How battlefield became 'England's most haunted'
On 23 October 1642, the first major battle of the English Civil War broke out in southern Warwickshire.
The Battle of Edgehill, near Kineton, saw a 13,000-strong Royalist force take on a similarly-sized Parliamentarian army as King Charles I attempted to march to London.
Of the approximately 26,000 men involved, about 1,000 died and 2,000 were wounded, with the clash ending in a stalemate.
The battle, explored for the BBC's Secret Warwickshire series, not only marked a significant point in English history but subsequent events would lead it to become known as one of the country's most haunted.
St Peter's Church in Radway hosts the Battle of Edgehill exhibition, allowing visitors to explore what happened, who was involved and why it took place.
Its historian David Beaumont said the Parliamentarian army, led by the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, was trying to stop the King from getting to London.
Devereux arrived in Kineton with his soldiers, and at about 14:00 the Parliamentarian army opened fire with their cannons as the battle commenced.
It raged on for the rest of the day with the advantage switching continuously between the opposing forces, though neither would achieve a decisive victory.
"It was virtually a draw," Mr Beaumont said. "Both sides, when darkness came, had withdrawn because they were out of powder and there were a lot of wounded lying around."
A few days later, Devereux reached London ahead of the King, reinforcing its defences and forcing Charles to withdraw to Oxford, which would be his capital for the rest of the war.
Warwickshire historian Simon Alnaimi said the battlefield at Edge Hill would later become the home of "one of the weirdest ghost stories in England".
He said at about Christmas time in 1642, some shepherds claimed they saw ghosts in the sky above the battlefield, recreating the conflict.
Mr Alnaimi said: "They ran to the nearest town, tried to tell the officials and they all dismissed them, to which the shepherds said 'if you don't believe us, come with us right now'.
"The officials went and, sure enough, in the sky above Edge Hill was a ghostly battle taking place between the Royalists and Parliamentarians."
News would eventually make its way to the King, he said, and a pamphlet was published across England warning people about the reported apparition.
According to Mr Alnaimi, the theory was that the ghosts had appeared because not every soldier who was killed had received a Christian burial.
He added: "Both sides call a truce, they go to the battlefield, they find any bodies that haven't been buried, bury them properly and the ghosts disappear - they're never seen again."
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