Today we’re talking about Brede Place which is near Rye in East Sussex, a place said to have significant haunting problems. In any case, even if you don’t believe in these things, it is an interesting building from a historical point of view. But over the centuries, many have been afraid of this place.
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The building was initially built by King Edward III’s knights in 1350, later the Oxenbridge family bought the house and had it enlarged. The house passed to the Frewen family in 1800 (relatives of Winston Churchill) who put the garden in order and are still the owners of the property today.
In the 1700s the house was a haunt of smugglers and other criminals and they seem to have started spinning a story of a giant who was cut in two by the Oxenbridge family but kept appearing in the house after death.
It’s obvious that the story was made up to keep people from entering the property to snoop around. In those days people were very superstitious and the idea of a ghost of a giant worked better than any other method to keep the crowds away.
In any case, the chapel has seen several other ghosts pass by it seems. It seems that the bones of a young priest were found under the chapel and that this was a reason for these visits. Mr Frewen’s daughter was a sculptor who says the house was haunted by the ghost of a Tudor servant called Marthe.
During the Second World War the house was occupied by soldiers who said they saw numerous ghosts of medieval monks. Since then the house has always belonged to the Frewen family who assure us that ghosts continue to visit it.
