Halloween: The Ghosts of Middleton Hall

"Ghost" in the doorway to the Stone Building at Middleton Hall, late 20th century. Courtesy of Philip and William de Hamel.

For Halloween, this post will focus on the reported sightings of ghosts at Middleton Hall. The Hall has often played host to ghost-hunting nights and evenings. Understandably, most of these hunts have initially tended to focus on the older buildings of the Hall in the east wing. However, there has not really been a sighting of a ghost there, except for one – a skeleton dressed up in a sheet by the de Hamel children. A photograph of this still exists, simply labelled as “ghost”.

So what are the stories and sightings of specific ghosts at Middleton Hall?

The most well-documented ghost at Middleton Hall is the Grey Lady, sometimes alternatively referred to as the Lady in Grey. She has been sighted on a great many occasions over the centuries.

One of the oldest accounts of the Grey Lady stated that she was often seen “floating” along the Long Walk, which is now the Nature Trail. Historically, this route connected to the now bricked-up ancient stone archway in the Glade and was the pedestrian entrance to the Hall. It was claimed that she was looking and waiting for her lost love, who had failed to arrive. Her “lost love” was said to have been the knight in the moat. After his remains were found and properly buried at Middleton Church, she was said never to have been seen again. That version of the story did not last particularly well because there were many subsequent sightings.

Reverend Robert Vere Hodge, vicar of Middleton in the time of the tenancy of the de Hamels, recounted a tale told to him by his father about the Grey Lady. His father had been vicar of Middleton in the time of the tenancy of John Peel. The tale noted that the Grey Lady was frequently reported to have been seen around the Hall but it was not widely accepted until after one sighting.

Mrs Peel had gone into the Library and noticed, to her surprise, a lady waiting there. She went immediately to the butler asking him who the lady was and admonishing him for not having announced her. He subserviently told her that there had been no visitors. It was only then that they realised that it was the Grey Lady. Vere Hodge commented that no-one was allowed to question the existence of the Grey Lady afterwards.

The same butler reported various sightings of the Grey Lady on the staircase in the Great Hall and said that he would always have to give way to her. He also said that whenever she was waiting in any room, he would leave the lamps and candles lit for her out of courtesy.

Reports of her sighting continued through the de Hamel tenancy and Averill period of ownership. These historic sightings were often blamed on the gas lamps. These lamps emitted low levels of carbon monoxide, which can cause hallucinations. It was thought that these hallucinations were the reported ghost.

The problem with that theory is the sightings continued. There are numerous accounts of sightings by volunteers from when the restoration of the Hall began in 1980 to very recent times. Many have reported seeing the figure of a woman looking out from the windows of the Hall, most often the first-floor front room. Thinking it to be vandals or someone who shouldn’t have been there, they entered only to find no-one present in the Hall. In the earliest days of the restoration, when it was impossible to access the first floor, it was even more disconcerting.

Middleton Hall volunteer Jean Davies as the "Grey Lady" in the John Ray Room on the Open By Candlelight event at Middleton Hall, 2022.

Another very common report was that of hearing footsteps overhead when there was no-one else present in the Hall. Furthermore, there was a very recent report of three volunteers walking down the corridor in the West Wing and one asked the others who the woman was that had just walked past them. The other two had not seen anyone else in the corridor.

Finally, there is also a reported not sighting but hearing of ghost dogs. For a long period of time Middleton Hall Trust had resident caretakers who lived in the cottage at the east end of the South Wing. For overnight ghost hunts, the caretakers would let in the group and close the Hall afterwards. Following a ghost hunting night, the general manager came in the next day and asked the caretakers how it had gone. They said it went fine but it was a bit odd as they had brought dogs with them and left them in the Old Kitchen and the dogs had barked incessantly for most of the night. The manager then contacted the group leader for their feedback. They replied that they had found nothing but their visit was good. A negative for their visit though was that the caretakers' dogs had barked incessantly in the Old Kitchen and were a big distraction. The caretakers had no dogs and the group had not brought any dogs. This is the only known report of the ghost dogs.

Ghost hunting tours have reported various things including: seeing a mysterious lady in a red dress on the grand staircase in the Great Hall; hearing strange noises and bangs from the Old Kitchen; hearing unexplained footsteps from empty corridors and rooms; and seeing the fleeting shape of figures.

Further Reading:

Mike Lockley, “New sighting of the 'Grey Lady ghost' at historic Midlands home”, Birmingham Mail, 24 October 2018, https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/ghost-haunts-this-tamworth-home-15301780

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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