Sarah Whitehead

Sarah Whitehead is the reported name of a woman whose ghost is said to haunt the Bank of England; her ghost became known as The Black Nun.

Background Whitehead's brother, Philip, was employed by the Bank of England from 1797 to 1810. During his employment at the bank, Philip Whitehead "adopted an extravagent lifestyle" and began to speculate on the Stock Market. then executed on 29 January 1812.

The news of her brother's conviction and execution was kept from his sister, Sarah Whitehead, as long as possible. This continued until 1818, when the Directors offered Whitehead a financial grant on the condition that she stopped coming to the bank. Ghost Whitehead's ghost reputedly haunts the Bank of England and the area on Threadneedle Street nearby, where she looks for her brother. The myth of Whitehead's ghost appears in the poem New Year Letter by W H Auden. 'Lates' by the Bank of England Museum; and Reader's Digests List of '20 Most Haunted Places in London'.

Historiography Whitehead's story has been repeated in many formats, across a large number of years and the story of her ghost needs to considered against the historical background of concerns about forgery in the 1810s. Whitehead's story was first reported in The Times on 22 February 1828.