Guildhall Museum

Went to a fabulous wedding here couple of years back, truly unforgettable. Very proffesional, casual and beautiful.

Saturday at 21:00 – Sunday at 03:00

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Location

Leicestershire

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Created by:

Chris Seal

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For

Ghost Hunting With The Absolutely Haunted Team Offical Page

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More info

Welcome to the Grace Dieu Priory Halloween Special With A Pre-Investigation Carvery Meal!

It is believed that evil spirits came with the long hours of winter darkness. Believed That on that night the barriers between our world and the spirit world are at their weakest and therefore spirits are most likely to be seen on earth. We aim to arrive at the Haunted woodlands of the “grace dieu priory” at around 9:00pm for our night of paranormal experiences. Guests are asked to arrive at the location at 8pm, as included in the price is a sit-down carvery meal at the local haunted inn, Test your nerves as we get the opportunity to gain our very own experiences as we stand lone vigils throughout the haunted woodlands along with a midnight seanc’e, table tipping, glass work and of course Ouija. This event has proven to be a huge success in the past with our guests, in fact most of them return time and time again! Apparitions, cold spots, abnormalities, moans, groans and muffled laughter have been heard within the grounds, which can sometimes be Petrifying! This is an outdoor event, so warm clothing is highly recommended!! This will be a FANTASTIC vigil and is NOT to be missed !! Think you can stand it do you? Go on then, we DARE you! Absolutely Haunted: No gimmicks, just sheer determination! Unite with our paranormal family of investigators for that individually tailored evening of Fear, Terror, Dread and Bravery! Tickets sold at just £35pp which includes a carvery meal!!

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR PLACES ARE BOOKED ONLINE AT :

http://www.absolutelyhaunt​ed.com/

a beautifull building and so much history. it was a old court room and even has cells which can be quite freaky the fist time i went i looked through the cell door to be greeted by a inmate very freaky, as with history comes hauntings and this place is ment to have alot they do sleepover ghost watches and it was even on the programme most haunted a nice breather from dredging around town cant wait to take my little boy.

One of the few remaining hidden gems in Leicester that I remember from my childhood and am now introducing to my kids. They love the cells (as did I - although I’m sure there was more there back then), and whilst a fair bit of the history of the building is beyond them, they do enjoy exploring the rooms if you can spin the tale the right way. At their ages (7 and under) it’s a half hour breather on the way from the New Walk to the bus, and they’re always happy to go and wander around for a while. Haunted? - quite possibly considering it’s history, but I’ve always felt comfortable there, so it can’t be all bad.

Great building..love it.
This building, which dates back to 1390, has seen many incarnations. Originally built for the Guild of Corpus Christi, it was extended during the 1400’s to include two halls. The Guildhall has been used as the town hall, city library, courtroom, school, and even a museum. The building’s interior features exposed wood beams and an elaborate gilded coat of arms. Today, the city uses the structure as a performance venue.

When it was a museum I was in there, on a winters day, alone. It has a long sweeping staircase and I started to walk down it saying (out loud) “I care not for your fortune, my Lord. I shall never marry you for you are not worthy….” etc. When I got to the bottom, standing silently, staring at me, was a school party! I smiles, said “hello” and rapidly left.

Built in stages between the 14th and 16th centuries, the city’s most prominent public building was Leicester’s first town hall and contains one of the oldest libraries in Britain.
It is one of the best preserved timber framed halls in the country, dating back six hundred years.

The Guildhall has had many uses and lives. The Great Hall itself was built in about 1390 as a meeting place for the Guild of Corpus Christi (a small but powerful group of businessman and gentry). Over the next hundred years the Great Hall was extended and the two wings at either end added. By the end of the 14th century the corporation of Leicester had begun to meet in the Guildhall. When the Guild was dissolved in 1548 the Corporation bought the buildings for the sum of £25 15s 4d!

In 1632 the Town Library was moved into the East Wing of the Guildhall from St Martin’ s Church. It is the third oldest public library in the country. At about the same time the ground floor of the West Wing was refurbished as the Mayor’s Parlour. The Great Hall was often used as a courtroom and a jury Room was created above the Mayor’s Parlour. The Guildhall was also used regularly for theatrical performances, banquets and civic events.

With the growth of the town and the expansion of local government functions in the 19th century it became increasingly clear that, as a town hall, the Guildhall was far too small.

After much debate a new Town Hall was built on Horse Fair and opened in 1876. For the next fifty years the Guildhall was used for several purposes including the headquarters of the local police and a school. It became very dilapidated and there were even calls for its demolition as an eyesore! Fortunately, the council decided to restore the building and following a major renovation programme it was opened to the public as a museum in 1926.

It is reputed that William Shakespeare appeared here. In recognition of this, the television company, Maya Vision, brought the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform at the Guildhall as part of its 2003 series for the BBC, 'In Search of Shakespeare,’ written and narrated by the historian, Michael Wood. Part of the Shakespeare legend is that Shakespeare first came across the tale of King Leir whilst appearing at the Guildhall and this inspired him to write his own play King Lear. There is, however, no actual evidence to support this, although the legend of King Leir is often associated with Leicester.

Today, The Guildhall is best known as an excellent performance venue, attracting acts from across the country, and as a museum where visitors can step back in time and come face to face with 'Crankie Gemmie’ and 'Emma Smith’, two of Leicester’s notorious pick-pockets who can be found lurking within the Victorian police cells.

The Guildhall is reputedly Leicester’s most haunted building - five ghosts have been reported in total.
Because of its reported hauntings, it has appeared on various TV programmes, most notably being investigated on Living TV’s 'Most Haunted’.
Derek Acorah and David Wells, immediately sensed the presence of Victorian era pick pockets, policemen and an ‘evil presence’ in the cell area. Footsteps were heard in the library roof space, two duelling men were sensed in the Great Hall and many of the crew felt sick in the area of the cells.

Members of the public can also investigate the ghostly goings on at the Guildhall as it has become a popular place for several paranormal companies who hold overnight events there.

The most frequent visitor is the White Lady, a name given to the phenomenon though she is very rarely seen. The ghost makes her presence known by moving the heavy Tudor furniture around the library and by opening doors once they have been locked and bolted.
On numerous occasions, staff and police have been called out in the evening to attend to burglar alarms which have been triggered by an unseen presence. The White Lady also has a soft spot for the large Bible which is situated on the main table within the library. Staff will often close the Bible in the evening only to find that in the morning it is back open in exactly the same place as the night before. No one has any knowledge to the identity of the ghost.

The sound of heavy footsteps has often been heard crossing the main entrance to the constable’s cottage. This ghost is believed to be that of one of the officers who would have been based in the building during the Victorian era. Footsteps have also been heard in the roof space which, again, is believed to be associated with the Victorian police force. The officers slept in the roof space - the pegs for their uniforms can still be seen today.

A medium visited the site and said that she could 'see’ a cavalier type character in the Great Hall and a phantom dog in the courtyard, though no record of this phenomena has been recorded.

Fancy giving it a go..nice place to get married in though ghosts or not. (Sorry My Lord).

The Guildhall is quite interesting in that it has been many things, the old town hall, a theatre, a school and a police station!! There are lots of different bits you can explore including the cells and the haunted library!

They put on lots of concerts and ghost hunts there and also you can get married there! Normally though, just to look around it’s free to get in and they run lots of craft days for the kids. Something for everyone really, I only mark it down as disabled access isn’t great for the top floors (not really their fault as it’s such an old building) and there are not many displays to look at, apart from in the cells, it’s all about the building!