The Mad Monk of Egglestone Abbey
This is one of our Teesdale Tales, a quiet story shaped by the landscape around Egglestone Abbey. It has been told in different ways over the years, mixing old whispers with a modern moment that still remains unexplained.
A Teesdale Tale of love, loss and a quiet figure on the old road
Egglestone Abbey stands above a bend in the River Tees, worn by centuries of weather and change. During the day it feels peaceful and open, but after sunset the ruins take on a different mood. The arches become dark shapes, the wind moves through the stone and the river seems louder than usual. Visitors often speak about the history of the place, yet for many years another story has moved quietly through this part of the dale.
Long ago, so the tale goes, one of the young canons of the abbey formed a secret bond with a woman from Barnard Castle. Some say she lived near the mills that once stood by the river. Others believe she worked in the town and came to the water for her daily tasks. However it began, the two were said to have met in secret along the riverside path that linked the abbey to the town. Something happened that brought their meetings to an end. No one agrees exactly what. Some say she died suddenly. Others say they were discovered and kept apart. Whatever the truth, the canon was never the same again. He walked the river at night, searching for something he could not let go of, and from this came the story of the Mad Monk of Egglestone Abbey, a quiet figure in a hooded cloak who walked between the town and the abbey long after his time had passed.
For many years this was only a whispered tale, until something brought it to mind again. One dark evening, long before I had ever heard this story, I was driving from Barnard Castle towards the abbey. The road was empty. The lights at Abbey Bridge turned green. I set off and around the bend and in the middle of the road stood a figure. The person was dressed in what looked like a long brown robe with a hood pulled up. They did not move. They did not react to the headlights. They simply stood there, still and silent.
I stopped the car. At first I thought it must be someone walking home late, although the clothing looked strange for a night like that. Something about the stillness felt unusual. I opened the door and stepped out. There was no one there. No footsteps. No movement into the trees. No sound at all. I walked a few steps, looked around and then back to the car. The road was completely clear. The figure had vanished in the few seconds it took to open the door.
At the time I had never heard a single thing about the Mad Monk story. I did not know Egglestone Abbey even had a piece of folklore attached to it. Years later, when I finally came across the old tale, the memory of that night returned with a strange weight. I still do not believe in ghosts, but I have never found a simple explanation for what I saw.
The canons of Egglestone were known as White Canons and inside the abbey they wore pale habits. For outside work and travel, however, they often wore a heavy brown cloak with a hood. It protected them from the weather and the mud along the riverside tracks. The old route that linked the abbey to Barnard Castle passed almost exactly along the same stretch of road where I stopped that night. The figure I saw wore brown. The hood was raised. The person stood on that same route. It may have been nothing more than coincidence. It may have been a moment my mind could not properly understand. But it is a memory that has stayed with me ever since.
Today Egglestone Abbey is a peaceful place. People walk their dogs across the grass and enjoy the calm view of the river. Yet every so often someone mentions seeing a faint shape along the water at dusk or a hooded figure near the bend in the road. No one claims it as fact. No one tries to explain it as anything more than a story. But in Teesdale, stories often last longer than stone, and some nights, when the Tees is quiet and the lane is dark, the tale of the Mad Monk feels very close to the surface again.
View across Abbey Bridge near Egglestone Abbey, looking along the quiet road where the Mad Monk legend is said to walk.
Part of our Discover Teesdale collection. Explore the dale’s walks, waterfalls, history and quiet folklore.
Like many old tales, this story blends real places with memories and imagination. The details shift slightly depending on who tells it, and that is part of what keeps the folklore of Teesdale alive.
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