Margam Castle

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We visited Margam castle on the 9th  May 2015. This 19th Century Tudor Gothic Mansion was designed by the architect Thomas Hopper for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. The house was built in 1830 – 40 at a cost of £50,000 using sandstone from nearby Pyle quarry. Listed Grade I as a mansion of exceptional quality, the Castle has some spectacular features such as the vast stair hall and octagonal tower. One frequent visitor to Margam was Talbot’s cousin, Henry Fox Talbot of Lacock. A pioneer photographer, he succeeded in taking one of the earliest photographic views which clearly shows the corner of the south west façade. Until 1942, the Castle and estate remained in the ownership of the Talbot family when it was acquired by a local landowner, Sir David Evans Bevan, and in 1974 by the County Council, the present owners, when it was of ruinous state. A disastrous fire in 1977 gutted the interior. An ambitious restoration programme was embarked upon, much has been achieved and the programme continues.

Margam Castle’s Ghosts

It is believed that one frequently encountered spirit is thought to be Robert Scott a gamekeeper that worked at the Castle for many years. It is thought that Scott was murdered by a poacher and his spirit still rages around the grounds today. Robert Scott has often been seen purposefully ascending the Gothic staircase leading the Castle. His presence has come forward regularly with psychic investigators, all of whom have insisted his spirit is consumed with rage over his unjust killing. The sound of giggling children is heard frequently through the long corridors and dramatic rooms of the family areas. There have been reports of children in Victorian dress seen drifting in and out of doorways and mischievously moving objects. The large figure of the blacksmith is also a familiar vision to many of the gamekeepers and gardening staff today who maintain the vast castle grounds. At night the castle’s security guards have reported the noise of running footsteps and chattering voices with no sign of anyone else in the building.

Paranormal activity

In recent years the high reports of paranormal activity have brought psychic investigations to this wonderfully intriguing building. Reports of cold spots and orbs in the Castle are frighteningly abundant on paranormal activity nights. It seems the Castle is flushed with psychic energy. Rocks have been thrown at those who hold seances and endeavour to speak with the spirits. The most violent and angry spirit is certainly Robert Scott who is said to have slammed doors and hurled projectiles, and emit a foreboding presence. Margam Castle is an impressive and dramatic site with unique architectural features. The number of paranormal stories coming from the castle on a regular basis could make this property a contender for most haunted house in Britain.

Unfortunately we visited as part of a group share, and the whole place became contaminated with noise pollution. We did capture a strange anomaly on the thermal imaging camera.

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