The Old Hall Hotel Sandbach History

The Old Hall Hotel Sandbach is a near perfect example of genuine Elizabethan architecture, built from original wattle & daub, and was probably one of the last genuine black and white buildings to be completed in England.

The earliest date given to the building is 1656, which is probably when the descendants of Sir John Radcliffe erect the building. The building occupies the site of an ancient mansion, who were once lords of the manor.

Much of the original structure is preserved today including the Jacobean paneled dining room and lounge, original Jacobean fireplaces, a priest hole & an underground passage leading to St Mary’s Church.

http://www.theoldhallhotel.com/

Old Hall Sandbach History

The Ghosts

Many Ghosts haunt the Old Hall Sandbach.

Room 11

Room 11 is our most haunted bedroom. It is haunted by several ghosts.

The old Lady

A 90-year-old lady sits in the chair by the bed. The lady died of a heart attack over 200 years ago in the room and now can’t understand why people come into her room. People sense a presence in the room and objects move in the night.

The Fire

A number of guests jumped out of bed at 3 am, they report they felt that the bed was on fire and that they just had to get out of the room. This haunting is believed to date back to the mansion which stood on the site before the current building burnt down.

This blind fear may be the result of a soul who died in the fire perhaps while only half awake.

The Prostitutes

The spirits of two young girls who died at the age of 12-13 and were believed to be prostitutes brought into the hotel for the gentlemen’s pleasure at the time that the building was a coaching inn in the 19th century are seen throughout the hotel including room 11.

These spirits are somewhat mischievous they are heard in the bedroom and also in the kitchen and restaurant in the early hours where they can be heard giggling, opening doors, and in one case terrifying the chef who then left by arranging his knives in the kitchen.

The Bar & Lounge

The Bar and Lounge as shown on our webcam are haunted by a number of spirits including:

The Grey Lady

Some of the paneling for the hotel was taken from nearby Haslington Hall.

When it was removed, the skeleton of a baby was found behind the paneling. Since the paneling was moved, a grey lady has been seen in this area of the hotel. It is believed that she is looking for her baby, as she wanders around the hotel as if searching for something

The Priest Hole

Behind the Jacobean Fireplace in the lounge is a priest hole.

If you look carefully, you can see the hidden door to the right of the fireplace and above the fire to peep holes to allow air in and to allow the priest to look out. While the priests often did escape the soldiers who searched for them, they often did not escape the fire and were burnt to death in the priest’s hole.

No specific ghost is attributed to the fireplace but many orbs and presences are felt and seen in this area.

Sir John Radcliffe

Sir John was the original owner of the old hall, staff report seeing a tall man who appears directly in front of them. He also clicks door latches repeatedly and makes hanging pint pots swivel on their hooks in the bar. Sir John likes to give the staff a bit of a scare by moving things suddenly.

The Bee Keeper

The Bee Keeper is one of our more famous ghosts as she is regularly seen. The lady, dressed as a beekeeper walks from the front door to the stairs. She is believed to be very old and unaffected by our presence.

The Cellar

In cellar is a tunnel that leads under the main road to St Mary’s Church opposite, emerging behind the altar.

The tunnel is believed to have been used by priests and was also used to smuggle girls into the hotel. Another tunnel leads from the church to a house on the front street and a further tunnel is alleged to exist linking the old hall with the house on the front street but it has not been found.

The tunnel is believed by psychics to create a passage for spirits from the church to pass into the hotel. A man with a gauntlet for a bird of prey was seen sitting in the cellar by a visiting psychic and the web designer who built this website saw peculiar blue lights in the pictures he took of the cellar.

The Attic

The attic was once the servant’s quarters and those that venture into the attic sense them. The spirits that dwell in the attic seem to come from both houses, both the existing building and the mansion that burnt down before and so many of these spirits are believed to be those who died in the fire.

First Broadcast: 19th October 2004

Matt Barlow

A self confessed super fan of Most Haunted and editor of GhostMag.com. Matt’s passion for ghost hunting began when he moved into a haunted house in his second year of university in Leicester! His favourite location is the Niddry Street Vaults in Edinburgh.