Sinai House is located in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire in England.
The Saxons used the local area as a stronghold.
The building which stands today replaced an earlier fortified manor of the de Schobenhale family.
The de Schobenhale family held courts and trials in the manor house and had a strong influence and generally ran the surrounding area.
The Monks of Burton Abbey were given Sinai House by the Schobendale family. The Monks built two houses on the site of the manor house. Today the two houses form the wings of the main building. The Monks used the two newer houses for resting and recuperation after Bloodletting activities.
It is thought the name Sinai derives from the word soignée which is the French word for Bloodletting. The monks were well known for their deer hunting and other activities including the odd murder!
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530′s Sinai House was acquired by William Paget who was the first Baron of Beaudesert. Sinai House remained in possession of the Paget family for the next 400 years. The Paget family later became Earls of Uxbridge and Marquises of Anglesey.
Sinai House was never the main residence for the Paget’s so Sinai was used as a hunting lodge and later as a farm.
In 1605 the Paget’s had the central section of the house built to complete the building and make it more grand with extra room to accommodate the families visitors.
During the 1700′s the Tudor-style chimneys were erected and a then very fashionable plunge pool was built into the grounds.
During the 18th and 19th century further building work was carried out around the house and its grounds, one reason for this could have been the fact that the tenants of the house were more well known and important at this point in time.
William Wyatt, brother of the well known architect James Wyatt was a tenant of Sinai House when his daughter was married there to John Smith. At the time John was working with James Brindley on the canals.
“The Mad Earl” was the last member of the Paget family to own Sinai House who unfortunately died in 1905.
Sinai House was then sold on as part of a settlement of the family debt. The house was then converted into six cottages and at one point in time provided a billet for RAF personnel.
When the house was condemned for human habitation, it provided shelter for pigs, sheep and hens.
Today, there are plans in place to restore the house to its former glory.
Reported Paranormal Activity
It has been reported that Sinai House is haunted by more than 45 ghosts and has featured on television programmes including Most Haunted and Time Team.
The owners of the house have reported regularly seeing figures from out of the corner of their eye along with shadows moving from one room to the other. The owners pets, especially the cat are often found staring and yowling at something that no one else can see.
It is believed by some that the house is haunted by a Grey Lady who, in life was a maid. The maid was seduced by one of the monks and as a consequence, fell pregnant by him. When the monk learned of the maids pregnancy he murdered and buried her in a field near by. Eyewitnesses have claimed to see the maid walking across the grounds and over the bridge on the moat, especially on New Years Eve. A number of psychics and mediums have claimed to have picked up on her presence.
Recently a visitor of the house pulled over to one side on a private road near Sinai House to let a horse and cart pass by. When the driver looked back the horse and cart was nowhere in sight.
A phantom coach and horses have regularly been heard by previous tenants of the house, pulling up the driveway.
