Cork

The British built Charles Fort on the east side of the Bandon River estuary in Kinsale,COrk, in the late seventeenth cen tury,after their defeat of the Spanish and Irish forces.One of Europe’s best-preserved forts, it encloses some 12 cliff- top acres and hasfive bastions and two surviving bricksen try boxes.Charles Fort remained garrisoned by the British until 1922. A terrible family tragedy lies behind the ghost stories asso ciated with this star-shaped fort. Soon after the fort was completed, Colonel Warrender, who was a strict discipli narian, became its commanding officer. His beautiful daughter Wilful fell in love with and married Sir Trevor Ashurst, an officer at the fort. At sunset on their wedding day the married couple went for a walk along the battle ments and Wilful noticed some beautiful flowers growing on the rocks beneath. A sentry agreed to climb down and get the flowers on the condition that her husband took his 1.. nt coat, place on duty. Sir Trevor agreed donneu t SC - took his pistol and entered the sent box while the sen try climbed down to collect the flowers. Unfortunately, after an exhausting day Sir Trevor fell asleep just as Colonel Warrender began his routine inspec tion of the fort’s sentry boxes. Furious to find a sentry sleep ing on duty, the Colonel grabbed his pistol and shot the man through the heart. As Sir Trevor fell to the ground his coat fell open and the Colonel discovered his terrible mis take. When Wilful learned about the tragedy she let out a scream of anguish and threw herself from the battlements to her death. Consumed with grief, the Colonel placed a pistol against his own head and shot his brains out.

It is thought that three tragic deaths on a day marked out for happiness have left their timeless mark on this fas cinating coastal fort. The ghost of Wilful in her wedding dress, known as the ‘White Lady of Kinsale’ to locals, is said to drift around the battlements and stairs in eternal anguish. She is described as beautiful but pale and her eyes are always fixed helplessly on some object in the distance. Soldiers used to talk with fear about her passing right through locked doors.

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