This ghost is known widely as the Grey lady, but there is little agreement who she is or where to lurk for the best chance of seeing her.

In Haunted Britain (1973), Anthony D. Hippisley Coxe says that the apparition is seen walking outside the chapel and by a yew tree that stands nearby.

Roger Long in Curious Oxfordshire (2008) says that the women can be seen drifting across the chapel before disappearing through the wall where a door to the old house once stood. Long also mentions that she is known as Arabella, though admits that nobody is quite sure why.

One of the most popular suggestions as to the identity of the Grey Lady is Cecily, daughter of Sir Thomas More, who lived at Rycote in the 16th century with her husband Giles Heron. Giles, along with his father Sir John Heron, held prominent roles in society but ultimately got on the wrong side of Henry VIII and were beheaded for treason, leaving Cecily bereft.

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, was a favourite of Elizabeth I, and the pair visited Rycote together, although the then-owner Lady Norreys is said to have disliked Dudley so much that she made him sleep in the stables!

I've written about the downfall of Robert Dudley in more detail elsewhere on this website, but in short, his period of popularity with the Queen ended abruptly when rumours emerged that Dudley had his wife Amy Robsart killed in order to clear a path to a marriage with Elizabeth. If this was Dudley's aim, it backfired. Elizabeth was disgusted by the swirling rumours and their relationship soured.

Dudley died at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire in 1588. It is said that the ghost of his wife appear to him while out hunting, and prophesied that they would soon be reunited. This proved the case, with Dudley dieing 10 days later.

Why should Dudley's ghost choose to haunt the chapel at Rycote? Perhaps in memory of the happy days he spent at Rycote with Elizabeth, back before he fell out of her favour?

There were few more influential figures during the Renaissance period in England than Sir Thomas More, the English statesman, writer, philosopher and theologian.

More was secretary and personal adviser to Henry VIII, and held great influence over the king for over a decade, but the pair fell out over the matter of Henry's love life. More's religious convictions did not allow him to accept the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon or his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn. More's fate was sealed when he refused to sign the 1534 Oath of Succession that affirmed Anne as Queen. Henry had More arrested, tried for treason and ultimately beheaded.

More visited his daughter Cecily and her husband Sir John Heron many times while they resided at Rycote, and would spend many hours in devout prayer in the chapel. This is perhaps why his ghost is said to still haunt the chapel.

The brown monk is perhaps the most enigmatic ghost of Rycote chapel as his identity is largely unknown, although some have speculated that the monk may have been killed during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.

Despite remaining somewhat anonymous, the brown monk seems to be the most regularly spotted of the chapels spectres. According to Roger Long, he has been spotted more than a dozen times, and seems to have been particularly active during the Second World War when Rycote House was used as a children's hospital.

If the above list of ghosts was not enough, the website Great British Ghost Tour gives a passing mention to an additional ghost, that of a woman in 17th-century milkmaids garb. No further information is provided, but I'm always impressed by the apparent ability of witnesses to pinpoint the precise century and profession of a ghost from a fleeting glimpse! Perhaps she was strolling out of the chapel carrying a yoke and buckets?