At Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, home to creaking ships such as Henry VII’s Mary Rose and Admiral Nelson’s HMS Victory, some of British maritime history’s most grisly artefacts are on display.
With less than two hours travel time from London, many Brits will have visited to explore the Dockyard’s nine iconic attractions. But did you know that this Portsmouth destination has seen historic events that would curl the toes of many a ghost hunter?
The expert curators at the Dockyard have pulled together a list of some of the spookiest stories and artefacts that you might never have heard of, to look out for on your next visit - if you dare.
The Figurehead of HMS Eurydice
HMS Eurydice, a ship named after a tragic love story from Greek mythology, sank due to quickly shifting weather in 1878 off the Isle of Wight, and with 300 onboard, only two survived. However, there have since been various stories of HMS Eurydice being spotted, including in 1998, when Prince Edward spotted a mysterious three-masted ship, which many believe could have been Eurydice. Today, the ship’s figurehead is on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
The ghost of John the Painter
John the Painter, AKA John Aitken, was an 18th century radical aiming to aid the American revolutionaries. He started a fire in the rope house at Portsmouth Dockyard and burned it to the ground, and planned to target several other dockyards, burning a ship in Bristol before being betrayed and charged by authorities.
He was hanged from the mizzenmast of HMS Arethusa which had been removed and set up outside the dockyard gates so as many people as possible could witness his end. This was the first public execution to take place on-site, and was meant as a very public act to deter others. Little do visitors today realise that as they enter, they walk right past, with no idea of what took place here nearly 250 years ago.
Most haunted ship: HMS Warrior
Once the pride of the Victorian navy, HMS Warrior is a 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate and iconic Portsmouth landmark. What many don’t realise, is that the ship is also popular amongst ghost-hunters and that many believe the ship to be haunted.
An employee working on the ship, claims to have been on board during the night and met the entire crew as they walked from one end of the ship to the other.
Nelson’s end: a new meaning to the word ‘pickled’
Visitors to the dockyard can explore HMS Victory, where Admiral Lord Nelson was killed by a fatal gunshot wound at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Tradition usually dictates the Navy to commit the dead to the deep after battle, but Nelson had made it clear that his body should be returned to England. The journey took 44 days, and so it was decided to place his remains in a large barrel filled with brandy to preserve them on the return journey.
Signs of the Victorian Macabre
In Victorian times, when seances were popular and Jack the Ripper roamed, interest in the supernatural peaked. At Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s Boathouse 7, there are a range of Victorian slot machines with macabre themes, showcasing this era’s deep preoccupation with mortality, spiritualism, and the afterlife. Many feature skulls, depictions of death, or grim fortune-telling, and even the execution of John the Painter.
Tudor Beasts from Beneath the Deep
The wreck of the Mary Rose, Henry VII’s beloved warship which sank in 1545, with up to 600 souls on board, offers visitors to the museum a glimpse of life in Tudor times in staggering detail. This includes examples of Mary Rose’s fantastic beasts, terrifying mythical creatures decorating weapons of war and defence, on many artefacts in the Mary Rose, from wyverns and a merman on the cannons, to a gryphon on a wrist guard worn by one of the bowmen onboard.
Witchcraft and Superstition in Tudor Times
Visitors to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard can find a range of spooky goings-on through October and November, including a journey through the shadowy and dark history of witches and wise women, healing and superstition in the 16th century. Curator and historian Hannah Matthews will uncover the fine line between medicine and witchcraft and explore what life would have been like for Tudor healers, apothecaries and wise women who were often a step away from deadly accusations of witchcraft here.