I’ve wanted to post a photo of Ingleby Manor for quite some time now. However, the Grade II* Listed building is shielded from view by a formidable stand of lofty lime and oak trees. From this vantage point on Turkey Nab, one can just make out, albeit faintly on this murky morning, the rooftops nestled within that tongue of wood, positioned slightly to the left of centre.
It’s said that the spirit of Lady Mary Ross, mother to Lady Mary Foulis, has taken to haunting Ingleby Manor. The manor’s website, now boasting “luxury self-catering apartments,” is the source of this spectral tale1‘Ingleby Manor’. 2023. Inglebymanor.co.uk <https://www.inglebymanor.co.uk/history-of-ingleby-manor#:~:text=Some%20say%20that%20the%20ghost%20of%20Lady%20Mary%20Ross%2C%20the%20mother%20of%20Lady%20Mary%20Foulis%2C%20still%20haunts%20the%20Manor%20today!> [accessed 8 November 2023]. I must admit, my investigation has yielded no other mention of such ethereal occurrences.
In the realm of believing that a place might indeed harbour a ghost, one wonders why Lady Mary Ross would choose to revisit the living from beyond the grave in a place she never called home, never breathed her last, nor found her final resting place.
Certainly, in life, Lady Mary would have visited Ingleby Manor. Her daughter had, after all, tied the knot with Sir William Foulis, the Lord of the Manor at the time.
Nestled near a muddy track in a plantation overlooking Ingleby Manor, there is a seat hewn from a substantial boulder. It bears the inscription “LADY MARY ROSS 1837” and is rumoured to mark her favoured path. It follows, then, that she must have visited her daughter fairly frequently.
1842 marked the year of Lady Mary Ross’ passing. She had been wed to Sir Charles Lockhart-Ross, the 7th Baronet, whose family home was at Balnagowan in Ross-shire. And, lo-and-behold, overlooking the Balnagown River, there stands another commemorative seat dedicated to Lady Mary. From what I can gather, this seat is not particularly obvious2Tryon, Andrew. 2023. ‘Lady Ann’s Seat, Ross-Shire’, @Geograph_bi <https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7576001> [accessed 8 December 2023].
Widowed when Sir Charles breathed his last in 1814, Lady Mary took on the mantle of de facto Laird at Balnagown. With her sole surviving son a mere toddler, she not only managed the extensive estate but also spearheaded numerous enhancements and expansions to the castle3‘Our History – Balnagown Estate’. 2022. Balnagown Estate <https://www.balnagown.com/about-balnagown/our-history/> [accessed 8 November 2023].
Her final breath was drawn at her seat, Bonnington Castle, near Edinburgh in 1842. A recent chill, acquired during her customary walks, coupled with lingering maladies, is reported to have hastened her demise. She found her final resting place at the Abbey of Fearn, the ancestral burial grounds of the Balnagown family. According to her obituary, she was well thought of by her tenantry and by “the poor and destitute“4‘The Late Right Hon. Lady Mary Ross of Balnagown. | John O’ Groat Journal | Friday 14 October 1842 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000459/18421014/015/0003> [accessed 8 November 2023].
Thus, the question lingers—why would she, in death, travel some 250 miles to haunt Ingleby Manor? Could there have been discord with Sir William Foulis and his mother-in-law, paving the way for spectral reprisals? But perhaps that is a little too cynical.
- 1‘Ingleby Manor’. 2023. Inglebymanor.co.uk <https://www.inglebymanor.co.uk/history-of-ingleby-manor#:~:text=Some%20say%20that%20the%20ghost%20of%20Lady%20Mary%20Ross%2C%20the%20mother%20of%20Lady%20Mary%20Foulis%2C%20still%20haunts%20the%20Manor%20today!> [accessed 8 November 2023]
- 2Tryon, Andrew. 2023. ‘Lady Ann’s Seat, Ross-Shire’, @Geograph_bi <https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7576001> [accessed 8 December 2023]
- 3‘Our History – Balnagown Estate’. 2022. Balnagown Estate <https://www.balnagown.com/about-balnagown/our-history/> [accessed 8 November 2023]
- 4‘The Late Right Hon. Lady Mary Ross of Balnagown. | John O’ Groat Journal | Friday 14 October 1842 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000459/18421014/015/0003> [accessed 8 November 2023]
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