Inside Grand Designs’ ‘haunted’ castle with a grisly past – and how you can stay there

THOSE brave enough to do so are being given the opportunity to stay at a castle that is said to host paranormal activity.

The impressive three-storey folly was renovated on Grand Designs in 2018 and has a stunning platform offering panoramic views.

It sits atop a Saxon burial ground which was was built in 1769 by Sir John Vanhattem, who also owned nearby Dinton Hall.

He used the folly to store his huge collection of fossils and ammonites, many of which were unearthed from the local chalk quarry.

A raging fire ripped through the ancient dwelling in around 1800, after which it stood empty for nearly 200 years.

But following more than 200 years of lying in ruin, it was purchased in 2016.

The optimistic couple who bought it for £165k were Jamie and Mimi Fernandez.

They went on to document the restoration process on the popular TV series Grand Designs in 2018.

It is well known by people living in the area as being haunted - but few know about its associated history.

The landmark is said to be haunted by the ghost of royal executioner named John Bigg, also known as the Dinton Hermit.

A nearby pub describes their pub's namesake 'The Dinton Hermit' as being a man who aptly kept "three bottles around his waist, one containing milk and two containing beer".

The Dinton hermit was born in 1629 and was a clerk to a lawyer named Simon Mayne.

It is thought that he ordered Bigg to perform the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649 outside Whitehall in London.

The ghost of the executioner is said to still reside in the fancy folly, which was sold by the Fernandez family last year.

The buyers listed the allegedly haunted home on Airbnb in June and a night at the Dinton castle, which accommodates four guests, costs £250.