There is a story told in Highworth of the ghost of a farmer who was killed when returning home after a hunt. Legend has it that the event happened on Home Farm although there is no proof of this.

The tale says that the farmer had been out hunting all day and returned home very weary and on an extremely tired horse. As was usual he rode the horse into the stable where it was normally unsaddled, where suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the horse reared and threw its rider. Unfortunately for the farmer he fell heavilly and broke his neck.

The story continues when a new farmer had taken over the farm and his young wife began to feel an odd atmosphere in parts of her home, especially in the stables. One day three men were employed to carry out repairs to the buildings and the head man sent the other two workers to the stables to bring him some wood which was stored there. They returned shortly after in a distressed state, without the wood and swearing that they had seen the apparition of a cowled monk (not a farmer?) in the stable. Despite the pleas of their boss neither of the two men could be persuaded to return to the stable that day.

Although not related to the above story you might be interested to know that nearby is a piece of ground called Coffin Close where it is said that the dead were left overnight before being buried. Does anyone know of any stories relating to this area?