Haunted Hosts

Littlecote House has over 800 years of documented history, beginning around 1290 when the de Calstone family established their medieval manor on this site. The current magnificent Elizabethan mansion was built by Sir John Popham between 1589-1592 after he acquired the estate following the mysterious death of William 'Wild' Darrell. The house is infamous for the dark legend involving Darrell's alleged infanticide in 1575, witnessed by Mother Barnes, a midwife from Great Shefford. This crime created the supernatural reputation that makes Littlecote England's third most haunted building. The house holds immense historical significance beyond its ghost stories: Henry VIII courted Jane Seymour here, and royal visitors included James I, Charles II, and William of Orange during the 1688 Glorious Revolution. During WWII, it served as the crucial headquarters for the US 101st Airborne Division, where D-Day operations were planned in the library. The Grade I listed building sits atop a Roman villa with the famous Orpheus mosaic, discovered in the 1720s, demonstrating nearly 2,000 years of continuous occupation. It contains one of the last surviving Cromwellian chapels in a private house.