Despite spending a weekend at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, we failed to see the spectre of Lucette. Dunkenhalgh Hall was built at the end of the 12th century by Roger De Dunkenhalgh. The house is located between Rishton and Clayton Le Moors in Lancashire and by 1712 had passed into the ownership of the Petre family. The 9th Baron, Lord Robert Edward Petre, a member of the Catholic nobility was exceptionally wealthy with property in Mayfair, and estates in three counties. In 1778, a young Frenchwoman named Lucette was engaged as governess to the Petrie children. Lucette fell in love with a Dragoon Captain named Starkie and soon became pregnant. He abandoned her, sailking to America to fight in the War of Independence. Lucette could not face the shame of an illegitimate child and drowned herself in the Hyndburn River which flowed through the grounds. Her body was found on Christmas morning and carried back to the house.
Lucette has made many appearances since that sad day, most frequently at Christmas time when she has been seen approaching the bridge where she took her life. Both hotel guests and staff have reported seeing the ghost of The Lady in White, either in the grounds or sat at the end of their bed.
The Lindy Hop was a popular American dance in the 1930s. It came from Harlem, New York in 1928 and was based on jazz, tap and the Charleston in the swing style. The name is believed to have originated from the flight by aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh who in 1927 "hopped" across the Atlantic. The dance was revived in the 1980s and can still pops up from time to time to this day. The photograph is digitally colourised from a black and white original.
