The echoes of
Woodford's past
In a small corner of East Northamptonshire sits Woodford Village. With fewer than 2,000 residents today, it has a long and fascinating history. Archaeological digs have uncovered remains dating back to around 3,000 BC, while Roman artefacts have been found around what is now Church Street. Early settlements were farming communities, with medieval ruins dating from Saxon and Norman times.
During the 1800s, Woodford Mine was founded as Northamptonshire’s first ironstone mine, helping spark a boom in mining and new industries across the county. Samples of its ore were supplied by Charles Arbuthnot, a former owner of Woodford Manor, and displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The parish church, St Mary the Virgin, is a Grade I listed medieval building dating to the 12th century. Still in use today, it is nicknamed “the Cathedral of the Nene” because of its appearance from the river. Its original doorway retains 12th-century features, with later additions from the 13th and 14th centuries and a Victorian restoration.
The church also contains some unusual features, including a carving of a Green Man at the top of a pillar towards the rear of the nave, depicted with vines growing from his mouth. Although pagan in origin, its presence within a Christian place of worship is particularly intriguing.
Perhaps the church’s most remarkable feature is its pair of life-sized medieval effigies of Sir Walter de Trailly (d.1290) and his wife, Dame Alianora (d.1316). Resting on their chest tomb near the chancel, the Trailly family were prominent medieval landowners in the area. Originally from Normandy, they came to England following the Norman Conquest and, as followers of William the Conqueror, were granted extensive estates and manors across the region and into Bedfordshire.
The Mummified Heart
In 1867 during the restoration of the church, builders discovered an ornate box. In it, lay a human heart, wrapped in coarse cloth. Despite the age, the heart was in near perfect condition, slightly blackened from either embalming or age. Reverend Christopher Smyth, the rector at the time, placed the heart high up in a church pillar, behind a sealed piece of glass.
Who did it belong to, and why was it hidden away? There has been much debate about whose heart it could be. Some believed it belonged to Sir Walter Traillys, the head of the manor at Woodford House, whose wooden effigy remains inside the church. Others believe the heart belonged to Roger de Kirketon, a King's sergeant who died in 1280.
A more interesting theory is that the heart belongs to that of John Styes; A vicar of St Mary’s who lost his parish due to his Catholic belief in 1550. He fled to a Belgium monastery, taking a chalice from the church. When her later died, a new vicar, Andrew Powlet, is said to have brought the chalice and John’s heart back to Woodford several years later. Over time, both of these relics were mislaid and forgotten. In 1862, Powlets ghost was seen in the Church; It appeared twice, each time hovering near a certain panel in the wall. Look further, there was a hidden cavity which contained the missing chalice and letter. Some say, this then led to the discovery of the heart.
The cloaked road ghost
On a lane just outside the village, stood a grand manor called Woodford House. It was built in the 18th century and was home to the Arbuthnot’s, notably the Right Honourable Charles Arbuthnot, a highly influential politician.
As the legend goes, a cloaked ghost is seen haunting the road, crying and flailing her hands in despair. But the crucial detail is, her legs are never to be seen. Back in the 19th century, this figure was the wife of one of the occupants of the manor house. She supposedly took a lover, a coachman, who she would see when her husband was away, leaving their children with nanny.
On her way home after meeting her lover, the house was in flames. She ran into the burning building to rescue her children, who she thought were still sleeping. She was, however, unaware that the nanny had already taken the child out the building.
Her brave coachman saw the blaze and fought his way through the flames, to find her with her skirt alight and burns to her legs. She died shortly after, still unaware that her children were safe.
The church has also played host to a ghost caught on camera. In 1964, a 16-year-old boy Gordon Carroll and his friend David Hasdell visited the church. As a budding amateur photographer, he took some photos of the church, admiring it’s architecture. When he later had them developed, he was shocked to see a ghostly figure kneeling before the altar. The figure itself is blurred, and it appears to be dressed in a long, heavy coat, or in the smock of a priest, perhaps a tunic of a crusader knight.
At the time, many claimed this was trickery on the behalf of the boys and suggested it may be a cleaning lady who walked into shot. Others felt it was too difficult for children to fake, as it would have been impossible for the boys to achieve such detail. Some proposed it could be the ghost of Sir Walter Trailley, whose body lay in the church. Perhaps it’s the owner of the mummified heart, searching for it’s final piece.
Ghostly Monk
