The Manor House Hotel
The Manor House Hotel is located in County Durham, England. This is one of two locations under a similar name within County Durham. These two locations are only a twenty minute drive from one another, and so both locations seem to be commonly confused with one another. This makes it common for sources to use incorrect images or information which pertains to the other location. The Manor House Hotel in Ferryhill dates back to the late 1500s, or early 1600s, and the first known owner obtained the property during 1615. Two prominent family's who have owned the property are the Shaw family and the Arrowsmith family. A few hauntings are attributed to this location, but it's unclear if any of these have been mixed up with the nearby location. A common haunting attributed to this location is that of a woman who is said to be searching for her child.
History
The Manor House Hotel is specifically located on Market Street, in Ferryhill, which is within County Durham. The location's post code is DL17 8JH. Usually I wouldn't include the post code, but when I initially set out to research this location I was greeted with many sources talking about the wrong location. This seperate location in County Durham is called the Manor House Hotel & Spa, and sources do very clearly mix up these two locations. The address of the wrong location is The Manor House Hotel, The Green, West Auckland, Bishop Auckland, County Durham. The wrong location's post code is DL14 9HW.
I've thought it best to emphasise the difference between these location in order to best warn you of where any false information could have come from. Some sources have definitely mixed the histories of these locations, and used the wrong photos, and so I wouldn't expect any different when it comes to the hauntings. I have tried my best to filter out the correct information, and I will highlight what has been falsely attributed to The Manor House Hotel in Ferryhill.
Historic England, a trusted source of information, has said this location was possibly originally a long house. This source also says it dates back to the late 1500s/early 1600s. A different source discussed the house being a guest house for an abbey and that it originated during the 1100s. It also discussed a tunnel that connected to Easby Abbey which was nearly two miles away. It was unclear in this segment of that article if it was discussing The Manor House Hotel, or if was comparing this location to another. Regardless, it seems the information about the building originating during the 1100s is incorrect.
As for a secret tunnel, it has been speculated that there is a secret tunnel beneath this property. Apparently monks built this secret tunnel but the entrance has never been found. It's said to go from the house to a nearby church or to Durham Cathedral. This tunnel idea was originally proposed by Geoff Gregg of Tursdale, and the cathedral it supposedly connects to is eight miles away from the house. Albert Curle says the tunnel went to a safe house nearby, and from there the monks could safely make their way to the cathedral through fields while unseen. This was done to avoid religious persecution, but another theory proposes the eight mile tunnel was dug so that monks could avoid getting their robes wet in the rain. The Local History Society has said that the tunnel went a couple of miles to Kirk Merrington's church.
Apparently the priory let the estate go at the end of the 14th century and the house then became the centre of a private tenant's farm. I will again reiterate how important it is to remain skeptical of any information pre-dating the year of 1615 with this location. The details regarding the tunnel could very well belong to the other location. Such information that does belong to the other location is anything regarding it being a former hunting lodge of Henry VIII, and that it's foundations date from the 14th century, with the main building being from the 15th century. This is all wrong regarding the Ferryhill location, and accurately belongs to the Auckland location. This could also be the case regarding the building starting as a farmhouse and that it was possibly farmed by monks.
I have also found that the Ferryhill Manor House Hotel was built between the 15th and 16th centuries. This would be inaccurate as instead of being built between the 1400 and 1600s, it's said that this location was built during the late 16th century or the early 17th century, which would be the late 1500s or early 1600s. The current building for The Manor House Hotel in Ferryhill is definitely from the 17th century, also known as the 1600s. Apparently the Ferryhill location was used as a farmhouse during the 1500s, but I am skeptical of this. The first name mentioned regarding The Manor House Hotel in Ferryhill is a Mr L Wilkinson of the parish of Merrington. During 1615 he was granted a Coat of Arms, and as during this time there were only five houses in Ferryhill, with the manor house being the biggest at the end of the 1500s; it is believed Mr Wilkinson was probably the first owner, or at least first documented owner, of this manor house.
