Ancient hauntings, hidden tunnels and ghostly legends await at St Leonards Church in Middleton – history has never felt closer, writes GEMMA JOHNSON
One dark and cold December evening, we were driving through Middleton on our way home from visiting friends.
St Leonards Church sits high on a hilltop, a small park beneath it, as though it is keeping a watchful eye on the town below. It was glowing in the darkness, welcoming us towards it.
We parked up at the top of the hill and explored the grounds.
It is an impressive Grade I listed building, rich in history and connections to key historical events.
It is considered to be the oldest building in Greater Manchester that has been continually inhabited — an extraordinary achievement, especially considering that the building has roots stretching back to the Saxons and the Normans.
Nestled next to the church is a sprawling graveyard, secured by locked gates when dusk falls.
Within the cemetery are several notable historical graves. One of these belongs to Samuel Bamford, local writer and radical reformer.
Bamford was a frequent punter at The Olde Boars Head, which sits at the bottom of the hill below St Leonards. Rumour has it he loved it so much that he still returns there to this very day.
Grammar school headteacher Edward Jelly is also laid to rest here, known for his dedication to improving educational outcomes for children within the Middleton area.
As we walked around the church, the air was still and icy cold.
The town bustled with festive merriment below, yet we felt isolated — but not alone.
There is certainly an eerie atmosphere beyond the decorative gates.
We wouldn’t be surprised if we weren’t alone and someone was keeping a close eye on us. There are several rumoured hauntings on the grounds of the church.
During renovations, bodies of Civil War soldiers were discovered underneath the stone flooring.
They were moved and reburied, but in disturbing the bodies, the spirits of the deceased are rumoured to have been awoken.
A sad, angst-filled English Civil War soldier has been spotted inside the church and within its grounds, as though he is searching for something.
Within the building itself, there is also said to be a member of the clergy who remains.
Locals believe he loved the church so much that he has opted to return to keep a watchful eye on his building and his parishioners.
His presence is felt to be warm and welcoming.
St Leonards Church comes alive on All Souls Day
However, it is All Souls Day on 1 November when the church and its graveyard are rumoured to come to life — literally.
Reports of activity within the area increase on this day, with witnesses claiming to have seen multiple spirits rise from the graves at midnight to walk through the grounds to the church, as though gathering for worship.
It could be punters leaving the Ring O Bells pub across the road, full of spirits of the alcoholic kind, with their eyes playing tricks on them.
Either way, it makes for a very interesting story.
What is most intriguing is that St Leonards Church, The Olde Boars Head and the Ring O Bells pub are all connected by underground tunnels.
These are now bricked up, but in years gone by they were likely used to move prisoners — trials took place in The Sessions Room of The Olde Boars Head — or to transport goods in secret.
They may also have been used by prominent figures as a short cut to avoid the public gaze.
The secrets, sadness and joy that have been absorbed into the walls, grounds and graveyard of St Leonards Church are palpable.
If only walls — and tunnels — could talk…
