One of the UK's 'most haunted' ancient halls is facing an uncertain future, according to residents.
The small village of Samlesbury, near Preston, is home to a Grade I listed hall dating back to 1325. The Samlesbury Hall often finds itself as the top contender for Britain's most haunted buildings.
It's surrounded by idyllic farmland and charming cottages, creating the perfect spooky atmosphere for this time of year. Despite its popularity, the stately hall still looks as if it was built yesterday, Lancs Live reports.
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However, it is now at the centre of a row between the community's residents and companies who want to ring in charges. AHousing developer Story Homes has thrown in a £400m proposal to build Cuerdale Garden Village which will be made up of 1,300 homes, a primary school, leisure facilities, a local shopping centre and employment space.
The huge development has attracted criticism due to the fact that it could see the firm buy up agricultural, green belt land and farm land. Under the plans, two local farmers would be forced to move if the landowner, Booth Charities, decides to sell.
Lancashire Live spoke to some of the local farmers who are building up opposition to the plans. Tenant farmer John Eastham, 71, who works at a dairy farm, said: "We would lose our livelihoods - the farm would be gone. There’s always been a farm, and this has always been farm land.
“We would lose that with this application, if it were to go through, It will affect farms - not just us. We don’t know what the decision will be and we don’t know what to do - it’s the unknown.
"The more food they have to bring into the country, the more expensive it will be in the middle of this cost of living crisis. I have worked here all my life and it’s my son in charge now; it’s a family run farm, and it’s the unknown and the uncertainty, on top of the cost going up like everything else.”
Graham Young, the chair of Samlesbury and Cuerdale Parish council said: "The feeling in the community is that we need to save the green belt - it’s basically the lungs between Preston and Blackburn, and people during the pandemic used it as a respite to get out walking. If they start building there, it won’t be long before the whole of Samlesbury is built on and it will mushroom out.
“South Ribble has got so much prime agricultural land; this is fantastic farm land - one of the farms produces four million litres of milk a year ,and we have got another one who produces ice cream, pork and beef. We talk about carbon footprint, well these farms are producing milk that’s being processed locally and consumed locally; there are so many benefits of keeping the farms where they are and building on brownfield sites instead.
“If this gets the go ahead, it will escalate down the A59 and all the other local landowners will sell as well.” His other fears are of gas pipes on the proposed site, he adds, along with the loss of the village’s war memorial hall dating back to 1923, and the sheer scale of the development, which he says would be ‘already the size of Buckshaw Village’ near Chorley.
He adds: “There are quite a few gas pipes, such as two major supply pipes that bring the gas from Aberdeen and one from Heysham down to Samlesbury and they’re a 36 inch ad 42 inch supply pipe, so they really shouldn’t build there from a safety perspective.
“It’s already the size of Buckshaw Village, which is massive and has all the infrastructure around there with a train station, whereas the roads here would be unsuitable for that number of cars.”
Visible evidence of the strength of local feeling can be seen in the form of banners, attached to farm fencing on Cuerdale Lane. They read: “Save our Green Belt’ and ‘Save Samlesbury.’ Just recently a nearby pub was closed, according to locals.
Farmer John Eastham misses the recently closed pub, said: “It was a village centre - there’s nothing else now. I didn’t go in a lot but it was nice when I did go in for food.”
Councillor Young said: “We do need to support the pubs because they’re closing left, right and centre; you’ve the Nabs Head that’s closed, and there’s a battle over the Windmill at the moment to try to turn it into a Spar and garage, and this one. That’s three pubs: The Windmill closed a number of years ago, the Nabs Head in March this year, and the New Hall Tavern in May. They just can’t find landlords; it’s the cost of living crisis. Something needs to happen because where do people go to socialise?“
He added: “As it stands, if you walk around this area, it’s a fantastic community and residents know each other. People are on the lookout for their neighbours. We’re moving away from that now - if they want to build a housing estate where people drive to work, it’s the end of the community isn’t it?”
The history of Samlesbury Hall is rooted in the story of 17th-century teenager Dorothea Southworth, whose forbidden lover was brutally killed. Many believe her spirit still haunts the grounds, appearing as 'the white lady' to visitors.
There is also a tale that Samlesbury was once home to three witches. Manageress Maria dos Santos Martins at Samlesbury Hall tells us visitors are ‘always’ reporting spooky goings on during ghost tours. “People do feel something; I have had people say they had their hair pulled in the ladies, or, ‘I felt this presence in the priests’ room.
“People do feel something - especially the clairvoyants, and at the end of the ghost nights, people always tell me things that make me think, there must be something. People bring these flashlights that light up in the presence of spirits, and it’s usually children that make the lights flash, at the top of the stairs.
"But saying that, if there are ghosts, they’re nice ones.”
Councillor Paul Foster, Leader of South Ribble Borough Council said, over the proposed housing development: “We understand an application of this size will generate a lot of interest locally, and we have asked the developer to ensure that it offers plenty of opportunities for residents and businesses to learn more about what is planned and to provide feedback. The principle of a Garden Village is one that provides a ‘whole’ development with all the infrastructure that is required and so there will be a lot of information to consider.
“An outline planning application has been submitted and views from the public are being taken at the moment. All comments will be taken on board and debated by our Planning Committee.
“As always, our goal is to ensure that any development is right for the borough, our residents and the community and we will carefully consider all views put forward. The developers have created a website that contains a list of FAQs and how people can take part in the consultations at various stages of the planning process, and I’d urge people who are interested to take a look at the information. You can find this at cuerdalegardenvillage.co.uk.”
John Winstanley, managing director for Strategic Land at Story Homes, said: “ As a responsible builder, Story Homes endeavours to minimise any potential impact on those who live in the areas close to our proposed developments. As such, we are working very closely with the current landowners, the Booth Charities, to explore a range of measures to support the affected tenants.
"Whilst we are unable to comment on specific cases due to sensitivity, the Booth Charities and Story Homes are in regular contact with the tenants to ensure they are kept fully informed as the plans progress.”
Jonathan Aldersley, clerk to the Trustees of Booth Charities, said: “ As a charitable organisation, the Trustees of the Booth Charities are focused on offering help and support to all those who are associated with the Charity. The Trustees take their obligations as charitable trustees very seriously and are engaging in ongoing consultation with each of the potentially affected tenants, including a face-to-face meeting last month to update them on plans and understand their views.
"The planning application submitted by Story Homes will follow the appropriate procedures and processes and it would be unfair to prejudice the application in any way by seeking to comment further.”
A spokesperson for estate agents Everard Cole said that the New Hall Tavern was not up for same. They added: "he property is not for sale - the owners, Stonegate Group, want to keep the property and find new tenants."
A spokesperson for Stonegate Pub Partners told us: “We are actively looking for a new Pub Partner to reopen the New Hall Tavern as soon as possible. For more information on the site, please visit: stonegatepubpartners.co.uk/find-a-pub/new-hall-tavern_024900 ”
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