Is a garden in a quiet corner of East Yorkshire the last resting place of William the Conqueror’s murdered niece? It’s a question still puzzling local historian Lucy Brooke, who admits researching the tale of Albina’s Tomb has become something of a labour of love in recent years.
“I find it all completely fascinating. The more I’ve discovered, the more I want to know,” she said.
The tragic story of Albina, the wife of the first Earl of Holderness, dates back more than 900 years so accurate information about her is naturally scarce. What is known is that her Flemish soldier husband Drogo de la Beuviere was granted huge swathes of land across the country by King William as a reward for his leading role in the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Drogo – a bit of a bozo
According to Domesday Book, Drogo held all the land in Holderness not already owned by the church and later chronicles written in the early 14th century also record his role in building Skipsea Castle. However, Drogo’s time in Holderness came to an abrupt end in 1086 when he sailed back across the Channel, never to return to England.
Legend has it his hurried departure was triggered by the sudden death of Albina who, as a 16-year-old, had been given to Drogo by her uncle as a wife. The arranged marriage was not a happy one and Drogo twice unsuccessfully asked permission from church officials for a divorce, the second request accompanied by a bribe.
It’s at this point that fact and fiction start to blur. Allegedly furious at being thwarted by the church, Drogo imprisoned Albina and then poisoned her before fleeing the country. But where did this happen?
On the trail of Albina
Skipsea seems to be the obvious answer although there’s evidence of other contemporary fortifications where Albina could have been held. Timber castles are known to have existed in Burstwick and Hedon, the latter at what is now a scheduled ancient monument site on Twyer’s Hill.
The next chapter of the story is inextricably linked to the building of Ivy House in Hedon’s Market Hill some seven centuries later in the 1790s. By 1809 the house was owned by James Iveson, a wealthy solicitor who also served as Mayor of Hedon and acted as a land steward for the even wealthier Constable family.
As a keen historian and antiquarian collector now living at the foot of Twyer’s Hill, Iveson would have been familiar with the story of Albina and in 1834 he started work on an extraordinary folly dedicated to her memory.
Iveson’s folly
Using discarded masonry retrieved from churches across the East Riding, Iveson created what became known as Albina’s Tomb – a two-storey miniature castle, complete with a spiral stone staircase – and an arcade running along the length of his garden.
The relics came from Hull’s Holy Trinity and Marfleet Church as well as two churches at Kilnsea and Owthorne before they were washed away by the sea. More items were brought across Market Hill from St. Augustine’s Church.
To flank the main arched entrance, Iveson acquired two 13th century sculpted figures, St John the Baptist and King Athlestan, from Beverley Minister after they were replaced by new versions, while rare medieval church tiles cover the floor.
In a manuscript thought to be written and illustrated by Iveson now held at the Hull History Centre, both the story of Albina’s murder and the constriction of her “memorial” are documented.
It begins: “In a garden on the north side of the old Market Hill in Hedon stands a handsome arch raised in commemoration of ancient, long since vanished shadows of a Castle of the Earls of Holderness in the immediate vicinity and recollections of a tragical Count of bygone days.”
It goes on to mention an earlier excavation in 1828 when “a dungeon was excavated supposedly on the same site as the arch. Within it was found a glass heraldic vessel and, reputedly, human bones.”
Was this Iveson employing some of his own romantic Victorian Gothic fiction to give his memorial credence as Albina’s actual tomb? Quite possibly. It certainly inspired the next inhabitant of Ivy House, who moved in after Iveson’s death in 1850.
Historian Geoffrey Park wrote his 1895 book History of the ancient Borough of Hedon at the house and also penned a poem about Iveson’s folly, adding a ghost story into the narrative for good measure.
“Within a cell a corpse was found
Which told to all the Lady’s doom
And now upon that spot of ground
‘Tis built an arch, Albina’s Tomb
And constant as returns the day,
Known to the Church as St Mark’s E’en
Albina and the Earl, they say
Within St. Augustine’s tower are seen.”
Confusingly, Albina’s ghost seems to get about a bit as she is also said to haunt the site of Skipsea Castle.
Albina’s ghost
The current owners of Ivy House, Greg and Simone Butterworth, couldn’t even see Iveson’s folly when they bought the property eight years ago because the garden was so overgrown. It took them three days hacking through bushes before their first glimpse of actual masonry.
Since then, the surviving remains of the tomb and arcade have been carefully exposed and conserved with Lucy Brooke lending a helping hand, from clearing collapsed rubble to identifying where certain pieces originated from.
Earlier this month she could be found there giving talks on Ivy House’s history during the annual Heritage Open Days event. “As a historian, it’s got everything you want in a story – royalty, bribery, murder, ghosts, incredible old architecture and a bit of mystery,” she said.
She is already looking forward to next year when the house’s remarkable garden will again open to the public.
