The tale of Haverholme Priory stone is one of local legend, an American heiress, and a bizarre twist of fate. But a shocking discovery in 1927 in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, connects the priory's history to a tragedy involving a well-known figure in the world of fox hunting, providing a much clearer, albeit grim, account of where some of the stone ended up.
The Legend of Haverholme Stone
The widely circulated story holds that the ruins of Haverholme Priory were purchased by an American woman intending to have the ancient structure dismantled and re-erected across the Atlantic. The tale concludes tragically: she was supposedly killed in a train crash, and the stone meant for her grand new home was instead diverted for a far more mundane purpose—to extend the docks in Liverpool.
Shocking Discovery: Mrs. Edith Fernie
However, reports from March 1927 introduce a different, more verifiable fate for some of the priory's architectural elements.
On Tuesday morning, March 1st, 1927, a platelayer at the Woodhall Spa Golf Links level crossing over the London and North-Eastern line made a horrifying discovery. Lying near the tracks was the terribly mutilated body of a woman. It was later identified as Mrs. Edith Roberta Fernie, aged 52 (or 54 in some reports), a celebrated figure in hunting circles.
Identity: Mrs. Fernie was the widow of a former Master of the Fernie Hunt and had even served as Master herself for a few seasons. She was an accomplished rider and an enthusiastic sportswoman.
Context: She had been staying at Southcote, Woodhall Spa, for the past two seasons, hunting with the Blankney and Southwold Hounds. She was known to sometimes go for walks at night.
The Incident: Mrs. Fernie had left her apartment on Monday afternoon. When her dog returned home without her, a search was launched. It is supposed she was knocked down by a train traveling from Woodhall Spa to Horncastle on Monday evening and lay on the track all night. Her coat was found fifty yards from her remains. The body was partially decapitated, and both arms were severed.
The Priory Connection
Crucially, Mrs. Fernie was not just a visitor; she was building a new residence just outside Woodhall Spa.
According to The Daily Chronicle on March 2nd, 1927, Mrs. Fernie had purchased stone and an ornamental gate from Haverholme Priory for this new house. Her tragic and premature death on the railway line meant her ambitious plans for the priory stone were halted, providing a concrete, non-mythological link between a piece of the priory's ruins and a shocking local event.
An inquest into the death was held the following day, March 2nd, 1927, at the Eagle Lodge Hotel. While the ultimate use of the materials she purchased is unknown, Mrs. Fernie's tragedy firmly ties a portion of Haverholme Priory's stone not to an American legend, but to the fateful final journey of a devoted English hunting
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