Sir Berney Brograve: Ghost of Waxham

By Cheryl Nicol
$5.99 Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: Dec. 04, 2012
Words: 36,023 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781301424993

Short description

More than two centuries have passed since the death of Norfolk's most notorious ghost, Sir Berney Brograve. The real Sir Berney has been all but obliterated by folklore, but now, for the first time, the true story behind the legend is revealed. This book uncovers the events that decimated his family, the obsessions that ruled his life, and the ultimate demise of an ancient dynasty.

Extended description

Entrenched in the folklore of East Anglia is the legend of Sir Berney Brograve of Waxham, a notorious larger-than-life character whose exaggerated reputation for audacity and cunning inspired many a tall tale.

Despised in life and even more feared in death, Sir Berney so terrorised the locals they dared not venture out at night alone. Strong men were said to have half died of fright after encountering his ghost as it rode across Brograve Level, his horse snorting flame from its nostrils, the devil by his side.

Such was his notoriety that even the devil wanted a refund on the bargain he’d made with the irascible and eccentric baronet, and to this day, more than two centuries after his death, the name of Brograve continues to echo across the picturesque Norfolk Broads. (Read more) Entrenched in the folklore of East Anglia is the legend of Sir Berney Brograve of Waxham, a notorious larger-than-life character whose exaggerated reputation for audacity and cunning inspired many a tall tale.

Despised in life and even more feared in death, Sir Berney so terrorised the locals they dared not venture out at night alone. Strong men were said to have half died of fright after encountering his ghost as it rode across Brograve Level, his horse snorting flame from its nostrils, the devil by his side.

Such was his notoriety that even the devil wanted a refund on the bargain he’d made with the irascible and eccentric baronet, and to this day, more than two centuries after his death, the name of Brograve continues to echo across the picturesque Norfolk Broads.

But the popular legend tells only a small part of the story. Exactly who was this gentrified madman of the marshes? What was it that made him so mad? Several years of painstaking research has revealed a surprising picture of the real Sir Berney Brograve and the numerous challenges he faced.

The separation of fact from fiction confirms his well-deserved reputation, but it also becomes apparent that there was another little-known side to Sir Berney, and the many adverse events throughout his life had profound and devastating effects.

Today, the legends that surround Waxham are a drawcard for visitors, their curiosity aroused by tales of smugglers, lost villages, and the infamous exploits of its resident angry ghost.

Reminiscent of a character from a Thackeray novel, contemporary accounts present an indelible image of Sir Berney Brograve as a well-connected but disheveled, mean-spirited and hard-drinking 18th century Gentleman. The antithesis of his mild-mannered father, Sir Berney was Cambridge educated, but his volatile temperament alienated almost all his friends and neighbours.

Unbeknown to story-tellers past and present, beneath Sir Berney’s gruff and unkempt exterior there lurked an anxious man. His personal correspondence reveals his constant fear of unseen enemies, and he felt particularly vulnerable in his 16th century manor house (Waxham Hall), perched precariously close to the dangerous and constantly crumbling edge of the East Anglian coast.

As England prepared for war with France, Napoleon’s armies jockeyed for position. The illegal activities of smugglers kept Sir Berney awake at night, and the ingredient common to both these menaces, the sea - insidiously undermined his sanity with each destructive inundation of his land.

The result of repeated flooding was a stagnating disease-laden environment, and the consequences for the Brograve family were dire. His single-minded determination not to surrender Waxham to the ever-encroaching North Sea became a battle of wits which ultimately had no winner.

When Sir Berney made his final exit from the world in 1797, he had somehow outlived both his wives and thirteen of his children, but fortunately for him he did not live to witness the fate that befell his three remaining sons.

There is a legend that the blood of a Brograve can still be seen on certain nights of the year in the attic of Waxham Hall. Was this just a tale from the fertile imaginations of local storytellers? The death of his last son and heir - divorced, childless and intestate - eventually reduced the centuries-old Brograve dynasty almost to dust.

Could anything be done to save the baronetcy and family? Or was the last twig on the tree destined to wither and die. Here, for the first time, is the true story of the notorious Brograve family of Waxham.
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Tags

18th century, dynasty, english history, english legend, norfolk broads, manor house, norfolk uk, ancient family, baronet, english ghost, lord of the manor

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