Derby Old School
Derby Old School, also referred to as Derby Dchool or Derby Old Grammar School, is located in St Peter's Churchyard, Derby, England. After it's use as a school, the building became Derby Heritage Centre, but now it is used as a hair salon. Despite the paranormal investigation team 'Most Haunted' having conducted an investigation here in 2003, there is both very little history and very few hauntings reported online regarding this location. This leads to speculation that the only discussed haunting, that of a little boy, has stemmed directly from the Most Haunted team's investigation of the property.
History
It is said the school was likely built shortly after the school was endowed as a free school by a charter of Queen Mary. This occured in 1554, meaning the school was likely built in 1554 or 1555. A recount of the school by Glovers History and Gazetter of 1829/1830 described the school as a large room with some smaller rooms above, although the all boys grammar school was probably defunct by this date. As the build date of the building was not recorded, it's possible that the pupils may originally have been taught in the church. It's also possible that some sort of rebuild occurs as the current building is said to date from the 1600s, possibly 1674. It was used as a school until either 1861 or 1870, and then Derby School moved to St Helen's House.
The building was then used as a night school for chemistry, physics, and mathematics until they all moved to the Technical College in Green Lane. A shop was built at the front of the building, and the old building was used predominantly for storage. Some of the oak panelling within the building was destroyed through vandalism while the building was left empty, but parts were preserved by the museum when some of the panelling was removed and taken to the museum following the buildings conversion into offices for a photographic company in 1974. The panelling was then poorly reinstalled in 1994 for the heritage centre which was located within the shop which was added to the building.
The Derby Heritage Centre opened in 1992, and was owned by Richard Felix; a member of the Most Haunted team who was their historian on the programme. The heritage centre closed on the 31st of October in 2005, and was replaced by a hair salon which opened in 2006. The hair salon is, at the time of writing this article, called 'Sally Montague Hair Group'. There is now a different heritage centre currently in Derby, but within a different location, which is called 'Derby Uncovered'.
At one point in time the building was known as St Peter's Parochial Hall, but it's unclear when this was during the building's life. The building is grade II listed, with it's first listing being on the 20th of June 1952 and then an amendment to the listing occuring on the 24th of February 1977. It's also said to have been built over an old plague pit, which is something that could contribute to why people think it's haunted. Plus, Derby is known as the 'Ghost Capital of Great Britain' with over 1000 sightings.
Hauntings
There is only one haunting said to be here, and that is of a little boy which has been seen in the upstairs dormitories. This boy is said to wear a leather waistcoat and has blonde hair. The boy is also said to walk through walls. An interesting thing about this haunting is that I've found one strikingly similar, although a bit more vague, which is said to be at a completely different Old Grammar School. While trying to find the history on the Derby Old Grammar School, I found information on the Ashbourne Old Grammar School which is said to be haunted by a little boy who walks through walls and haunts the upstairs dormitories.
The Ashbourne schoolboy look hungry and doesn't have the blonde hair and waistcoat details, but the story read as similar enough to confuse me into wondering if something had been muddled up somewhere. Ashbourne isn't too far away from Derby, so it's possible that the Ashbourne source has made a mistake, or that the Most Haunted team made a mistake when initially doing their research on the 'Old Grammar School'. As a second haunting is reported at the Ashbourne location, I'm inclined to think that it was maybe the Most Haunted team who has made the mistake. The Ashbourne Old Grammar School in question is located at 63 Church Street next to the Grey House. It's described as 'the free grammar school of Elizabeth Queen of England, founded 1585'. This puts it as a similar date of being built as the Derby Old Grammar School, with it's charter being granted in 1554, and so I think it's highly likely that locations have been muddled up.
Summary Of Hauntings
1. Little boy, wears leather waistcoat, blonde hair, walks through walls - upstairs dormitories
My Thoughts
Due to so few hauntings, and the fact a relatively close school with the same name has a very similar haunting, I feel this location being haunted is a product of misinformation. I could be wrong, but this location feels incredibly off when compared to other locations I've researched. There is hardly any history online, and the only information regarding it being haunted stems directly from when Most Haunted investigated the property in 2003. When taking into account that Richard Felix owned the building at the time, and that it closed two years later, I can't help but think the team may have fabricated a haunting in order to gain publicity and tourism for the heritage centre. Either that, or perhaps they assigned the schoolboy haunting to the wrong building, or perhaps it is the Ashbourne source which has done this. You can see an image of the Ashbourne school which the Ashbourne school source uses, and it's location on Google maps in the image above.
Either way, I think someone has made a mistake somewhere. It's also known that Derek Acorah has, on a few occasions, muddled up the details and spirits attributed to locations. As a result, he would say a spirit haunted a location, when in reality it did haunt somewhere else. I believe this happened while he investigated the Aldwych Underground Station with the Most Haunted team. It is possible, and important to acknowledge, that a similar haunting can occur at both locations. After all, it is an extremely vague haunting and you could argue that 'a little boy who walks through walls' is going to be a common overlap between locations which used to be schools. It just felt off, especially as the Ashbourne source is what came up when trying to find information on the Derby school.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading to the end of this article! It was a really odd one to write given how little information there was about it. A testament to how little there was is the need for me to use fairly pixilated images and Google maps screenshots because there are no good pictures of the property. Despite the lack of information, and lack of hauntings, I still feel this is an important article to have written. This is because it highlights either the misinformation which can be spread over time, or it highlights how similar and generic certain hauntings can be across locations. It also highlights the potential agendas which could be hidden behind the guise of an investigation.
A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, The Cornish Ghost Whisperers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, Codegas Codex of Curiousity, Phantom Detectives LLC, and Shadow Walkers Paranormal Investigators for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to follow The True Paranormal you can do so on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tumblr. You can also subscribe to The True Paranormal on YouTube, or directly to this website through the bar on the left which will give you email notifications. That bar also lists all of the links which will take you to The True Paranormal's various social media platforms. If you want to contact me about your own experiences, or about anything at all paranormal, you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com
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Sources I Have Used
3. Ilkcam
5. Visit Derby
7. Higgypop
10. Derby Photos
12. Ilkcam: Derby
13. Derby Uncovered
14. Discover Derby
15. Derby Telegraph
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