Chingle Hall

[dancin'hamster]

Ok, well, you asked for it

Chingle Hall ~ A brief History

Just north of Preston, in the small village of Goosnargh, lies Chingle Hall. A small, unassuming place, it is an important place. It is said to be one of the oldest houses in the area, a Saint was born there, and it is supposedly the most haunted house in Great Britain….

The house is believed to have been built in 1260 by a young knight named Adam De Singleton. The house was first call Singleton Hall, but was later changed to Chingle Hall. During the time of the Catholic reformation, it was illegal to practice mass in Britain and Chingle Hall was used as a place of worship by Catholics and had many priest hides made for the Priests to hide in if the Hall was raided by the kings soldiers.

Chingle Hall still has its original oak front door, now around 800 years old. Upon the door is the 'Sanctuary Knocker' which is in the shape of a 'Y'. The three points represent the father, the son and the holly spirit, and if you were an outlaw and you made it to Chingle Hall and managed to touch this knocker, you were granted amnesty for a few days. Once you left the Hall you could not be arrested if you went straight to the nearest port and left the country. Once in the porch there is a narrow window, the ‘witches window’ set into the wall. This is the only original Tudor glass. During the time of the Catholic reformation, a candle would be placed in the window, and the light would shine out in the shape of a cross to let people know that it was safe to come to mass. It also acted as a way of finding the Hall at night. Once inside the Great Hall, you see the wooden beams going across the ceiling. Some of these beams have strange symbols on them. No one really knew what these symbols were, until some scientists took samples of the wood. They found that the wood was much older than Chingle Hall, and had a lot of salt in them. The wood had actually come from an old Viking longboat, the name Goosnargh being of Viking origin.

St John Wall, born in the Hall in the 17th century, was hanged for heresy in Worcester in 1679. His head was taken to France but is believed to have eventually been brought back and buried at the Hall.

The Ghosts

The hauntings have been recorded here for many centuries, but the stories were not brought to light until a couple bought the Hall as a crumbling ruin, and lovingly restored it. I remember the Hall being for sale – my mum actually contemplated buying it but decided that it would be too much work to ‘do it up’……………what a shame! We could have been rich! Rich I tell you! LOL!

Many people have described seeing shadowy monks, a strange skull-like face peering out of the St John Wall Room window, a woman in a long dress, and faces looking into the windows of the Great Hall. Monks have also been seen in the orchard, and motorists travelling along the road that runs past the Hall have glimpsed strange figures flitting about! Bottoms have been pinched, handbags rattled, small children giggle with glee at something visible only to them, a stroke victim was helped up the stairs, strange sounds have been recorded – the list is endless!

Anyhoo, I’d never really heard about the Ghosties there, and when I was dragged along by mum and her friend, I wasn’t really looking forward to the visit. I was surprised at just how small the Hall is………..sitting in a little moat with a stone bridge leading up to the ancient door. There was a caravan in the orchard selling tickets and mum kept me out – because there were literally hundreds of books full of the encounters that visitors had had there! (I was allowed to sit and read some afterwards). As we crossed the bridge and went into the porch I was listening intently to the Guide. As I listened I was felt that someone was lifting my skirt up at the back! I spun round (ready to give someone a slap) but was faced by a bare wall……the other people in the group we in front of me…………..hmmmmmmm…”odd” I thought….We continued into the Chapel. A strong waft of incense greeted me, and made me cough & splutter……..but when I asked, no one else smelt it. Feeling a bit silly, I wandered over to the doorway and wondered whether to take a few snaps. My camera, a new-fangled Minolta with an auto-zoom began to beep (it normally did this when the shutter button was pressed, and the lens began to slide in and out….in and out….in and out…….and suddenly all attention was on me again. I decided that the battery was flat but the guide assured me that it was ‘always happening’. Nothing much else happened, apart from my funny turn on the upper landing (as described in another thread) until we got into the St John Wall room. As we walked in I could smell the most vile stench. I looked accusingly at a small child, but it was giggling away, not acting as if it had filled it’s nappy….and besides, the smell was like rotten meat. That high, sickly sweet smell…..ick! When I mentioned this it was clear that I was the only person who could smell it….very embarrassing again….until another woman piped up that she smelt it as she entered the room. As we left, I turned back and decided to see if I could take a picture of the Hall. The camera worked perfectly…it was then that mum told me of her experiences there, and showed me the vast array of visitors’ comments in the dusty books kept in the caravan.

