CHASED TO THE PUB BY THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN - Thornhill Hall, West Yorkshire

THORNHILL HALL, RECTORY PARK, DEWSBURY, WEST YORKSHIRE

Remains of Thornhill Hall

This is local legend, I'm not sure how accurate this story is as it was passed down to me personally by someone who was in the pub at the time when this happened. One night back in the mid 1980's a local man was walking through the Rectory Park and ruined Thornhill Hall near Dewsbury, when he was set upon by a man on a black horse, the rider had no head! He ran like hell and the headless horseman galloped after him and then it just disappeared. The man ran to the nearest public house for safety, still hysterical with fear and fright, babbling uncontrollably, crying in-front of a pub full of people he recounted what he had just seen. That's as much of the story I know, but it is a very well known account of an alleged haunting manifestation in the area.

History
The former hall is a moated medieval manor house of archaeological importance.

Thornhill was the seat of the Savile family in the 14th - 17th century. The hall was built around 1450 and comprised a stone built manor with moat and gatehouse in its own park, which was redeveloped around 1600. Immediately to the north of the island is the site of a 17th century bowling green while to the west lie three earthwork terraces which are probably the remains of a formal garden of the later hall.

During the Civil War, in August 1648, troops of Lady Anne Savile defended the hall against the Parliamentarians, but were forced to surrender and the hall was accidentally blown up and destroyed.

Today, the site is largely overgrown and the only visible remains are the moat, part of the fireplace and front wall, two damaged statues which may have been on a gatehouse plus loose stones from the former buildings. The remains are grade 2 listed and currently classed as 'at risk' by English Heritage and the site, moat, former bowling green and site of the formal gardens are a scheduled ancient monument.

Eyewitness account
Another local resident who I have met personally, recounted the story of when he allegedly saw Richard Beaumont with his own eyes, sat on a horse, down by Black Dicks temple, he is adamant that what he saw was black dick himself. Now, human memory is totally unreliable, I am not saying he didn't see it or has embellished this story over the years, as it happened a long time ago, but what he said was very convincing. But, the brain has a good ability to fill in the gaps. What he could have seen is just a man on a black horse nothing more nothing less (Occam's razor). He is now researching about him and has now become an investigator of the paranormal because of his experience.

Footnote: Witness testimony Retelling old experiences can lead to confabulation, the experiencer should immediately record or write down exactly what they saw. Getting a witness soon after their experience is important (paranormal investigators) 

Gargoyles - Gog and Magog

RECTORY PARK ARCHAEOLOGICAL GROUP 

WILD YORKSHIRE (LINK)

THORNHILL HALL'S 'FASINATING HISTORY' TO BE STUDIED - BBC NEWS

Black Dicks Temple, Near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire - monument ruin

Beaumonts Bolt

http://www.kirkburtonparishwalks.co.uk/Grange%20Mo...pdf

Update: 13 January 2013. 
I was invited by PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS (founder Agent Rob) a newly set up paranormal team in West Yorkshire to join them at Black Dick's Temple, earlier I said I couldn't make it, but later managed to get up there, apparently scaring the crap out of them as I turned up by surprise, they wondered who I was. 

You could see the temple all lit up from over a mile away, I was very impressed, all very professional, they had a generator running a laptop in a tent, with remote cameras and various other gadgets in abundance. The area they were investigating was locked off and they were viewing (recording) it remotely. 

Paranormal Encounters investigation - Black Dick's Tower

Many many years ago one of the team had seen a what they recalled was a full apparition, a man wearing tutor style clothes sat on a black horse, just looking at them, but later found no hoof marks. This prompted interest in the history of Whitley/Beaumont and the history of  Whitley Hall which was apparently near the site.  They are still reviewing the footage, although they admitted it was a little flat, other than the spikes they were getting from the electricity pylons nearby. But, earlier this week, a team member was up there alone and heard a very distinct growl in his ear.

On a freezing cold but sunny Sunday morning we decided to pay Black Dick’s Temple a visit which is situated in Hopton near Mirfield. The stone folly overlooks Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. You can see for miles in a 180 degree direction. As we walked up to the building. My husband told me that his grandfather used to be a look-out here in the Second World War; he was an enemy plane spotter at the temple, he and his family used to live in the area, but he said that he had never actually seen the building up close. As we looked around we were quite taken a back by the big hole in the centre of the temple where a floor used to be.  I precariously perched on the edge and sat taking EVP’s. The recordings didn’t come out very well for some reason so I couldn’t tell if I had caught any EVP’s or not. I waved my EMF meter about and I was about to get excited as I was getting some very high readings, but then I spotted the over head pylons.

Black Dick was born in 1574 ('Black Dick of the North' was a nickname given to him by King James I) or Sir Richard Beaumont is known to haunt the temple, he was the first cousin of Elizabeth I.  He was well known for his criminal activities, he was a gambler, a bad debtor and a highwayman who was involved in piracy to pay off his depts.
When Richard Beaumont found out one of his young servant girl  employees had got pregnant he murdered her, he was the one who got her pregnant! He was thought to have been killed in a tunnel near Huddersfield whilst in a duel in 1631.

To this day people report seeing the spectre of Black Dick most commonly on July 5th, on the day in which he died.