Appuldurcombe House is a 300-year-old manor house which dates back to the early 18th century, but there has been a building on the site since 1200. The original building was a religious house, but for 300 years from the early 16th century Appuldurcombe was the home of the Worsley family and was once the most important estate on the island. In the 16th century Henry VIII was entertained here, while in 1587 the young sons of Richard Worsley were killed in an explosion at the Gatehouse. In 1781 Seymour Dorothy Fleming, the wife of Sir Richard Worsley, caused a great scandal by having a high-profile affair. She later admitted to having had 27 lovers. In 1867 it became a school called Dr Pound's Academy for Young Gentlemen, and from 1909 the house was unoccupied except by troops during both world wars, and in 1943 it was partly destroyed by German bombs. Paranormal activity recorded at the house include sightings of a beautiful woman in the Stable Cottage, a ghostly carriage near the entrance to the grounds and near the Freemantle Gate a boy's laughter has been heard. From the window of the Gatehouse figures have been seen moving from the gate down along the drive, while a flickering candle is repeatedly spotted floating around the main staircase.