Bruce Castle is a 16th-century manor house in Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey. The Grade I listed building, now home to a local history museum, takes its name from the House of Bruce — the Scottish royal family — though its connection to them is largely legenddary. What is not in dispute is the building's reputation as one of North London's most haunted locations, anchored by a story of domestic tragedy that has persisted for over three centuries.
The ghost of Bruce Castle is Lady Constantina, wife of Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine, who owned the house in the late 17th century. Lord Coleraine was, by all accounts, a jealous and possessive husband who kept his wife confined to a small room in the tower. On November 3, 1680, Lady Constantina threw herself from the balustrade of the tower while clutching her infant child. Both died. Whether this was an act of desperation, madness, or defiance has been debated ever since.
Every year on the anniversary of her death, according to a tradition stretching back to the 18th century, the ghost of Lady Constantina appears on the balcony of the tower, a spectral figure in white holding a baby in her arms, before plunging to the ground below. The screams accompanying this apparition are said to be audible from the road. Staff at the museum have reported unexplained occurrences throughout the year — footsteps in the tower, doors that will not stay closed, and a pervasive coldness in the room where Lady Constantina was allegedly confined. The adjacent churchyard of All Hallows adds to the Gothic atmosphere of the site.