Hermeston Hall

Hermeston Hall is located a short distance south to the village of Oldcotes which is within Nottinghamshire, England. There isn't much information out there about this property, but the most reliable source I've found states that Hermeston Hall was originally a farmhouse which went by the name of Hermeston Grange. This farmhouse was built during 1640 for the Clifton family and was extended during the year of 1880 to resemble the building which stands today. Sources have said the land itself dates back to Roman times, with evidence of this being a Roman villa located nearby. Other sources have also said that a previous building existed on the site which possibly dates back to 1100AD and went on to have connections with Elizabeth Cavendish, also known as Bess of Hardwick; the Countess of Shrewsbury. Due to this information's absence from a government document, it's unclear how legitimate the details are regarding anything which may have existed here prior to Hermeston Grange.

Regarding the hauntings, there are a few different reports here; although none have all that much detail. Roman soldiers are said to haunt here, as are Elizabeth Cavendish, and possibly a previous owner called Edward Chaloner. There are also numerous children here, plus victorian era servants, a gardener, and a hostile elderly woman who apparently runs from the shadows and screams in the faces of intruders to her space. Expected ghostly activity such as orbs, mists, scents, voices, and the sense of being watched have also all been said to occur within Hermeston Hall.

History

The history of the area can be traced back to Roman times due to the fact of there being a Scheduled Roman villa in the vicinity of Hermeston Hall. The oldest date I've been able to find regarding a house existing on Hermeston Hall's land is 1100AD. It's said that, around the year of 1100AD, a manor was built for the Cress family. It's possible that the surname of 'Cress' either changed or has an alternative spelling because I've also found reference to a 'de Cressy' family. During the year of 1382, Sir John de Clifton married the daughter of Sir John de Cressy of Hodsock. Sir John de Cressy's daughter was called Catherine and, by marrying her, Sir John de Clifton gained control of the Hodsock estate. This estate included the lands which would later encompass Hermeston Hall.

The 'de Clifton' family eventually became known as the 'Clifton' family and they were descended from Alvaredus de Clifton. Alvaredus was a Norman knight who had settled in South Nottinghamshire following the Norman conquest of 1066. He had also served as the warden of Nottingham Castle under William the Conqueror. Going back to Sir John de Clifton and the Cress, or Cressy, family; it's said that the Cress family lived here until 1408. Little more is known about the ownership of this site, or any building that may have existed here until the 1600s. However, it is said that Elizabeth Cavendish, also known as Bess of Hardwick, was connected to the property during the 16th century, also known as the 1500s. Elizabeth was born on the 27th of July 1527 and died on the 13th of February 1608; but it is not known what connection she had to this property or when.

Elizabeth Cavendish was later called Elizabeth Talbot after marrying George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury; and so she became the Countess of Shrewsbury. As the Talbot family was very prominent during this era and did have connections to various historical sites, such as the Alton Towers manor house, I wouldn't be surprised if they also had a connection to a property that existed on the site of Hermeston Hall. However, given I've found no details about what connection Elizabeth had with the property, I would take this information incredibly lightly. With how sparse the information is about Hermeston Hall before the 1600s, I would view all information before this date with caution. It's also said that Hermeston Hall contains part of an older 16th century, also known as 1500s, abby on it's rear side which was owned by the Riddell family. Again, this is information that I would be wary of.

As for information I trust, the very first source listed is a government document, and this source says Hermeston Hall was originally a farmhouse called Hermeston Grange. The source also says that this farmhouse was built during the year of 1640 for the Clifton family of Hodsock and Blythe as an outlying farm, also known as a grange, to Hodsock Priory. As for what could have happened to a previous location on this site, if it did exist; it's said that after the civil war, this older property fell into decline. It's important to reiterate that this older property is not discussed in the government document, so do take caution with information around it.

The next significant year for Hermeston Hall is 1765 as this is when the Mellish family, who owned 20,000 acres of local land, bought the Hodsock estate. This estate was quickly resold to Ralph Knight Esquire of Langold. Ralph had a descendant called Henry Gally Knight who died during 1846, and after this event the whole Langold estate was left to Sir Thomas Wollaston White; the Baronet of Wallingwells. It was during the year of 1847 that White sold Hermeston, plus Goldthorpe, Costhorpe, Hodstock Woodhouse, and parts of Oldcotes, to Edward Chaloner; a timber merchant from Liverpool. I have found different sources spell his name as 'Challoner' and 'Challenor', but the government document spells it as 'Chaloner'. I've also found sources say he aquired Hermeston Hall and much of Oldcotes around the year of 1835, but it seems the specific year was 1847.

