Jangling Annas
Frank’s Bridge, Kirkby Stephen
“The sound of her chains can be heard echoing under the bridge…” Samantha Brown
A relatively short tale, but nonetheless a creepy one… and hey, not all folklore stories are tomes. Sometimes we love a small scare!
We’re heading over to Medieval Kirkby Stephen, on the boundary between North Yorkshire and Cumbria. Frank’s Bridge is a 17th century corpse lane bridge, and what does that mean I hear you ask? The bridge served a corpse road between Hartley and Winton, in which the dead were brought for burial in Kirkby Stephen. At the far end of the bridge, there are two stones perfect for coffins to be rested on. Already pretty spooky, huh!
The bridge is said to be named after Francis Birbeck, a brewer, and the houses surrounding Frank’s Bridge are converted from brewery buildings. This piece of history is cool, and all, but who the heck is Jangling Annas?
Visitors to Frank’s Bridge have reported strange goings on… the sound of jangling chains can be heard under the bridge, some have spotted a ghostly being struggling in the water. Jangling Annas is the nickname of this spirit, supposedly a female prisoner, during the medieval or feudal era, at nearby Hartley Castle.
It is said that Annas managed to escape from captivity still locked up in chains. She attempted to swim in the River Eden, under Frank’s Bridge, to escape recapture. But due to the weight of her chains, she unfortunately drowned.
Locals, who coined the name Jangling Annas, report hearing her sometimes crying out in anguish under the bridge, with the accompanying sounds of her jangling chains…
Have you ever spotted Jangling Annas?
