Louis de Rochefort

Closed now since 2010, the Wax Museum in Brading is still a source of fond childhood memories, and perhaps even a few nightmares, amongst visitors and locals alike. Although the exhibits have long-since gone, the familiar Tudor building still stands proudly on the corner of Quay Lane and the High Street, and inside its walls, the legend of the restless spirit of Louis de Rochefort remains. 

Rumoured to have been a French agent sent to deliver a message to Charles I during his imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle between 1647-1648, de Rochefort would never complete his task. Staying on the first floor during the building's former life as an inn,  de Rochefort met a mysterious and brutal end in the dead of night, swearing with his dying breath to haunt the site of his demise until his remains were repatriated to his native country. The legend persisted over the centuries. Dogs were said to wimper near the door of his former room and sightings of a tall gentleman in strange clothing were reported time and time again, but it remained no more than a local legend...until, in 1964, the skeleton of a man dating to the 17th century was unearthed during some maintenance works to water lines beneath the courtyard. In keeping with the legend, attempts were made to find his descendants and return his bones home, but to no avail.. and so, it seems, Louis de Rochefort remains.