I returned twice more with different people. On one occasion something pulled my friends’ hair so hard that her eyes watered. We watched as several hairs floated down onto the floor. She also nearly passed out on the landing, and complained of feeling sea-sick. The final time there, I had gone in a small group of about 6 and we had the place to ourselves. On the way out I tried to open the heavy door from the Great Hall into the Porch but it wouldn’t budge. I struggled with it for some time before asking to guide to let us out. He simply tapped on the door and said “please let the young lady out”……….and the heavy door swung open. I don’t mind telling you that I ran out of the place.

But there were no ‘negative’ feelings there. Nothing felt nasty…….it was all quite nice and friendly. As a ‘sit-in-the-fencer’ I find these experiences hard to explain. If anyone had told me this story I would not have believed them. Perhaps it’s because the Hall stands next to water (water carries electro-magnetics & static energy), perhaps it’s because it stands where two Ley Lines cross………I have no idea!

There are quite a few books about Chingle, and if you want to find out more, just type it into your browser. I don’t know if the Hall is still available for all-night vigils, but if you are interested, contact the owners!

*prods readers*

hey....wake up!!

Hammy x x x

[Cufflink]

Hammy, what can I say? Another corker.

But you're still a fence-sitter after that?

Significant that the hall sits where leys cross. And the the running water factor (another constant). Could these be the ingrediants required to set up psychic batteries , as it were. Where spirit energy can be trapped or recorded?

My home is on top of an old brook, and you wouldn't believe the stuff people see here.

Great post.

[dancin'hamster]

Why, spank-you Cuffy!

Glad you enjoyed it.......

I am still a 'sit-on-the-fencer/ditherer' because I can only vouch for my own experiences not those of others. There are many out there who will always take anything 'strange' and immeadiately assume it's ghosts/psychic phenomena. I honestly believe that 99.9% of all hauntings are caused by electro-magnetics or low-frequency sounds waves.

My mum died a very slow and painful death from cancer back in 2001. We were very close. She has not been back to see me, nor have I ever been 'aware' of her presence. This is why I now find it hard to accept that spirits can communicate with us...........

Hammy x x x

[Cufflink]

There are many out there who will always take anything 'strange' and immeadiately assume it's ghosts/psychic phenomena. I honestly believe that 99.9% of all hauntings are caused by electro-magnetics or low-frequency sounds waves.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Hammy.

I can see your point.

As for what you say above, maybe that's what ghosts are. Maybe the ghost phenomena has many different elements who all get lumped together under the same umbrella.

The jury's still out. Actually, I suspect the jury have all b*ggered off down to the pub, but that's beside the point.

Just don't get a splinter sat on that fence.

[dancin'hamster]

"maybe that's what ghosts are. Maybe the ghost phenomena has many different elements who all get lumped together under the same umbrella"

Quite possibly .... but how can we explain these ghosts that acutally inter-act? I've got a fantastic report from a very sensible, down-to-earth lady who has a lot of activity in her house. One of the 'entities' tried to communicate with her one night but she was too scared............hmmmmmmmmm...*thinks: maybe I oughta post this one too*

See? It's a spiral in a circle, an enigma wrapped in a wot-sit

Hammy x x x

[dancin'hamster]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/spooky/200.../chingle2.shtml

I forgot to put this on the thread

hope someone finds it interesting!

Hammy x x x

[Agent_21]

That's very interesting, Hammy. This part of the forum seems to have gone crazy just lately; I'm having trouble keeping up. Your personal experiences are most interesting. Incense is one of the more common occurrences at Chingle, so I've heard. I didn't know about the ley lines though. I have a press cutting from 1994 from which I will type out the salient point shortly.

Sorry about your mum. Mine is one of the lucky ones. I was particularly close to my maternal grandfather and felt sure that I would hear from him one day... As it happens it was my paternal grandfather, who I didn't know so well, who made his presence felt.

A:21

[Agent_21]

As promised:

The Haunted Hall that was nothing but a ghost story (Daily Express 21 June 1994.)

