The Grey Lady Ghost
Do you believe in ghosts? If you don’t you won’t see one.
That is the standard Q&A for the existence of ethereal beings. This particular spectre reputed to haunt the Great Churchyard is of the nun, Maude Carew.
In 1447, Henry VI summoned Parliament to Bury St Edmunds; his uncle and former guardian, Duke Humphrey Plantagenet was to be charged with treason. Lodgings for him were at St Saviours (in Fornham Road). Whilst here he is found dead, reputably poisoned, others say by being smothered by a bolster, the official verdict is apoplexy, a stroke.
Rumours abounded that the good Duke was to defend himself by telling of Henry’s wife Margaret’s affair with another, Sir Roger Drury, a man well-versed in the dark arts. Margaret took Maude into her confidence explaining the situation, but Maude then tells the queen of her love for the same man! Unbeknown to them both, Roger had entered Bury Abbey to forget both affairs and had assumed the identity of Brother Bernard! Maude had entered the Babwell Friary to forget about him!
Poor Maude is persuaded to assassinate Humphrey by entering Humphrey’s bedchamber via a secret tunnel and poisoning him while he slept. Unfortunately for her, she spills some onto herself as she leaves Humphrey’s chamber. The dying Maude finds Brother Bernard aka Roger Drury and blurts out the whole story. Horrified, he curses Maud who is doomed to walk the precincts of the Abbey for evermore; the Grey Lady Ghost legend is born.
Well, the good Duke dying is factual, the rest pure fantasy, made up by Margeretta Greene who lived in a house built into the ruins of the Abbeys west front. In 1861 she wrote a story called “The Secret Disclosed” based on a document according to her she found in the West Front’s ancient walls. The names of Drury and Carew are based on actual people; monuments to them are in St Marys. Many people though still believe they have seen the spectral Maude!
Link for tours – https://visit-burystedmunds.co.uk/events/halloween-ghostly-and-macabre-walks-2025
Hazells Histories are kindly provided by renowned local historian, Martyn Taylor.
