Clifton Hall in Birkenhead is a historic Masonic hall with a growing reputation for ghosts, strange knocks and footsteps in the darkness, writes DAVID SAUNDERSON
Clifton Hall in Birkenhead has been home to Freemasons for more than a century. Behind its Victorian sandstone façade are Masonic lodge rooms, dining rooms and meeting spaces still used by lodges today.
But another kind of group now passes through its doors.
Ghost hunters.
The Grade II-listed hall, dating from 1845, has gained a reputation for unexplained knocks, footsteps, shadows and strange activity in its windowless lodge rooms and dark basement.
Volunteer Jeff Forshaw came to Clifton Hall through Freemasonry and initially helped with its website and social media. He wasn’t looking for ghosts.
“I’ve always liked the history more than the paranormal,” Jeff told Spooky Isles.
Then he felt something odd in a basement room. When he asked the staff about it, he found they had stories of their own.
Since then, dozens of paranormal groups and around 1,000 visitors have entered a Masonic hall many would never otherwise have seen.
And the ghosts, real or not, are helping to keep the old building alive.
The history of Clifton Hall
Clifton Hall was built around 1845 as part of Clifton Park, an area of large Victorian villas overlooking Birkenhead and the Mersey.
It began as a private residence. Jeff’s research into census records shows families living at number 27 during the 19th century, with several servants.
The house later became a Baptist place of worship before local Freemasons acquired it in the 1920s. It has remained a Masonic hall ever since.
Today there are dining and function rooms on the ground floor, two lodge rooms upstairs and meeting rooms below ground.
It was in the basement that Jeff first wondered whether Clifton Hall was haunted.
Something in the basement
Jeff was at a meeting when he became aware of an uncomfortable feeling.
“It just doesn’t feel quite right,” he recalled. “There’s something watching me here.”
Others admitted they felt it too.
Jeff asked the staff. They told him about shadows glimpsed from the corner of the eye, footsteps when nobody was there and unexplained noises around the building.
He contacted local paranormal group Haunted Scouse. Their investigation produced bangs, noises and enough activity to warrant another look.
Around 40 or 50 paranormal groups have since investigated Clifton Hall.
Knocks, footsteps and shadows
Jeff remains cautious.
Different groups report different spirits and experiences. What interests him are the things that repeat.
In the smaller lodge room upstairs, investigators regularly hear knocking from the same corner. Sometimes, they say, the knocks answer questions.
There are reports of footsteps, sudden temperature changes and hair being pulled.
The basement has its own character. Visitors report shadows, shapes and a strong sense of unease. Several have found scratches or unexplained marks on their arms.
Names also recur: George, Ben, Elizabeth and Alice. Some investigators report a woman and children downstairs. Jeff has found names such as Alice and Elizabeth in old census records, but makes no claim that they are connected.
One of the hall’s directors was openly sceptical about the ghost hunts.
Then he went into the basement alone.
He suddenly felt pressure on his shoulder, as though someone was leaning against him or pulling him.
He spun around, expecting somebody playing a joke.
Nobody was there.
He searched the basement. He was alone.
“He will not go down there on his own,” Jeff said. “He refuses.”
Jeff has heard things himself.
He and his wife have heard what sound like old servants’ bells. They have also heard footsteps following them through the basement.
A hall made for ghost hunting
Clifton Hall has one useful feature for paranormal investigators.
It is dark.
The upstairs lodge rooms have no windows. The basement can be completely black.
There is no need to wait for night. Even on a bright afternoon, investigators can close the doors and work in darkness.
“You can do it any time,” Jeff said. “Twenty-four seven.”
Opening the doors
The ghost hunts have also changed Clifton Hall.
Around 1,000 people have entered through paranormal events, many of whom would never have ventured inside a Masonic hall.
Jeff likes that.
He wants Clifton Hall to serve the wider community as well as Freemasonry. Visitors can look around, ask questions and see the building for themselves.
Freemasonry, he says, is “a society with secrets, not a secret society”.
Opening the doors has helped remove some of the mystery surrounding the hall and the people who meet there.
It has also brought in around £15,000 in hall rental over two and a half years. In 2026, Clifton Hall has 28 paranormal bookings.
That money helps pay for roof repairs, electrical work and the constant maintenance an old building demands. Jeff sees himself as its current custodian. His job is to leave Clifton Hall in good shape for whoever comes next.
For now, Freemasons meet upstairs, community groups use the hall and ghost hunters descend into the darkness below.
Some come back with stories.
And one man, at least, won’t go back down there alone.
- Clifton Hall is at 27 Clifton Road, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 2SF.
- You can find out more information about the building and booking a paranormal investigation at https://www.27cliftonhall.co.uk/
