Borley Rectory: The Most Haunted House in England

Borley Rectory, a Victorian Gothic house in Essex, was dubbed “the most haunted house in England” after extensive investigation in the 1930s. The rectory was the site of numerous reported phenomena including phantom footsteps, a spectral nun, poltergeist activity, and cryptic wall writings. Though the house burned down in 1939 and skeptics have challenged the evidence, the Borley case remains one of the most famous hauntings in British history.

The Building

Borley Rectory was built in 1862 by Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bull as the residence for the rector of Borley parish. The house was large and rambling, an example of Victorian Gothic architecture that seemed designed to be haunted even before any phenomena were reported.

The rectory stood near the medieval Church of St. Mary and an alleged site of a Benedictine monastery. Local legend held that a monk had been executed and a nun bricked up alive after their forbidden romance was discovered. This legend would become central to the rectory’s haunted reputation.

The Bull Family

The Bull family occupied the rectory from its construction until 1927. During their tenure, strange phenomena were reported. Family members and servants heard footsteps on stairs and in empty rooms. Bells rang without being pulled. A phantom nun was seen walking in the garden.

Henry Bull’s son Harry, who succeeded him as rector, took the hauntings in stride. He reportedly converted a summer house into a viewing shelter from which to watch the phantom nun on her regular walks. The family accepted the ghosts as part of life at Borley.

The Foyster Era

In 1930, Reverend Lionel Foyster moved into the rectory with his wife Marianne and adopted daughter Adelaide. During their residency, the phenomena intensified dramatically.

Objects flew through the air. Bells rang constantly. Marianne was thrown from her bed. Most remarkably, cryptic messages appeared on walls and scraps of paper, seemingly addressed to Marianne and pleading for “light” and “mass.”

The Foysters kept a detailed diary of phenomena. Over their five-year residency, they recorded hundreds of incidents. The intensity of the activity eventually drove them from the house.

Harry Price

Harry Price, a famous ghost hunter, had investigated Borley briefly in 1929. In 1937, after the rectory was vacated, he leased it for a year-long investigation. He recruited a team of forty-eight observers who took shifts monitoring the house.

Price documented phenomena and conducted séances. Through a planchette, an entity claiming to be a murdered nun named Marie Lairre communicated that she had been killed and buried on the property. She predicted the rectory would burn and her bones would be found.

In 1939, after Price’s lease ended, the rectory did indeed burn to the ground. The fire was attributed to an overturned lamp, though some wondered if the prediction had somehow been fulfilled.

Excavation

After the fire, Price excavated the cellar and claimed to find human bones, including a jawbone with teeth. He suggested these were the remains of Marie Lairre. The bones were eventually buried in Liston churchyard with a Catholic ceremony.

Whether the bones were those of a murdered nun, from a cemetery disturbed during construction, or even genuine at all has been disputed. Critics have questioned Price’s excavation methods and documentation.

Skeptical Challenges

After Price’s death in 1948, investigators challenged his findings. The Society for Psychical Research published a critical report in 1956 suggesting that many phenomena could be explained by natural causes, fraud by residents, or embellishment by Price.

Marianne Foyster’s role has been particularly scrutinized. Some investigators believe she may have produced the phenomena herself, possibly to escape a difficult marriage. She later admitted to some mischief, though not to faking the most dramatic events.

Price’s own credibility has been questioned. He was a showman who promoted his investigations aggressively. Some of his claims were later shown to be exaggerated or fabricated.

The Site Today

Nothing remains of Borley Rectory. The ruins were demolished in 1944, and the land returned to a quiet rural state. Borley Church still stands and is occasionally visited by those interested in the case.

Visitors to the area sometimes report strange experiences, though nothing approaching the phenomena of the rectory’s heyday. The ghosts, if they existed, seem to have departed with the house.

Legacy

Borley Rectory remains one of the most famous haunted houses in history, despite the controversies surrounding the investigation. The case established templates for paranormal investigation that influenced generations of ghost hunters.

Whether Borley was genuinely haunted, a product of fraud and suggestion, or some combination remains debated. The truth may never be known. What is certain is that the legend of the most haunted house in England endures long after the house itself has disappeared.