Tutbury Castle

Tutbury's story begins in 1071, when William the Conqueror granted the lands to Henry de Ferrers, a Norman magnate who established his castle here around 1080 and governed the district from it. The Ferrers held Tutbury for generations, but by 1322 the castle lay derelict. It was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the richest man in England, who rebuilt it as his principal residence in the fourteenth century, adding new curtain walls, towers and residential ranges; work continued for a hundred years, and John of Gaunt's Gatehouse and the North and South Towers survive from this period. Through Gaunt the castle became, and remains, part of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Its most famous resident arrived in February 1569, when Mary, Queen of Scots was brought to Tutbury under the guardianship of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, on Elizabeth I's orders. She was held here intermittently until 1585 amid constant fears of Catholic plots, and she hated it: the castle was cold and damp, and she described it as her most hated prison. On Christmas Eve 1585 she was finally moved to Chartley.

In the Civil War Tutbury was held and refortified for the Crown. A Parliamentary siege in 1643 failed; another in 1646 succeeded, and the terms of surrender included the castle's destruction. Parliament ordered the demolition in 1647, leaving the shell that stands today. The site now belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster, currently held by King Charles III, and is curated by Lesley Smith and her family, who run events, weddings and ghost tours on the Duchy's behalf.

Tutbury's paranormal profile took off in 2003. In May that year more than 750 people, some travelling from as far as Glasgow, took part in the World's Biggest Ghost Hunt at the castle, which won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for attendance; the whole night was filmed and later broadcast on Living TV. The same year the Most Haunted team came to Tutbury for the show's second series, hoping to encounter the ghostly lady on the tower and meeting Lesley Smith, in costume, for the first time – the start of a long association between the castle and the programme. Smith was regularly hosting ghost-hunt evenings in character by the mid-2000s.

Reported phenomena since then follow a pattern. The Keeper has been sighted numerous times stepping from John of Gaunt's Gateway; the armoured figure and the White Lady are the two apparitions most often claimed. In 2004 a large group of visitors reportedly saw Mary, Queen of Scots herself looking down from the South Tower. Commercial ghost-hunt companies that use the castle – among them Haunted Evenings, Brookes Paranormal, Paranormal Eye UK and Lesley Smith Historians' own events – report the usual toolkit of cold spots, knocks in response to questions, shadow figures and voices on recordings. A 2003 photo gallery of the record-breaking night, published by the local newspaper, shows just how many people were there hoping for something.

The sceptical view deserves a hearing. Tutbury is a windswept ruin on a hill, full of draughts and odd acoustics, and most of its sightings happen after dark, to groups who have paid to find ghosts. Lesley Smith herself, a historian first, presents the hauntings with theatrical relish rather than as scientific fact, and the atmosphere does a good deal of the work. None of that has dented Tutbury's reputation, which it now wears as cheerfully as any castle in Britain.

Tutbury Castle is at the top of the village of Tutbury, a few miles from Burton upon Trent in East Staffordshire and a short drive from Derby. It is a seasonal attraction, open to the public on set days from spring to autumn, with a programme of re-enactments, medieval festivals, historical talks, Lesley Smith's costumed performances and ghost hunts through the year; the site has also had periods of closure for repairs and a curator's retirement, so always check the castle's website or social media for the current opening position before setting out. Popular ghost hunts sell out well ahead, so book early.

Expect a ruin, not a furnished castle: a motte to climb, the gatehouse, the towers and the walls, with wide views over the Dove valley and a village of pubs and old houses at the bottom of the hill. The ground is steep and uneven, which makes wheelchair access difficult beyond the lower courtyard. There is parking near the castle and in the village. Nobody can stay overnight in the castle except on a booked ghost-hunt vigil, which runs into the small hours; for beds, Tutbury's own inns, Burton upon Trent and Derby are the obvious choices, and the Peak District is under an hour away.