Online encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org explains much about the life of Gwenllian, the only child of the last Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who built Ewloe Castle - the ruins of which lie in Wepre Park.
After the death of her mother, Eleanor de Montfort, in childbirth and the execution of her father, Gwenllian was at the mercy of the English king, Edward I, who confined her to a priory in Lincolnshire for her entire life to keep her out of the spotlight.
For Gwenllian was descended from two Royal bloodlines; the daughter of the Prince of Wales, and her maternal great-grandfather was King John of England, therefore, possibly making her a symbol for rebellion in Wales and any off-spring potential Welsh rulers.
Says Andrea: "I've studied the legend of Nora the Nun over some time now and it has taken me back to the 13th Century. Gwenllian was made to live her life as a nun so there were no heirs to the Welsh rule and no threat to Edward I.
"So, is Nora the Nun actually Gwenllian the nun trying to track her late father, Prince Llywelyn, at Ewloe Castle? After all, there's no evidence of a convent in Wepre.
"Gwenllian was made to be a nun. She would be possibly wearing the attire of a 13th century nun, but not the black and white we're used to.
"Spirits tend to visit places they are linked to. They don't really have to have been born or died there. Just to have emotional links is enough. She never truly met her father, so is she still trying to find his spirit?
"I rubbish the thoughts of twisted tales of a nun holding a bloodied baby on the 'red rock' at Wepre. The stories tend to get added onto with time. But I do believe that there is a nun."
your comments
Sian Lloyd - Wrexham
Woohoo! I've just been told that UK-Paranormal hold ghost nights in Wepre Woods for people who want to investigate with them (free of course!) They have info on the ghosts sighted in Wepre's Visitors Centre too. Check them out at uk-paranormal.co.uk
Fri May 29 08:33:16 2009
Andrea German
Hi Nick, unfortunately me and Keltic Ghost Club have since parted company and my husband now is running a group called Flintshire Paranormal. Your comment about the black mass...yep, I've experienced that and so have quite a few investigators in Wepre. Don't know what it is but it's seems like a bundle of negative energy wandering around there. My husband is up there hunting and has come across the sick feeling. He discribed it as horrible. He had to leave it was so bad! We was hoping for a thunder storm to encourage the army to come out to battle at the base of the castle but it didn't. But they had a great night - and many sightings. Like I said though if you need any more help on this page or would like a night out investigating Wepre just give us a mail.
Tue May 19 12:22:46 2009
Kyle Clegg, Connah's Quay
Would anyone fancy doing a proper paranormal investigation and help decipher the tale? If so contact me.
Mon May 18 12:03:53 2009
Andrea German
J Price...very very interesting you should comment and have sightings of the man in cavalry gear. I have seen him myself on a paranormal investigation. We had just walked up from the golf course and I distintly heard galloping. So the team decided to venture into the woods. As I was standing I saw the top of hair about 10 foot off the ground. I then realised the spirit before me was of a person on horseback. A hazy figure but there. I'm quite sensitive to spirit and got the sense of Andrew and English descent. He is a strong presence in Wepre and often I hear his horse breaking its hooves when visiting! But no way a threat. I feel he is protective of the place. Maybe he was sent out to watch over the castle many centuries ago. He has a very inquisitive natured soul and will actually venture close to unexpecting people. But of no harm whatsoever. He's a charming character and seems quite happy to gallop around Wepre...next time you visit listen for him as he'll be listening and watching you!
Mon May 18 10:33:52 2009
Sara
I'm friends with Keith from Keltic Ghost Club and he's told me a lot of the legend of Wepre Park. I'm coming down to North Wales later in the year to investigate and join alongside with Keltic Ghost Club and our formed group TCFGH (The Circle of Friends Ghost Hunters).
Tue Apr 14 11:39:44 2009
Nick, Wepre
I have heard that there is a black figure that moves through the woods pushing people away. It can supposedly make you extremely ill when you look at it at close range e.g. a metre away. If you run to it or act violently towards it this happens also.I have heard of Nora the nun but not seen her as I haven't been in the woods after dark for more than half an hour.I have though witnessed this black mass. It makes a rustling noise and gives you a feeling of being watched. It can make you feel depressed at times as well. I saw it from around 20m away. It's just a black blob. Anyone know anything about it? Please contact me via this site because I want to investigate it and find out more.
Mon Apr 6 10:53:56 2009
Casey, Connah's Quay
Me and my friends went up to Wepre Park the other day and we walked to the waterfall. We didn't hear any singing or humming but we saw the figure of Nora the Nun in the waterfall. I took a picture. It's on my phone. I'm thinking of getting it printed.
Fri Feb 20 10:11:59 2009
Shelley, Shotton
My mum has seen the spirit of Nora the nun in the late 60s, in Killings Lane when she was courting my dad. She said they parked the car so my dad could spend a penny and as she looked towards the bottom of the lane she saw an outline of a woman float across the lane and went into a tree. My mum then told my dad when he got back into the car that the apparition looked like she was wearing a wimple...spooky. I've seen the ghost of my late grandmother two weeks after she passed, and it was in the daytime so I wasn't imagining it. I believe north Wales is a very haunted place especially Anglesey!
