Since Henry VIII's Dissolution the manor house of Bisham has been known as Bisham Abbey. History has also told us that it was not even part of the monastic buildings that surrounded it. The manor house was actually based around an ancient area built on by the Knights Templar who owned the manor in the 13th century. The Hall within the building dates from around 1260, and In 1307 King Edward II seized it from the Knights to be used as a jail for such notable names and the wife of Robert de Bruce and Queen Elizabeth of the Scots who was imprisoned here in 1310. In 1335 the property was granted to the Montacute Barons who became the Earls of Salisbury and it became the family residence for around 200 years. The Hoby family took up residence in the early 16th century and in 1557 Sir Philip Hoby built the great dining hall and a suite of rooms. Queen Elizabeth I spent a number of years imprisoned here during Bloody Mary's reign. One of the more active paranormal residents of Bisham Abbey is in fact believed to be that of Lady Elizabeth Hoby, who in a tragic accident is said to have killed her son William. Her phantom has been seen since the early 1600's wandering the grounds, moaning and wringing her hands of the what appears to be blood, a symbol of her wicked actions in the death of her son.

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