Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Specific Location: Middleton

Apparitions / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Radclyffe Arms

There is a story that an apparition of a man has been seen sitting at the bar with a pint of beer. It has been suggested that it could be the ghost a man who killed himself in the cellar. This haunting is mentioned on several websites but I am unsure of its origin.

Occult / Occult Traditions / Witchcraft

Witchcraft In Middleton

Around 1630 a man named Utley, presumably from Middleton was accused of witchcraft, tried at Lancaster, found guilty and hanged. It was thought that he had bewitched to death Richard Assheton (before 1625 – 1630), first son of Sir Ralph Assheton Esq, Lord of Middleton and his wife Elizabeth Kaye.

Civil War Hauntings / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Ring O’ Bells

The Ring O’Bells is said to be one of the oldest buildings in Middleton, and may be one of its most haunted. Historically the pub’s foundations are thought to date all the way back to Saxon times, and legend has it that a Druidical temple stood at this spot in the Iron Age – perhaps a place of ancient sacrifice.