The Tedworth Drummer

The below picture shows Tedworth House in the town of Tidworth (previously known as Tedworth), which lies on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border. As the famous tale goes, in the seventeenth century, the owner of the house had a dispute with a local drummer and won a judgement resulting in the drummer’s drum being confiscated, and the drummer being put into prison. Following the detainment of the drummer, Tedworth House was plagued by nocturnal drumming noises (amongst other strange phenomenon), which were attributed to the drummer exacting revenge via witchcraft. This tale is often cited as an early example of poltergeist activity and features in seventeenth century paranormal literature (see Andrew May’s Forteana Blog for a more detailed discussion).

As it can be seen from the final picture, the tale of the Tedworth drummer has been captured in the local imagination and has left a lasting mark on the local landscape.

Pictures, Tidworth (February 2011).