The Cauld Lad Of Hylton Castle
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Description
Hylton Castle was built for William De Hylton around 1400 and is most famous for its ghost called the `Cauld Lad of Hylton' : who is said to haunt the castle. Some say that it is the spirit of a stable lad by the name of Roger Skelton who was murdered by one of the Lords of Hylton. Skelton was said to have been asleep when the Lord called into the stable to collect a horse. He was angry that the steed had not been prepared and in a fit of temper, drew his sword and decapitated the stable lad. The headless corpse was then thrown in a pond and shortly after, the ghostly cries were heard around the castle. The Lord was eventually tried for murder some years later when the skeletal remains were discovered, A coroner's report from the 3rd of July, 1609 mysteriously puts a different light on the situation (which led to many conspiracy theories of a cover up) As his defence Robert Hylton, described as a 'Gentleman of Hylton' by the court, was supported by a respected (?) witness that he accidentally struck Roger Skelton on the right thigh with a scythe during mowing. This caused a fatal wound which was "one inch long and two inches broad from which the youth died within the hour. Hylton was eventually given a 'free pardon' and acquitted by Bishop William Jameson, for the 'accidental' manslaughter of Skelton in the September of 1608. The staff of Hylton Castle would sometimes say they had seen or heard the ghost of the stable boy and he would shout out "I'm cauld, I'm cauld" which in the local mackem dialect means I'm cold...hence 'Cauld Lad', some even said he carried his head around under his arm. Being a young boy and a ghost he was mischievous and enjoyed throwing dishes around, but he would only do this if the servants had left the kitchen tidy If they had left it untidy the ghost would clean up for them, so naturally the servants would more often than not leave the kitchen untidy !! (an original excuse for untidiness methinks !!!!) It is also said that sometimes the Cauld Lad would get bored with the castle and go down to the River Wear and sail the Hylton ferry by impersonating the boatman. After taking the passengers fares he would leave them stranded in the middle of the river. There have been four organised International Reunion(s) of Hylton Families over the past few years; most notably on 4 July 2004, when around fifty American descendents of the Hylton family visited the castle to present a flag featuring featuring the Hylton blazon.The flag now flies from the recently installed flagpole, provided by English Heritage -
Owner
cauld lad -
Source
Flickr (Flickr) -
License
What does this mean? Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License
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Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53218307@N06/5746385402/
Resource type: Image
Added by: Simon Cotterill
Last modified: 7 years, 3 months ago
Viewed: 1896 times
Picture Taken: Unknown -
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