Mon Jan 19 10:12:54 2009
Hugh Williams, Connah's Quay
This column makes very interesting reading. I can remember seeing Nora the nun in the late 80s. In the summer months I had gone fishing to the Rosie. This was when there was no path around the pond. It was 3 o'clock in the morning and it was heavily wooded. I had set up my fishing gear and waiting for daylight when my dog started growling from the bottom of his throat. It was a clear moonlit night when I saw this ghostly figure floating across the pond from left to right going around the island across the rest of the water through the bushes and into one of the cottages that back onto the pond from Wepre Lane. I have told this story a few times. Some people are geniunely interested, others just scoff but I know what I saw and the dog was not growling at nothing.
Mon Dec 22 10:04:31 2008
Norma Mason, Connah's Quay
Can anybody tell me about Mrs Houson? She is supposed to be the ghost in the Swan in Connah's Quay. I ran the pub for a while but never saw her.
Thu Oct 30 08:19:00 2008
Stephanie, Queensferry
I've seen Nora the nun. She was on the top of the waterfall and when I came she was on the bottom of the waterfall. Did anyone else see her there?
Wed Oct 15 09:59:30 2008
Beverly
10 years ago me and my partner went for a late evening walk in Wepre woods. As we approached the waterfall we heard a humming sound and when we looked around there was nobody there. Following the humming we looked up and saw a womanly ghost figue walking across the top of the waterfall humming. As me and my partner walked away terrified my partner felt cold hands on his shoulder and the humming became louder. Looking up at the waterfall the shadowy figure had gone! Had this ghost been behind my partner ready to push him? Was this Nora the Nun?
Fri Oct 3 14:07:29 2008
Mary O'Malley, Connahs Quay
My drama group is doing a play about Connahs Quay's history and we found out that James Connah was a smuggler and he married Mary and bought the quay house, but I'm wondering if anyone else has anything about them?
Tue Mar 25 14:48:09 2008
Andrew from Sealand
I lived in Uplands Avenue for over 16 years during the Eighties and Nineties and have never seen sight nor sound of any Ghostly Cavalry men, and yes I lived up the top end of Uplands Avenue. However there was a spooky guy who used to stand on the back fields and just stare over at the houses for a period during the late eighties. My friends and I nicknamed him "The Man in Black" as he was always dressed in black (a Cure fan maybe?), he was spotted by the adults also so it wasn't just children's imaginations running wild. After a couple of weeks though he was never to be seen again but it spooked all us kids out for about a year after, which is an eternity at that age! Apart from this though I can't say there was anything else spooky about Uplands Avenue and the fields backing on to them, including Normanby Woods, we even used to camp out on them before they built all the houses there.
Mon Oct 29 08:38:37 2007
Phil Burgess in Stafford
Used to live on Normanby Drive. Brendan and Jason Brierley made some excellent pathways by flattening tall 'reeds'. We had some brilliant games in there. I went up that way recently to be quite shocked by all the houses on what used to be the fields. Farmer John used to chase us in his tractor in these fields. Great rope swings in the trees on the sides of the hills and the same hills were great for sledging down. Didn't see any ghosts but the woods could sure be eerie at times.
Wed Sep 19 09:03:17 2007
J. Price from Connah's Quay
I lived at the top of Wepre Lane between the ages of 8-16. When we first moved in no houses were built at the top end of Uplands Ave except the new bungalows in Halkyn View where we moved in. One night my brother called me to his room asking me to look out of his window towards where Uplands Ave is now. There was a man in cavalry gear sitting on a horse just standing there. We watched for a little while but he didn't move. My brother was really freaked out, he was only 7, I was 8. Many a time, during the next few years I was woken in the night hearing battle ground noise or someone running down the side of the house. Never did I see anyone when I investigated. When I was in my last year at school we were in a history class and a picture of a cavalry man on horse back was in our text book in battle dress exactly as my brother and myself had seen all those years ago. When I told my mother my discovery, she informed me that the ground all around Wepre was marsh land years ago and many a battle had been fought there. A neighbour who only lived in Halkyn View for six months was so freaked out by what she was seeing and hearing that she moved as soon as possible.
Wed Aug 22 11:55:50 2007
Darrell Parry,Manchester
To the poster of this message. I find it a tad unlucky that you should get Ralph's reply first. How does he know that it isn't real? Just look at the amount of people here that have all had experiences. I find this a very interesting subject and if people don't believe in it them it's up to them. But they should leave the people who have got interest and have had experiences alone.
Fri May 11 07:48:05 2007
Ralph, Connahs Quay
I used to live in the Quay House, and it was kept by Mary Connah originally. Never had any odd experiences, been in Wepre Woods at night collecting mushrooms (not magic) never had any odd feelings. The park is a conservation area, which is why no development has taken place. Ghosts are there if you believe, your mind makes them up. All you 'believers' really ought to make more friends of the living.
Wed May 9 08:18:09 2007
Rich, Shotton
The tale I've heard is that they found someone hanging in Wepre once, and also something about a headless body found in the Rosie? Spooky stuff, and yes Wepre is probably haunted. Anyone know more about Connah the Dock Landlord?
Wed Feb 21 16:02:57 2007
Karen, Connah
Can anybody shed light on the landlord of The Old Quay House whom Connah's Quay is supposedly named after. Thanks.
Mon Jan 8 10:08:47 2007
We're no longer accepting comments on this page but we're still interested in your ghost stories about NE Wales
