The Small Bronze Carriage on the Mantelpiece: A Gothic Ghost Story

It is the 1830s: Two men who have not seen each other in decades encounter each other quite by chance on Advent Sunday, many miles from where they both grew up.

Moving their conversation to the home of the younger man, discussion soon switches from the past to the small bronze carriage on his friend's mantelpiece.

There is a strange tale attached to it, one that goes all the way back to the 1750s and the story of a young newlywed couple heading to Oxford to spend time with the new groom's extended family.