Temple Newsam House is an early 16th-century Grade I listedStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire.[1] Like many old buildings it has stories of hauntings, the best-known of which is that of the Blue Lady, said to be the ghostSpirit of a dead person returned to visit the living, the common conception of a ghost. of Mary Ingram, who grew up in the house in the late 17th century.[2]
Mary’s prize possession was a beautiful string of pearls, a present from her grandfather Sir Arthur Ingram. At the age of just 14, Mary was returning home from a party one night when a group of highwaymen ambushed her carriage and robbed her of the pearl necklace, leaving the girl distraught.[2]
Arriving back at Temple Newsam. having escaped on foot, Mary collapsed and woke the next day with no memory of the theft, instead convinced that she had lost the precious necklace. Searching throughout the house, she did everything from unpicking cushions to lifting up floorboards in an effort to find her jewelry, becoming so obsessed that she refused to eat or drink.[3]
Weakened from her lack of nourishment, Mary died two weeks after the robbery. Her spirit is said to continue the search for her lost necklace, wandering the house; many visitors have reported hearing her sobs and wails.[3]