It has been said that the location was a local vicar called Reverend Lomax turned the building into an orphanage during the 16th century, also known as the 1500s, and this seems to be incorrect for this time period. During 1642 the manor house did gain a new owner, and this was Captain John Shaw; a church warden and a constable. This could explain why it's said there was a period of time where a murderer was held in this house. The Local History Society has said Andrew Mills was held here after killing the Brass children on the 25th of January 1683. The three children killed were Jane, who was twenty, John, who was seventeen, and Elizabeth, who was ten. Andrew killed them all with an axe at the windmill between Ferryhill and Kirk Merrington. He was quickly captured and taken to Durham where he was tried and executed on the 13th of August 1683. He had been held in the manor house on the night of his arrest because it was the largest house at the time in Ferryhill.
Alterations are said to have been made to The Manor House during the later 17th century and 19th century, also known as the later 1600s and the 1800s. Apparently at the start of the 1800s, it was the chief mansion in the village. When the English Civil War occured, Ferryhill was split into two sides. When parliament won, Mr Shaw had his estate seized, and this was only returned to the Shaw family after his death. When this happened, his grandson Ralph became the new owner of the manor house. The next family to own it was the Arrowsmith family, and their ownership started probably at the start of the 1800s. Thomas Arrowsmith was the first of his family to own the house. It's said that a first floor extension was added during the year 1800, so I don't know if this will have been under the Arrowsmith ownership or earlier.
Thomas leased land, and profited from this, notably in the 'Great Chilton' area. During 1821 the coal trade was recorded in Ferryhill, and it was noted that Thomas had provided employment and attracted workers from outlying villages. Thomas took out two mortgages for securing his family's ownership of the manor, and when he died during 1845 the house and farmlands passed to his wife and daughters. During 1885 the land adjoining the house was sold to local colliery owners, and during 1891 the house was restored by the colliery manager Henry Palmer. It was from here until roughly the 1920s that the house was noted at first to be a doctor's surgery and then a nursery; but it was found to be too small for children.
During Most Haunted's investigaiton, they do say that during 1913 a vicar converted the building into an orphanage, but it was too small. They also said it was a private residence owned by a local doctor, and that it had been used as a farmer's dwelling. It seems all of this is somewhat correct. Going back to the information about Reverend Lomax, it has also been said it was he who converted the manor into an orphanage, and a source has conflicted the 1500s date by saying that this happened during the year of 1914. It definitely seems there was an attempt at creating a building for children, whether that be a nursery or orphanage, around the time of World War One.
Regarding when the manor house in Ferryhill became a hotel, this has conflicting dates. The Most Haunted team said this occured during 1983, but another source has said it's been a Hotel since 1989. The 1989 date could be wrong though as this accompanied information regarding the Eden family which were seemingly involved with the Auckland location. At the end of the 1900s, the manor house was named 'The Badger's Set' for a short time before returning to it's original name of 'The Manor House'. During 2001 the manor house was bought by Bruno and Pat, and they may have bought it as a hotel. It was unclear if they turned the location into a hotel, or if they acquired it as a hotel.
An article from the 5th of December 2023 reported that the manor house had closed during the July of 2023 and that it was for sale for £395,000. This listing has since been removed, indicating the location has been bought, but it reportedly closed as a pub on the 28th of February 2024. I couldn't find information regarding if this location is still closed, but it doesn't look particularly open for business on Google maps. The Manor House Hotel has a grade II listing, and this was first given on the 29th of April 1952. This listing includes the manor house, including the cottage, and the walls attached to the rear and front.