The old English manor house with its resident ghost looked an ideal opportunity to a Canadian professor. Chingle Hall was the most haunted house in Britain, he and his wife were assured. The couple paid £420,000 for the 600-yaer old moated manor and drew up plans to turn it into a major tourist attraction.

There was only one snag. The ghost of Chingle Hall was just a myth. And yesterday Prof Trevor Kirkham and his wife Judy sat in another old English building - the High Court at Liverpool - as they launched a legal action to get their money back.

The professor had been led to believe that the ghost of martyred Catholic priest John Wall roamed the building with other restless spirits. But Prof Kirkham has established that Wall never set foot there and was buried by nuns in East Anglia, the court heard.

A Wall family once lived at Chingle - but they had nothing to do with the martyr, despite claims that his severed head lies concealed in the walls.

The court was told that the professor and his wife were also misled by being told they could turn the Hall into a profitable tourist attraction. But it turned out that planning permission to develop the manor had already been refused. The couple are suing former owner, barrister John Bruce, claiming he exaggerated the house's potential.

Experts say the house with four priests' holes does have one fame to claim - it was the first domestic building in Britain to be built of brick.

The professor and his wife were 'gullible and naive' when they bought it, said their counsel. The Hall, which was open to the public, was losing £30,000 a year.

Chingle Hall was built in 1350, but it was only about 30 years ago that rumours of it being haunted began to circulate. Prof Kirkham, 55, said: 'It seems that two old ladies lived there and they put about the rumours to attract visitors.'

****

Unfortunately I never followed this up and the conclusion to the court action is unknown to myself.

Whether John Wall has any connection with Chingle Hall is neither here nor there, as far as I'm concerned. Your experiences are just some of many I have read of over the years. It is not exactly unknown for a particular ghost to be misidentified (how many times have haunting hoofbeats been ascribed to DickTurpin?). Misidentification should not automatically cause a haunting to be doubted.

A:21

[Cufflink]

The old English manor house with its resident ghost looked an ideal opportunity to a Canadian professor. Chingle Hall was the most haunted house in Britain, he and his wife were assured. The couple paid £420,000 for the 600-yaer old moated manor and drew up plans to turn it into a major tourist attraction.

There was only one snag. The ghost of Chingle Hall was just a myth. And yesterday Prof Trevor Kirkham and his wife Judy sat in another old English building - the High Court at Liverpool - as they launched a legal action to get their money back.

Serves them right, souless b***ards,

Chingle Hall is virtually a national treasure. In a sort of scare-the-crap-out-of-you, sort of way. But it's not a theme park.

It's a pity that a team of parapsychologists can't get hold of the place.

Providing they don't take Richard Wiseman along.

[Elizabethleawilson]

The old English manor house with its resident ghost looked an ideal opportunity to a Canadian professor. Chingle Hall was the most haunted house in Britain, he and his wife were assured. The couple paid £420,000 for the 600-yaer old moated manor and drew up plans to turn it into a major tourist attraction.

There was only one snag. The ghost of Chingle Hall was just a myth. And yesterday Prof Trevor Kirkham and his wife Judy sat in another old English building - the High Court at Liverpool - as they launched a legal action to get their money back.

Serves them right, souless b***ards,

Chingle Hall is virtually a national treasure. In a sort of scare-the-crap-out-of-you, sort of way. But it's not a theme park.

Here Here.

[dancin'hamster]

thank you Agent - I remember that newspaper article well.........and I remember thinking how shallow the new owners were!

The Hall is still available for sleep-overs, so perhaps the ghosties are still on duty. Or maybe the new owners don't give out the right 'vibes' ...?

Hammy x x x

PS I rather like Richard Wise-ass.........but I don't always agree with him

[peachykeane]

Hallo everyone. Just sticking my oar in!

I've seen an episode about Chingle Hall on Ghosthunters recently and it definately deserves its reputation. As for what causes these phenomona, be it one or several things combined, I'm coming to the conclusion that in most paranormal events there seems to be some kind of inbuilt uncertainty principle at work whereas it seems impossible to pin down an exact cause, proof wise and is left to the individual to draw his/her own conclusions. For myself like in the above post I lost someone close to me and it probably made me more sceptical in a sense because the issue is of that much more importance, although having said that I still think there is enough evidence to suggest some ghosts are conscious, interacting entities.