Edward Chaloner was Catholic and built a number of gothic-revival buildings around Oldcotes in the mid-19th century, also known as the mid-1800s. This included the Grade II listed buildings at Manor Farm, located on Blythe Road, East Lodge, located on Bawtry Road, and the Catholic Church of St Helen which was designed by S.J. Nicholl. St Helen's Catholic Church and Presbytery was built between the years of 1868 and 1871 with the foundation stone being placed on the 15th of September 1868. It was around the year of 1848 that Hermeston Grange was extended, although some sources have said the location was built during this year by Edward Chaloner. It seems it's correct to believe Hermeston Grange was extended, and not built from scratch, and that it was around 1848 that the extension was the south wing being added; however, contradictory information says that it was during the mid-19th century, also known as the mid-1800s, that the extention extended east of the house. I'm not sure if it was a south wing or an east wing which was added during this time.

During the year of 1863, Edward Chaloner's daughter, Katherine Flora, married John Gerrard Riddell. The Riddell family were local catholics who owned land in the area, and this plus the marriage are the only pieces of information the government document provides about their family and involvement with Hermeston Hall. I've found other sources spell Katherine Flora as Catherine Flora, and other sources have said she married Edward Charles Riddle. As with previous information, I trust the government document to be correct and so I believe she will have married John Gerrard Riddle. As for where the mix up may have occured, apparently Edward Chaloner had three daughters, and so perhaps it was a different daughter who married a possible Edward Charles Riddell; this is purely speculatory from me though.

It was from the year of 1863 until the year of 1880 that the immediate parkland around the hall was mostly landscaped. The name was changed from Hermeston Grange to Hermeston Hall somewhere around the year of 1880. This name change likely coincided with another extension which occured during 1880. This time the extension formed a quadrangle plan with kennels, a coach house, a bothie, and a workers cottage which is known as 'Ivy Cottage'. This large extension was possibly done to designs by S.J Nicholl and made it so the overall building features around fifty rooms.

Apparently at one stage Hermeston Hall was marketed as a hotel, but it's now residential. On the 4th of June 2009, the East Wing of the hall sold for £786,000. Today, as of the 16th of March 2026, the East Wing's value is £1,345,000 and the highest expected value is £1,392,000. Hermeston Hall is regarded as being of archaeological interest as recorded by the Priories Historical Society, and it lies within the Oldcotes Conservation Area which was designated during 2010. When the Most Haunted team investigated this location, in an episode which aired during 2005, they referred to it as 'The Ghost House'.

Hauntings

The haunting with the oldest historical connection here is that of Roman soldiers who are said to appear as a phantom legion which marches in formation along the hall's driveway. It is also said that these Romans appear in the cellar of the building and pass through walls before they disappear. Sources have also said the spirits of servants from the Victorian era haunt the corridors and rooms of the hall. The spirit of Elizabeth Cavendish, also known as Bess of Hardwick, is said to be described as a red-haired woman in a black Elizabeth and dress who wanders the grounds of Hermeston Hall.

Aside from Elizabeth, it's said that another woman haunts the hall. This second woman is referred to as a lady in white, and it's said she haunts the Bishop's Room. She apparently appears alongside the malevolent 'evil bishop' who is sometimes linked to Edward Chaloner, even though he wasn't a bishop. It's unclear if this is the same lady, or a seperate one, but sources have said that within the Bishop's Room and attic there is the spirit of a hostile elderly woman who runs from the shadows and screams in people's faces before disappearing. It's said that this elderly woman does this to intruders in these spaces.

A few different children are claimed to haunt Hermeston Hall. These children are seen and felt playing on the stairs and running through the corridors, plus there is a little girl wearing victorian era clothing who is said to haunt the kitchen. A little boy, the age of a toddler, appears at the piano and plays the piano; although it's uncertain how good they are at the piano given some sources say they 'hit the keys'. This little boy is also seen with the other children running through the hallways. The laughter and screams of these children is also said to be heard, plus a child's handprint is said to have appeared on a window in the Chinese Room.

