellars. Part of the house is designated an

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

as it is a proven breeding roost for the

Greater Horseshoe Bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

''(Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)''.Natural England information on citation
/ref>

Architecture and History

Originally a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

hall, then a church, it was then converted to a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

hall, complete with a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

and

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

. Testing has shown that these remains date back to the 5th century. However, when records began of the house in 1080, it had evolved into a substantial

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

manor house which was eventually replaced with a Jacobean house in 1612. The hall has seven bedrooms, a coach house, a dining room, sitting and drawing rooms, a stable, living room and cellar. The sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa) which line the driveway are at least 500 years old and the remains of a Roman road have been found underneath the drive itself. In 2007 the building suffered damage after lightning struck nearby and in 2008 the owners of the hall were ordered to rebuild a section of wall they had knocked down. The wall was deemed to be a Grade II listed building alongside the main hall.

Reports of hauntings

There are at least three distinct tales which have been said to have led to hauntings at Littledean Hall. The first being the deaths of Colonel Congreve and Colonel Wigmore, who both died when the Kings garrison met with roundheads in the dining room. It is reported that visitors can still see the bloodstains where they fell. In 1741 Charles Pyrke, former occupant of the house, was accused of raping the sister of his servant. The servant promptly murdered Pyrke before being put to death himself. The servant's ghost is thought by some to haunt the hall to this day and it has been reported to be carrying a candle. Two other Pyrke brothers are said to wander the halls, having killed each other in a duel in 1740.

Dean Hall Coach House & Cellar SSSI

Dean Hall Coach House & Cellar () is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, notified in 1988. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS). The hall (coach house and cellar) is currently home to

Greater horseshoe bats The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

which makes it a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

which is closely monitored by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. It is a significant breeding roost and its use has been recorded since 1986. Local reports indicated that bats may have used the building for over 75 years.

Location and habitat

The site is one of a series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

and

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

(Gloucestershire and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

). These sites support (between them) breeding and hibernation roosts for

Lesser Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952), Bri ...

and

Greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

s. This is of European importance. Other sites in the group in Gloucestershire (all of which are SSSIs) include the breeding sites of

Blaisdon Hall Blaisdon Hall () is a Grade II* listed building at Blaisdon. It includes a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1995.

, Caerwood And Ashberry Goose House, and

Sylvan House Barn Sylvan House Barn () is a stone built barn near the village of St Briavels, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Because of its breeding bats, the site was notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1995. Sylvan House ...

. Hibernation sites include

Buckshraft Mine & Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel Buckshaft Mine & Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel ( and ) is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.Devil's Chapel Scowles Devil's Chapel Scowles () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified England, in 1998. The site lies in the Forest of Dean and has four units of assessment by Natural England. Scowles Scowle is the a ...

, Old Bow And Old Ham Mines and Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine. The deciduous woodlands and sheltered valleys of the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley provide a good feeding area, and the underground systems provide roosting and breeding sites. A ring of iron-ore bearing Carboniferous Limestone in the Forest of Dean has created a series of ancient and more recent mines which provide hibernation sites. The citations for the series of sites provide common information. Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat Sites/ Safleoedd Ystlumod Dyffryn Gwy a Fforest y Ddena are recognised as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.Joint Nature Conservation Committee Listing of Special Areas of Conservation
/ref>

References

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information) {{Authority control Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1988 Forest of Dean