THOSE with a nervous disposition should take great care when waking by Ivy Cottage on Church Street, Eastwood, because this picturesque dwelling is said to have at least three ghostly inhabitants.  

When David Kinton and his family moved into the cottage they had no idea about their guests from beyond the grave, but within a week they began to suspect that the sound of footsteps in upstairs roomscouldn't just be the creaking of the century old timbers. The first of Dave's ghostly guests is a hooded Monk whose remains are believed to be buried within a vast grave in his garden. Dave's theory is that people in the holy orders would rest on their way to Codnor Castle 

History says that unfortunately, one of the brothers died while at the cottage, but in early November the monk tries to reach his destination and the sight of his shrouded figure has sent a shiver down the spine of many local inhabitants. Dave has also heard an eerie tale from a nurse who used to care for the elderly in Eastwood. The nurse claimed that she'd had an unearthly experience years before at the cottage when caring for its former inhabitant, Mrs Robey. She told me that she'd spent a night at Ivy Cottage but at some stage in the night she was disturbed because the room became very cold. Looking up she was alarmed by the sight of an apparition. The next day she visited the house and sprinkled holy water in each room and for the rest of her working Contract wasn't troubled by the ghost again. 

The Kintons have also had close encounters of a supernatural kind. Dave's daughter awoke one night and made out the shape of a little girl in the darkness. She appeared to be dressed in a bonnet and apron," she said. 

I dismissed the sight as a dream or a shadow, but there is a rumor that a little girl died in the attic in the last century and the attic is now my bedroom. Ivy Cottage itself is steeped in history and its timber frame and rafters date back to the 16th century. Major extensions were carried out in the 18th century and the cottage has been lovingly restored to its former glory by the Kintons. The cottage has many spooky features including a pets' graveyard and a cobwebbed cellar that was once a slaughter room for livestock. But Dave says that his family is unconcerned about the ghostly echoes of the past: "The atmosphere in the house is warm and friendly, so If there are spirits here then they're obviously kindly ones."