The final individual spirit I've found be discussed is that of a gardener. Sources have claimed that living gardeners report this spirit standing behind them and judging them. Orbs, red mists, voices, tobacco scents, low murmers, and a sense of being watched have all reportedly been experienced withing both the Dining Room and the Billiard Room.

Summary Of Hauntings

1. Elizabeth Cavendish, red-haired woman in black Victorian dress

2. Roman soldiers, a legion - driveway, cellar

3. Victorian servants - corridors, rooms

4. A little girl, victorian era clothing - kitchen

5. A little boy, plays piano

6. Children, run through halls, laughs, screams - stairs, hallways, Chinese Room

7. A lady in white - Bishop's Room

8. Hostile elderly woman, runs and screams - Bishop's Room, Attic

9. 'Evil Bishop', Edward Chaloner (?) - Bishop's Room

10. Gardener - stands behind gardeners

11. Orbs

12. Red mist

13. Voices

14. Low murmers

15. Tobacco scents

16. Sense of being watched

My Thoughts

I knew, from the second I saw that Most Haunted had referred to this location as 'The Ghost House', that there would be very little information out there on either the history or the hauntings. This does raise an interesting question though: if they had instead investigated the building under it's real name of 'Hermeston Hall', would far more people have written about it's history and hauntings? When Most Haunted investigated this location back in 2005, it was nowhere near as easy to identify an 'anonymous' location as it is today. For context on how different the Internet was, 2005 is the year that YouTube was first created. This meant that, to research a location, you could either search through rudimentary websites or you had to look through books.

I remember when I was in school back then, and there was a huge emphasis from teachers to not trust online sources and instead to go purely off books. The same can still be said for today, but information is now so widespread and easily accessible that it's much easier to find out which online information is actually true. So, I think that Most Haunted keeping this location anonymous may very well have prevented people from writing about it online back then; and this probably prevented the spread of possible misinformation as no one would have been able to easily find out the real location name as the Internet wasn't quite at that potential yet.

So, do I think that everything to do with this location is legitimate? No, I don't. It's good that there isn't any tourism angle here, emphasised by it being kept anonymous when Most Haunted investigated it. It's also good that I haven't even been able to find any information on ghost hunting events here. It seems the location has dipped a toe into the paranormal possibilities, but then it's stayed completely residential. To do bit more research on if any information put out there, particularly from before Hermeston Grange existed, was from Most Haunted's episode; I have seen their episode introduction to see what they've said about the history. Surprisingly, they mention the Romans and then say little else is known about the location's history. Richard Felix, the historian for the programme, also says that it's amazing that the location wasn't being investigated for publicity as they wanted to stay anonymous; and so the location has much more credibility for him.

As for why I don't think all of the information about Hermeston Hall is legitimate; I don't like how little detail there is out there on either the history or the hauntings. It feels like there are quotes I should have about the hauntings people have experienced, or that there should be more information filling in the gaps within ownership periods. Instead, it all feels very absent and like it's all from word of mouth instead of proper testimonies and documents. As I stressed within the article, I would be extremely cautious when it comes to any information discussing the time period before the 1600s. I'd also be skeptical of Elizabeth Cavendish's connections as it feels like she's only been named as a famous ghost to draw in people; although I can't see it being that given the lack of tourism angle, plus Most Haunted did not discuss her at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was an actively haunted location, and the main factor convincing me of this is the complete lack of any tourism motive. The only motive I can think of as to why the property may not be haunted, despite the information written about, is if there was a financial motive in play. Instead of gaining money through a boost in tourism, instead the location may have recieved a portion of profits generated from their TV episode. I have no factual basis for believing this, but if the property isn't actively haunted then that's the only motive I can think of for why the owners would want the place to be on Most Haunted. So, I think this would be a fascinating place to investigate as it seems there shouldn't be any reason for information to be false, and there are historical hauntings said to be here. Due to how little information there is about Hermeston Hall, and no clear financial motive, I am going to list it under the 'Locations Of Interest' tag.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article! It's always great to write about somewhere I can list as a location of interest. These are always locations I think need further study from investigators in order to really piece together what could be evidence for legitimate paranormal activity. The next article will be published on Friday the 20th of March and will document a paranormal experience. The following article will be published on Monday the 23rd of March and will document a location in Cornwall, England.

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