“I would say you’re never alone at Ordsall, ever”

COULD one of the most haunted places in Manchester be right on your doorstep?

Ordsall Hall in Salford dates back to 1360 and is one of the oldest buildings in the area; it’s also reportedly home to a few friendly spirits…

For many years, Ordsall Hall sat at the heart of a large estate. Made up of fields, woodlands, a chapel and a watermill, by the end of the 1600’s the estate covered 200 acres of land- the same size as 200 football pitches. One can only imagine what the site looked like all these years ago, as now it’s surrounded by terrace houses and building work.

Being the ancestral home and Tudor manor house of the Radclyffe family for 13 generations from 1360 to 1660, there’s three ghosts who are reported to repeatedly haunt the mansion. With a phenomenal reputation for spirit activity, there’s been reports of responsive bangs, people being grabbed and even poltergeist activity on many occasions.

Lauren Gradwell, who works at the mansion spoke about the reported activity: “it’s not really a case of seeing the ghosts as they don’t appear at will,” she began. “You’ll get the very strong scent of roses and lavender or you’ll feel something brush past you or maybe pinch your bottom, that’s Sir John Radclyffe. You’ll hear for example a mighty bang, put your head in expecting to find a beam on the floor and there’s nothing.”

Lauren’s descriptions add up to visitors sightings at the Tudor mansion. Stories point to the ghost of a young girl called Cecily who is said the roam the Hall usually when other children are in the building. Her presence can be sensed as the smell of lavender and roses fill the air.

Sir John Radclyffe is also reported to haunt the Star Chamber and has an eye for the ladies; known to pinch their bums in the past. The ‘White Lady’, Lady Margaret Radclyffe is also said to haunt the chamber, and is the most famous one of the hall.

“Lady Margaret was one of twins,” Lauren explained. “She died in 1599 after her twin brother, Alexander died in battle; her younger brother also died of similar reasons the year before. She was also attracted to Lord Cobham who spurned her advances so she was under a lot of emotional strain. She couldn’t take it anymore and starved herself to death.”

Although she was buried at St.Margaret’s in Westminster, her spirit returned home to Ordsall where it’s said that she still waits for her brother to return home from battle.

So does Lauren think that Ordsall Hall could be one of the most haunted places in Manchester?

“I would say you’re never alone at Ordsall, ever…”

Take a visit there yourself in the day or on one of their night-time ghost tours, or tune into their GhostCams from your own home. The GhostCams operate from 5.00pm to 8.00am and are situated in in the oldest areas of the Hall.