Woodchester Mansion
NYMPSFIELD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE



Hidden in a secluded Cotswold valley, untouched by time and the modern world, lies Woodchester Mansion, an unfinished masterpiece of Victorian building. Designed by the brilliant young architect Benjamin Bucknall for the wealthy Catholic William Leigh, the mansion is a remarkable synthesis of French gothic revival theory and the local Cotswold tradition. In 1868, after 16 years of building, workers inexplicably stopped and walked out, leaving many of the 27 rooms unfinished. Fireplaces remain at great heights waiting for floors to meet them, while doors lead nowhere and upper corridors end suddenly at ledges with views to the ground below. The mansion is said to be home to a headless horse and a floating coffin. Staff working for the charitable trust that now owns the mansion have reported strange noises, banging, and ghostly voices echoing throughout the building.