Racton Ruin: Story of a strange tower in South Downs National Park, said to be one of the spookiest places in Sussex sussexexpress.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sussexexpress.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Country Life
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Our Secret Britain series continues with a look at a crumbling folly in Sussex.
Some see an atmospheric ruin, others an eyesore. Also known as Stansted Castle, Racton Folly was constructed by the 2nd Earl of Halifax in 1766–75 to complement his Stansted estate and provide a view of his merchant ships returning to the Solent.
Planning permission for residential conversion was refused in 2020 and the folly is in a sorry state gutted and on oft-trespassed private land, it has seen illegal raves, ghost hunts, occultists and graffiti, and was, reputedly, a 19th-century brothel.
Spectral sightings include flying bricks, faces in windows and a ghost tractor that drives up behind you, then disappears. The Racton Monument Circular walk takes you right past it, affording views over the South Downs, Stansted House and Chichester Harbour.