One Of The Most Haunted Houses In England

Now, I absolutely adore an old building, and we’re deeply blessed here in the UK to have thousands of them that are open to the public. I love the history, the architecture, and I’m quite partial to a gargoyle – so the more gothic a building is, the better. For me, at least. If you look at the upper right of the picture above, you can see a little friar keeping an eye on the place from his perch.

Yesterday, I popped along to the beautiful Samlesbury Hall, nestled in the Lancashire countryside not far from Preston. As always, this building has been literally on my doorstep since I moved back to the North West, but I’ve never been to visit. I put an end to this tragedy in spectacular style.

The first thing that I found out when I got to Salmesbury Hall was that they were actually going to knock it down in 1927 and build a housing estate! Luckily, some local businessmen stepped in and saved the building, ensuring that this treasure was preserved for future generations to enjoy.

The History of Samlesbury

From what I understand, there was a house that stood before Samlesbury, but it was destroyed in 1322/23 and the current house was built. The medieval house that stands here now was built in 1325 by the Southworth family as their home. Since then it has been an inn, a private school and also a factory.

I do think, excluding castles, that this is the oldest (and most beautiful) house I’ve ever been in.

Bluebird

The house has a fantastic history, and it’s not just about ghosts and witchcraft.

The Bluebird K7 was built at Samlesbury Engineering which used to be what is now the overflow car park. The Bluebird K7 helped Donald Campbell set the world water speed record, being the first successful jet powered hydroplane, and is still around today. You can see it at the Rustin Museum in Coniston, in the Lake District.

Stanley Jeeves and the Search For The Yeti

Stanley Jeeves, a photographer from Nelson in Lancashire, was chosen for an expedition sponsored by the Daily Mail to go to Everest and document the search for the abominable snowman, or the Yeti. Various expeditions in the years before had reported sightings of the elusive creature, as well as unusually large footprints in the snow. Even Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reported seeing large footprints when they scaled Mount Everest in 1953.

In 1967, Jeeves was appointed the manager of the Lancashire branch of the Council For The Preservation of Rural England, or the CPRE, and they were invited by the trustees to make their HQ at Samlesbury Hall.

As a filmmaker myself, I was surprised and delighted to see all Jeeves equipment on display in one of the upper halls.

The Ghosts of Samlesbury Hall

Samlesbury Hall has a plethora of alleged ghosts, with the most famous being the Lady In White who is supposed to be the ghost of Lady Dorothea Southworth.

She is said to roam the grounds and the halls of the house, looking for her lost love. Many staff and visitors over the years have reported seeing her ghost, even capturing her in pictures, like the one above.

If you look carefully at the fireplace above, there is a small nook to the left, which is where a priest hid in the 1500s to escape religious persecution. He was found by soldiers, dragged out of the fireplace, and decapitated on the spot. The floor where he was beheaded is said to have a blood stain that returns no matter how hard you scrub.

13 Ghosts And The Samlesbury Hall Ghost Project

The Hall is quite proud of its haunted history and have established The Samlesbury Hall Ghost Project so that they can record all ghostly sightings and reports for the record books.

They also hold regular Ghost Hunts throughout the year, where those brave enough can spend a night looking for The Lady In White.

Incidentally, one of my favourite ghost movies is called Lady In White and never fails to give me goose bumps.

Ghostly Footsteps

On the day I was lucky that I was basically alone touring the building, so had the whole house to myself.

The Hall doesn’t charge for entry, but they do ask for a donation which you can pop into any of the donation boxes scattered through the rooms. I popped some cash into the one just inside the front door, and it spoke to me in the most adorable way! I won’t tell you what it says, but it’s worth a visit just for that. I’m not sure if all of the donation boxes talk to you, but if you go in through the front door, that one definitely does.

Walking through the ground floor halls, I could almost hear footsteps following me, and there was never anybody there. But the whole floor is wooden, and creaked with every step. There’s also the weight distribution issue – when you step on a floorboard in one place, it can cause movement along the board and so can cause a crack at the other end. And this sounds exactly like someone coming up behind you. But it’s not. It’s just the floor moving.

The whole house is just beautiful, both inside and out, with great examples of medieval architecture and fixtures.

A Ghostly Slap, or A Rush Of Wind?

Upstairs in the hall is a bridge that runs across from one side of the house to another. The hallway houses paintings from end to end and it was while I was here that I felt a rush of wind past my face and then all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Spooky! Except that it was a hot sunny day and the doors to the hall on either end of this bridge were open, so it could have been a breeze caused by someone opening a door or even someone just walking past.

I loved the goosebumps though. I’ll take those any day of the week!

And if you look at the bridge, it’s definitely a bit of a wind tunnel.

Gift Shop

When I’d finished my tour, I went into the gift shop and bought a couple of books on the history of the hall. The staff in there are super friendly, and gave me the best advice on what the best route around the grounds was when I asked.

Outside

There is lots to appreciate in the grounds of the Hall, if not just to step back and admire the building itself.

Across the car park is a pretty little wooded area housing a pirate ship playground for the kids – or childish adults – to play on. Further on is a little crazy golf area, and further on from that are shepherds huts available for overnight stays, so you can try and spot the ghost of Lady Dorothea on one of her nightly jaunts.

The perfect end to my visit was the Heritage Cafe, where I had a wonderful cream tea for one and read of one of my books from the gift shop.

Planning a Visit

Samlesbury Hall is open most days from 10am until 4pm, but do check on their website at http://www.samlesburyhall.co.uk to plan because they host weddings at the house and will be closed for any events such as this.

They host guided tours and ghost tours for guests, which you can again find out details about on their website.

The Hall can be found at Preston New Road, Samlesbury, Lancashire PR5 0UP, not far from the M6 motorway.

If you get a chance to visit this beautiful house, whether you’re looking for ghosts or just a great piece of history, you won’t be disappointed.