Llancaiach Fawr Manor

The manor house is thought to have been built in about 1530 for Dafydd ap Richard, whose descendants took the surname Prichard, a modernised form of the Welsh patronymic "ap Richard". It was built to be defended as well as lived in: a semi-fortified gentry house of thick walls, with the family able to retreat to secure upper rooms if trouble came. For a century the Prichards prospered here as members of the Glamorgan gentry.

The house's defining moment came in the Civil War. By 1645 the King's cause was faltering, and Charles I made a rallying tour through South Wales to shore up support. On 5 August 1645 he visited Llancaiach Fawr for lunch, with the specific aim of persuading its owner, Colonel Edward Prichard (c.1610-1655), not to change his allegiance. It did not work. Shortly afterwards Prichard, like many other members of the Welsh gentry, declared for Parliament. Later that year he was appointed Governor of Cardiff Castle, and in February 1646 he held the castle for Parliament against a siege led by Edward Carne.

That change of sides is the hinge on which the manor's ghost stories turn: the Colonel's spirit is said to be seen deep in thought, as if still struggling with the decision. Today the house is restored and furnished to how it looked in 1645, with costumed interpreters playing the household servants, so that visitors step into the very year of the King's visit.

Llancaiach Fawr's reputation reached a national audience when Most Haunted investigated the manor in an episode first broadcast on 20 May 2003, presenting it as a 17th-century house haunted by soldiers, children and a maid. Since then it has become a regular venue for public ghost hunts run by companies such as Haunted Rooms and Haunted Houses, and bloggers who have joined overnight vigils there describe it as one of the most active locations in South Wales.

The reports that recur most often involve the children: giggling in empty rooms, tugging at costumes, the cold small hand on the bannister, and the cot that rocks by itself. Mattie's rustling petticoats are reported in the bedchamber associated with her death, and her figure is claimed to have been seen during candlelit tours. Visitors and staff also describe footsteps, cold spots and the feeling of being watched, which are said to occur in almost every part of the house.

The manor's living-history approach makes it unusual among haunted houses. Because the servants are in character all day, the line between performance and the reported paranormal can feel deliberately blurred, and a sceptic would point out that a house lit by candles and populated by 17th-century staff is primed to produce goosebumps. The 1906 death of the boy who fell from a window is documented; the ghosts, as ever, are a matter of report and belief.

Llancaiach Fawr Manor is a visitor attraction near Nelson in the Caerphilly county borough, north of Cardiff. By day you are shown round by costumed servants who remain in 1645 throughout, which children in particular tend to love. Check the manor's website for current opening days and times, as these have changed in recent years and can vary seasonally.

The ghost side of the house comes alive after dark. Candlelit ghost tours run in the winter months, led by the interpreters, and overnight ghost hunts are organised by outside events companies at intervals through the year, with Halloween the busiest period. The manor is a tall house with steep stairs and uneven floors, so the upper rooms are not accessible to everyone; ask the manor about access and facilities before you go.

There is no accommodation at the manor itself, but Caerphilly, with its great castle, and Cardiff are close enough that either makes a comfortable base for a haunted weekend in the Valleys.