[Vera Ikon]

Hi all,

I'm interested in ghosts and the paranormal, and I was searching Google for info on Chingle Hall when I found this forum! A friend of mine first told me about the Hall. She visted the Hall about 3 years ago with her now ex-fiance. They lived in London for about a year before she came back to America to finish college (which is where she and I met). Her ex's friend was obsessed with the Hall- last we knew, he'd become the weekend caretaker! The three of them spent the night there, and while my friend and her ex didn't see or hear anything that night, the ex's friend captured a strange "white swirl of smoke" (ectoplasm?) outside the Hall on his digicam. This swirl scared him a lot and he smoked, like, 2 packs of ciggies right after he took the picture (so I'm told). I'd love to visit the UK some day...in fact, it's my dream to buy an old castle or manor in the countryside and fix it up. But I'm not sure how I'd deal with any "former residents" popping up!

As for the great ghost debate...I think ghosts/spirits probably exist, but I've never actually seen one. I've had some "creepy" experiences, and been to some supposedly haunted places (namely, the Gettysburg battlefield, an odd tomb in Tennessee, and some palaces and churches Russia), but never had a experience that totally convince me either way. I think most of the stuff I've felt in these "haunted" locations was influences by my own fear and desire to believe...mostly, I just end up scaring myself silly.

[Agent_21]

Great name!

I'd love to visit the UK some day...in fact, it's my dream to buy an old castle or manor in the countryside and fix it up. 

Promise you'll let us stay.

A lot has happened at Chingle over the years and I think it likely that it still does. It would be nice for a really in-depth investigation into the Hall to take place. There's still more to say about Chingle and I'll say it sometime soon.

Edited October 13, 2003 by Agent_21

[Vera Ikon]

My friend also told me that Chingle Hall's owners weren't at all bothered by the ghostly goings-on, although they were more than happy to indulge the curious. So pots and pans in the kitchen occasionally fly at your head? So what?

The owners when she was there were an older couple...The wife died very suddenly a year or two ago, and the husband soon remarried, but his new wife refuses to stay at the Hall. She lives in town and he goes to see her on weekends, which is how her ex's friend got the caretaker job. He'd gotten into the habit of visiting the Hall just about every weekend, taging along with teams of psychics and exploring on his own.

Is is true that upon the discovery of John Wall's head somewhere on the grounds, all the hauntings will stop?

[dancin'hamster]

Is is true that upon the discovery of John Wall's head somewhere on the grounds, all the hauntings will stop?

I doubt it ......... I think it's the most amazing place I've ever been.

I recomend a visit to anyone

Hammy x x x

[Cufflink]

I really would love to visit Chingle Hall, despite being a big scaredy-wuss (well, a six-foot scaredy-wuss).

Just a case of plucking up the courage.

I keep meaning to visit Ordsall Hall, too, having seen some very interesting pictures taken by webcam. Does anyone know what happened with the Ordsall Hall ghost webcam? Stopped through lack of funding, or something, wasn't it?

[dancin'hamster]

I really would love to visit Chingle Hall, despite being a big scaredy-wuss (well, a six-foot scaredy-wuss). 

Just a case of plucking up the courage.

I'd give you 10 minutes alone in Chingle Hall - tops, before you screamed like a girl and begged to be let out!!!!

Hammy x x x

[Cufflink]

I'd give you 10 minutes alone in Chingle Hall - tops, before you screamed like a girl and begged to be let out!!!!

Hammy x x x

This is what we scaredy's have to put up with.

Ridicule and abuse.

[dancin'hamster]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[gb617uk]

havin spent a lot of time at chingle i can say that it is very haunted.6 overnighters plus numerous visits.

[gb617uk]

its now a private residence!!

[gh1]

You are of course quite correct Chingle Hall is now closed to the general public for the foreseeble future.

[Vera Ikon]

Oooh, oooh, please post the photo for us! Chingle Hall is a really special place because the hauntings have been so consistent over the years...and they all have concrete historical origins! I didn't know it was closed to the public now. I have no idea who would want to live there. As far as I'm concerned, only a hard-core skeptic could live in a house like that!