| Stubbington & Crofton | ||||||
| The old Parish of Crofton which goes
back to Saxon times, is now covered by Stubbington and parts of the old
Holy Rood Church date back to around the 14th century. Hill Head and Stubbington today are large residential areas which are due to huge developments over the last decades, the former being a popular venue for para-gliders, sailing and board sailing, and to the west of the ward is the Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve which is managed by the County Recreation Department.
THE CROFTON GHOST The Monks of Titchfield are reputed to have built the Chapel of Ease at Crofton and that an underground passage exists that links the Crofton Manor Hotel to the Church of the Holy Rood, the story goes that this tunnel lead to the hotel which was once the sleeping quarters of the monks. A guest who was staying at the hotel reported that he had the fright of his life one night to wake up and find a monk sitting at the end of his bed, when he cried out the monk disappeared. There have been several other sightings of this monk mainly about him wandering around or near to the church. One particular lady who came down from Lancashire for a holiday decided to visit the church and while walking towards the altar she said she saw a figure of a monk dressed in a long robe which seemed to be semi-transparent and his hands and face were of the same colour, he smiled at her then suddenly vanished, and when she turned she found her son lying on the floor and when she bent to make sure he was okay he said "The man said Thank you, Mummy". She turned and gathered her son into her arms and fled from the church and reported the incident to the hotel staff, check out and returned home. There have also been numerous reports of strange goings on in the Manor Hotel, footsteps and the sound of heavy doors being hammered on and a strong smell of perfume and cigar smoke have been reported from the kitchens. A sailor and a beautiful lady have also been seen and it is in the area of Titchfield Abbey which is not far away that a figure of a monk has been seen on many occassions over the centuries, and he has even been reported as being seen in the back of cars travelling along the A27 trunk road but immediately disappears when seen by drivers.
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