Vanishing candlesticks make a ‘spirited’ return to Ripley Castle
MOST STATELY homes have a ghost or two, but the owners of Ripley Castle have blamed a poltergeist for the strange case of disappearing and reappearing candlesticks.
Sir Thomas Ingilby recently had to return £8,500 to specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, after two pairs of Georgian candlesticks thought to have been stolen on Christmas Eve three years ago turned up unexpectedly.
He said: “I remember saying several times that I thought the candlesticks would reappear eventually and even held off on reporting the theft. But we searched the castle thoroughly and, with no sign of them, we had to make the claim.”
Sir Thomas’ initial inkling, however, proved correct and the missing candlesticks have since reappeared in the castle’s strong room, sitting on a shelf in a bright red Christmas carrier bag.
Explaining the discovery, Sir Thomas said: “They were impossible to miss. In fact, to add insult to injury, they were sitting right next to the bag containing the replacements that we had purchased with the money from Ecclesiastical.
“Three of us had searched the strong room from top to bottom and I had searched it on three separate occasions myself before making the claim, so to find them sitting there in such plain view was quite astounding.”
The castle has a history of poltergeist activity and Sir Thomas suspects that the candlesticks’ ‘movements’ are down to Henry and Mary Ingilby, who died of leukaemia in the castle in the late 19th century. On a previous occasion, a dessert spoon from a set of cutlery disappeared for 18 months before reappearing in the locked wooden canteen.
David Bonehill, claims director for Ecclesiastical, said: “We often have customers contact us when items that were feared lost turn up unexpectedly, but these tend to be smaller items like jewellery, which are easy to mislay. This is certainly the first time a customer has reimbursed us for items they suspect was returned by a ghost.”