Nettleston

Nettleston is on the East coast of the Isle of Wight, and became home to Cluniac Monks from Burgundy who acquired the land just after the Normans invaded Britain. The Monks built a Priory on land around St. Helens, and farmed the land until Henry V evicted all foreign religious orders, and returned the land to the English people. Nodes Point is a piece of high land jutting out into the sea, with a small farmhouse, which has been transformed into a mansion. A secret passage has been found that leads to the Priory in St. Helens, which unfortunately no longer exists. A house that stands around the location is named 'The Priory' in its memory. Henry VI granted all income from the land to Eton College, and the actual land was then presented to the College by Edward IV to commemorate his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville until 1799, when the property was purchased by Sir Grose Nash. In 1927, an American lady bought the dwelling, adopting the symbol of St. George and the Dragon. She even changed her name to St. George. She transformed the property by importing a 14th century porch from France, and added a sculptured figure of St. George and the Dragon

the ghost of the nettleston
Reports of ghost sightings date back to Mrs St. George's time, when she gave accounts of ghostly experiences being the reason for her not being able to retain staff. Before her death, she told distant relatives of the Grose-Smith family who had previously owned the property, about these encounters. Since before 1927, the frantic cries of a child and her apparent voice calling for her dog during the night have been distinct. A child's soft running footsteps have also been heard. It is thought that she was a girl aged 13 or 14, from a portrait which was once hanging in the dining room with her dog at her feet, from the era when the Grose-Smith family were in residence. One story states that when the portrait was sold, the girl began searching for her beloved King Charles spaniel, and did not rest until it was put back in its original place by Mrs St. George.

An apparition of the Blue Lady of Nettlestone has been seen in the dining room, and it has been suggested that she may be the girl from the portrait. Since her death, the ghost of Mrs St. George has been reported. She has been seen on a number of occasions in the Priory, the surrounding grounds, and in nearby fields. Could she be returning to the place that she once owned and loved?