Tutbury

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Tutbury
Tutbury shown within Staffordshire
OS grid reference	SK211285
District	East Staffordshire
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BURTON-ON-TRENT
Postcode district	DE13
Dialling code	01283
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
European Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Burton
List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire

Coordinates: 52°51′14″N 1°41′10″W / 52.854, -1.686

Tutbury is a large village and civil parish of about 3,000 residents in the English county of Staffordshire.

It is surrounded by the agricultural countryside of both Staffordshire and Derbyshire. The site has been inhabited for over 3000 years, with Iron Age defensive ditches encircling the main defensive hill, upon which now stands ruins of a Norman castle. These ditches can be seen most clearly at The Park pale and at the top of the steep hills behind Park Lane.

Tutbury Castle at dusk

Tutbury St Mary's church, 11th century

The name Tutbury probably derives from a Scandinavian settler and subsequent chief of the hill-fort, Totta, bury being a corruption of the anglo-saxon name for 'fortified place'. It is 5 miles north of Burton upon Trent and 20 miles south of the Peak District.

Quarries near Tutbury once produced alabaster which was used in the carving of Nottingham Alabaster.

Until 2006, Tutbury Crystal, a manufacturer of high-quality cut glass products, was based in the village - however production transferred to Stoke-on-Trent as the existing factory was very old and was thought to be too small for the modern company's requirements. The old factory was demolished and apartments are being built on the site. A factory shop still operates in the village however. Despite this, the tourism trade survives thanks to the long and distinguished history of the Norman Priory Church and Medieval Castle where Mary, Queen of Scots was once imprisoned.

Tutbury Castle became the headquarters of Henry de Ferrers and was the centre of the wapentake of Appletree, which included Duffield Frith. With his wife Bertha, he endowed Tutbury Priory with two manors in about 1080. It would seem that Tutbury at that time was a dependency of the Norman abbey of St Pierre‑sur‑Dives. ^[1]

The castle was destroyed by Prince Edward in 1264 after the rebellion of Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. In 1269, after a further rebellion the lands were given to Edmund Crouchback and heve remained part of the Duchy of Lancaster. ^[2]

There are some fine Georgian and Regency buildings and the half-timbered Dog and Partridge Hotel. There are antique and craft shops in the village which often have been run by the same families for many years.

Tutbury and Hatton railway station, was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 11 September 1848. It then closed during the 1960s to reopen in 1989. It is on the Crewe to Derby Line.

[edit] The Ghosts of Tutbury Castle

The Keeper

Wearing a full suit of armour, and behaving in a manner that might best be described as authoritative, this ghostly figure has been seen stepping out in John of Gaunt’s Gateway and bellowing “Get thee hence!”.

Although last sighted in daylight about four years ago, by a visitor who complained that an idiot of an enactor had told him to “get over the fence”, recent increases in paranormal activity might suggest that another visit could be imminent. When it was pointed out that no enactors were on site that day, and that similar ghostly apparitions had been reported by other unsuspecting visitors, the response was "I'm sorry but I don't believe in ghosts". What better evidence can you get?

The Monk

A monk have been seen around the area of the North Tower.

The French Man

In the dungeons of the North Tower, the sounds of a man speaking french has been experienced.

Mary Queen of Scots

Tutbury was Mary’s most hated prison. She suffered much at Tutbury and was at the Castle as a captive of Elizabeth 1st on four occasions.

She was seen all in white by some members of Her Majesty’s services. In 2004, at approximately midnight, she was seen standing at the top of the South Tower by over 40 men - in the form of a figure dressed in a pure white gown. When they saw her they all just laughed - believing the Curator was teasing them by putting on an Elizabethan gown as a joke.

When it was pointed out that curator Lesley Smith does not have a white gown, and neither do any other Elizabethan enactors who work at the Castle, the men were profoundly disturbed by this sighting - a particularly important sighting as there were so many who saw her. She was also seen rapidly crossing the grass, one hot afternoon in 1984, by a serving Marine.

Lately there have been a number of sightings of Mary - especially between 10.15 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. A figure, dressed in black, is seen standing at the window of the Great Hall as cars leave the Castle. In May and June this year she was not only seen by senior members of staff, who are usually quite dismissive of such reports, she was also seen by archaeologists participating in a seasonal dig at the castle - part of an intensive research programme being undertaken over a five year period.

The White Lady

Fewer sightings of her around the North Tower but a white column of mist is seen, of human height, on the grassy bank to the right of the tower. This shape is frequently photographed.

Ellie

Said to be a child of seven years of age, but looking more like a five year old, Ellie is the most widely felt and experienced ghost at the castle. White shift, pale hair and laughing. She holds hands, pulls fingers, removes rings and causes electric pulses in the arm. Thousands of people have felt Ellie’s presence in the King’s Bedroom - many of whom didn’t believe in ghosts before!

The Red Lady

A lady wearing a red dress is seen wandering the folly in the dead of night.

The Boy

A little boy, wearing a white shirt, is seen to sit on the stairs in the Great Hall. Visitors who see him, believe him to be a real little boy.

Power and Lights

Batteries frequently drain. Film and T.V. crews often experience this without logical explanation. Blue lights are seen sparking and moving around some of the rooms. Cameras often fail and…sometimes stop working completely. The Curator, is often seen with lights circling around her when she is playing Mary Queen of Scots in the Great Hall. Orbs are photographed. Noted by the thousand.