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Lady Mary Crawford

In spite of the ecclesiastical sound of the name of the place, Crawford Priory has no connections with the church whatsoever. It was built as a private home in 1813 by Lady Mary Crawford. Its architecture harks back to much earlier times, inspired as it is by the Gothic religious style. On a gloomy day its impressive facade look* undeniably grim; in fact, it looks as if it ought to be haunted.

The imaginative visitor could quite easily conjure up a picture of sinister cowled figures moving around the grounds or the headless spectre of some unfortunate figure from the past. Such a vision would certainly fit the appearance of the building but is far removed from the truth. Crawford Priory is haunted, but the ghost is free of any malevolence or unhappy history. Lady Mary was an eccentric figure by all accounts, a determined and sometimes fierce spinster who, having indulged her fantasy in the building of Crawford Priory, chose to share her life with a menagerie of animals upon whom she doted. She kept many animals and birds, both wild and domestic, at the priory and seemed to prefer their company to that of human beings.

Lady Mary demonstrated her great concern for their welfare even after her death. In her will, she left instructions regarding the euthanasia of her brother's horse, which she had been looking after. She wanted the beast to suffer as little pain and distress as possible.

Lady Mary Crawford died in 1833, and her funeral was quite an impressive affair. She is buried in the family mausoleum nearby, but her ghost remains at the priory, wandering around the grounds, beckoning her beloved creatures to come to her. Driffield, Yorkshire | Aberdeen, Scotland | Arbroath, Scotland | Basildon, Essex | Blairgowrie | Cerro del vale | Edinburgh | Ghost in Dumfries | Ghost in Perhshire | Harrises | Hereford, England | Hertfordshire, England | Killiecrankie, Scotland | Littlecote, Wiltshire | London, England | South Lanarkshire | York |