Saturday 12th August 2023
On the same day as the Grace Dieu Priory visit (see blog post immediately below), John Chance also took us a few miles further North – over the Derbyshire border – to take a look at Gresley Old Hall, in Swadlincote. This was a site that had tended to crop up online reasonably frequently, in more recent years, and was a location that John clearly looked on with considerable fondness. It transpires that he had investigated the hall on some 4 or 5 occasions, beginning in 2018, and reports having spotted a ‘maid-like’ figure on his very first visit!
Personally speaking, this was a particular name that I had always got mixed up with Graiseley Old Hall, in Wolverhampton, upon initially hearing of it! And, while having eventually come to recognise the place in its own right – eventually! – I wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone where it was actually situated… until the visit being noted here! (Once holding reasonable knowledge on ‘Haunted Britain’, in years gone by… so much for the mind that has almost entirely, purposefully, ‘remained parochial’ for the last 3 decades, eh!?)
The original property itself turned out to be a wonderfully imposing feature… something that certainly wouldn’t be amiss, sitting secluded on a misty moor, in some Gothic novel! A wonderfully imposing structure… though the presence of a rather dated-looking ‘clubhouse’ – a 1970’s, ‘youth club’ style addition, simply ‘tagged onto’ the rear and side of the lovely, old house – certainly detracts from its initial impact, sadly! At the time of the visit, there was a security fence around the outside of the hall itself – seemingly keeping people from getting too close to the structure – which John said hadn’t been there previously. Given the distancing from the house, this presumably attests to the ‘in need of a little T.L.C.’ appearance of the place, probably?
Of course, the above-mentioned ‘downside’ to the site is so sad to note. Sans the ‘club portion', it is a most romantic, commanding-looking edifice and both John and myself professed to an attraction to the place that would have us both ‘moving in tomorrow’, given the option!
In looking into the physical history of the building, it seems that its foundations lie in 1556, when Gresley Priory was purchased, demolished and the reclaimed stone used to construct a site dubbed Gresley Hall. Staying in the same family, just over a hundred years later, the house was seemingly re-built… the bulk of the structure seen today dating from 1664. Leaping forward in time some 300 years – to 1964 - it was purchased by a ‘Miners Welfare Club’ and the (somewhat unsightly) structural ‘additions’ added, subsequently, as a consequence…
Unfortunately, the actual ‘related ghostlore’ is somewhat sketchy at best… In checking up in the (albeit small) amount of ‘Derbyshire-related ghost books’ to hand, ‘none’ contain a reference to the structure? (This ‘lack of’ official, historical recognition, from a research point of view, is frequently a query-raising, ‘red flag’ when trying to put a site into some form of ‘haunted history’ context). Regarding ‘written’ references, pretty-much every mention of ‘ghosts’ come from either 21st Cent. Newspaper reports on events being held here, or from people who have investigated on / attended such events…
Under such circumstances, the only account that I could personally ‘put any weight on’ would come from someone I know to be able to trust implicitly! As mentioned earlier, it was on John Chances first visit that he had his, most compelling, personal experience…
He tells me that he was standing just inside the door of the ‘hub room’ (used for the night’s investigation) with another attendee close by. Unfortunately – and quite typically, for such a situation, of course – the latter was ‘engaged with her mobile phone’ at this precise point(!) John suddenly witnessed a figure – dressed in what he describes as typical ‘maid style’ costume – descend the stairs of the property, pass the hub room door, and head off down the corridor in the direction of the entrance area… There was a group of women situated in this corridor, near the entrance door itself, but they seemingly saw nothing of the figure! This was also the case with a gentleman who was in the process of going up the stairs at the same time the maid came down; they passed one another, but he didn’t see a thing!?
Most interestingly, John assures me that he knew nothing whatsoever about the ‘ghost of a maid’ being associated with the hall at that point in time! It wasn’t until – later – the person responsible for running the event related the ghostly history of the site, following the investigation, and such data was finally revealed..!
Unfortunately, the above-mentioned, brief sighting is the one and only account that can be described as rock-solid and reliable! Online sources list ‘alleged ghostlore’, but, of course, this cannot be vouched for or investigated… as initial sources are not listed.
According to one newspaper report, it is said that, on the second floor, there is a derelict room which ‘houses the lost souls of children’ who were ‘abandoned and abused’ there. (‘Abandoned’ and ‘abused’?! Clearly, there should be a much larger story behind such a statement, eh!?)
Another of the reported ghosts is said to be a ‘maid’ who sadly perished in a fire, while supervising the children of the resident family. The maids room was subsequently bricked up and, supposedly, visitors have reported 'feeling their faces burning' after entering the re-opened chamber?
Dragging sounds have also been heard in the attic area and people have felt their hair being pulled and tugged. Unspecified 'poltergeist-like' effects have also been mentioned. Loud noises have seemingly been heard: doors closing and slamming and banging sounds on the stairs. As far as reported ‘apparitions’ are concerned, there certainly seems something of a heady, mixed-bag of motifs… including monks, young children – the aforementioned maid – and period style, farm-worker-types!?
As with news of the bulk of adventures these days... all that really remains to be noted here is - as always - my most abject thanks to John Chance (of 'GhostcallersUK') for so kindly asking me to accompany him on his excursions! Bless you Sir!!
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