Alcester Town Hall Ghost Hunts with Paranormal Eye UK 

Ghost Hunts at the former old hall can only be described as an intense experience! Since the early 1900s, there have been hundreds of reports of paranormal activity here at this location, including poltergeist activity. From dark ghostly shadows, drastic temperature changes, too. This building has had many uses, From an old court to an old lockup to a hospital during the Great War. There have been reports of soldiers dressed in period clothing looking out from the upper windows. Things are said to move when staff members have left items in particular places. Loud, unexplained bangs and thuds are heard. Strange mists have been seen wandering across the lower floor. Many people feel that someone is standing behind them or beside them when nobody is there. Are you ready to join us and discover who haunts Alcester Town Hall to be part of this intense overnight ghost hunt?

This Location Is Situated in the heart of Alcester, Warwickshire. Paranormal activity has occurred at this location for many years; having been constructed in 1641, the Town Hall has a great atmosphere with exposed beams and wooden floors. The Town Hall was originally an open market, which was eventually filled in to create a covered call, and it was made home to the town 'lock-up', the door of which is still on display alongside the town stocks. Much of the upper part of the building hasn't changed since 1641. This location is a must for anyone who wants to explore the paranormal and be part of this intense ghost-hunting night.  

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History of Alcester Town Hall 

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In 1618, the Lord of the Manor of Alcester, Sir Fulke Greville III, provided £300 for the building of a market hall. Before that, traders and customers gathered at a well and market cross that would likely occupy the same site.

Simon Whyte was appointed master mason. The limestone for the colonnade columns and the cornice carne from his quarry at Chipping Campden; the remainder was Arden Sandstone, probably from Little Alne.

Initially, the whole building was constructed in stone, but this was too expensive. The timber-framed upper floor, with its magnificent roof, was later built in 1641. Look for the date carved on one of the roof beams to the west side of the hall; it has recently been confirmed by tree-ring dating of the timbers.

The arches of the ground level were open, and all kinds of produce would have been traded using the space between the pillars, particularly those which needed shelter from the sun, like cheese or expensive goods such as silk, which had to be kept out of the rain.

Sir Fulke’s manorial court, the Court Leet, checked the produce, charged traders and fined them if goods were not up to scratch. Upstairs, boards display the names of High and Low Bailiffs of the manor from 1299 to the present day.

They also jailed offenders in the basement prison known as The Hole, which still exists today. Its massive oak door with iron bars is now displayed in the main ground-floor room. The cell was still used as the town lock-up until about 1850, when a new police station opened on Henley Street.

ln 1765, following a petition from townspeople, the Lord of the Manor Francis Greville, last Earl of Warwick, revoked all market tolls payable to him on condition that the people of Alcester kept the hall in good repair. In the mid-19th century, it housed the town’s fire engine. In 1870, the roof was modified into the “hammer-beam” form seen today, although a false ceiling concealed it for a time. By this time, the old market had ceased, so in 1873, the Marquess of Hertford (whose family had become Lords of the Manor in 1813) enclosed and converted the ground floor for use as the town’s magistrate’s court.

The town stocks were stored here and displayed on the ground floor. They are of unusual design with four iron wheels, ready to be pushed outside through the streets of Alcester when required. Also on the ground floor, in a box attached to the ceiling, is a splendid hand-coloured Ordnance Survey map of 1887 showing the ancient manor of Alcester and surrounding parishes. Please view with great care when on display.

During the Great War, the hall was used as a hospital, and in 1919, the town of Alcester raised £640 by public subscription to purchase the freehold of the hall from the 7th Marquess of Hertford. The Alcester War Memorial Town Hall was renamed in memory of those who had given their lives for their country. A trust was set up naming the High and Low Bailiff of the manor during their term of office. They are still elected annually by male members of the community who are residents, leaseholders or freeholders in the estate. The ground floor was intended to be an institute and reading room, but this never happened.

In 1938 the hall received a gift of the coat of arms of the 2nd Marquess of Hertford, which now hangs above the upstairs fireplace. He married the Honourable Isabella Anne Ingram Sheppard in 1776, and the plaque shows how both family names were combined heraldically. The false ceiling was removed in the same year, exposing the roof’s timbers. The present fireplace and main stairs, in period style, were installed in 1939.

During the Second World War, the people of Alcester and surrounding nearby parishes raised £139,000 to commission the corvette, HMS Monkshood. You will find a ship model and ensign in the upper room. During the 1950s, many improvements and repairs began, including a new oak floor upstairs. Significant restorations have been carried out on the outside walls.

In 1978 a charitable trust and management committee was established, and Mr J Adams was appointed as the first chairman, a post he held until 2006. During this period, an immense amount of work was undertaken to preserve and improve the hall, including significant alterations to the ground floor in 1985-6. In 1999 the committee welcomed the 9th Marquess of Hertford, who succeeded his father as Patron and Lord of the Manor.