Hauntings
As stated earlier in the article, haunting I document for this location could very well be in connection to the Auckland location instead. As the same could be said for anything reported for the Auckland location, I will report all I have found when only searching for the Ferryhill location in the hopes that there isn't any mixed information. A commonly reported haunting for this location regards a woman who has been seen on the stairs. The is said to be looking for her son who is sometimes referred to as a baby. She has been nicknamed 'Betty' by the staff. The rumours of children haunting the property apparently stem from it's time as an orphanage, and alledgedly skeletal remains have been found. In the back gardens, it's said that there are areas where plants and trees won't grow or won't grow properly. This is alledgedly due to the bodies which are buried there. There is apparently an old well which was filled in and covered with dirt to grow a garden in, but it's said nothing grows there.
In room 6, it's said there is a young boy who is roughly five years old. He cries out looking for his mum. Apparently there are also other children in that room which you can hear crying in the middle of the night. It's also said they want to play, and would count to ten before chasing the owner's son. Plus, a shadow figure is said to be in the corner of this room. Room 7 apparently contains a large angry man who stands and stares at guests. A cleaner has been pushed by something in the bathroom, lights flicker, and one of the top lamps has been thrown across the room.
In room 8, the owner's son was woken up by the feeling of a large hand around his neck before he was then thrown from his bed onto the floor. He ran downstairs upset by the experience, and his mum and aunt wouldn't have believed him if it hadn't been for the red finger marks on his neck. Apparently the owner's son won't go back into that room due to his fear. The lights in the restaurant are said to flicker, and cutlery and glasses have been said to fly about. Cold spots have been reported through the building, and the smell of tobacco smoke has been reported in room 4 at around 3am. A medium has claimed a murder occured in room 8 during a spooky night which was held by the owners. A particularly interesting piece of information is that the Most Haunted team apparently arranged for the rooms to be exorcised before they left after investigating during 2004, and there have been no reports of paranormal activity since then.
Summary Of Hauntings
1. Betty, searching for baby/son - on stairs
2. Large angry man - room 7
3. Lights flicker - room 7, restaurant
4. Lamp thrown across room - room 7
5. Cleaner pushed - room 7 bathroom
6. Son of owner choked by man and thrown off bed - room 8
7. Children playing - room 6
8. Children crying - room 6
9. Boy, crying, looking for mum, age 5 - room 6
10. Cutlery and glasses fly about - restaurant
11. Cold spots
12. Smell of tobacco smoke, 3am - room 4
My Thoughts
The most interesting thing to me about this location, to the point where I will label it as a location of interest, is that I have found the Most Haunted team cleansed the building and there haven't been any paranormal reports since roughly 2004. This is the first location I've written about where it's been reported that not only have Most Haunted cleansed a place, but there haven't been reports of spirits beyond a cleansing having occured. This could mean the location is no longer actively haunted, or it could mean all rumoured hauntings came purely from the owners. This is something indicated by the owner's son being so involved in the hauntings; that is if the tales of the owners son are to be attributed to the Ferryhill location and not the Auckland location.
I've had it before where details have been muddled between locations, but nothing quite as bad as for The Manor House Hotel. Upon my first round of searches for information, most of what I found immediately was from the wrong location. Then, when I did find correct information, it was clear that sources hadn't realised there were two seperate places under similar names. This is why I've tried my best to say what was from one place, and what was from the other. The big visual difference is the Auckland location is a large brown stone building, and the Ferryhill one is a much smaller white walled location. As usual, please let me know if any of the information I've discussed in this article is incorrect because I will change it upon sources being provided. As for my overall thoughts, I don't think you'll find much here. There will likely be something, but I would expect very little activity.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading this article! This location was a bit of a hassle due to how much mixed up information there was to seperate. Hopefully this article will help people distinguish the facts between the locations. The next article will be published on Friday the 13th of December, and will document a paranormal influencer. The following haunted location article will be published on Monday the 16th of December. The location will document somewhere in Edinburgh.
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Sources I Have Used
7. Agoda
11. dnatatravel
12. Durham-miner
13. Ground News
15. Whatpub
16. Newton News
18. Ticket Source
19. Haunted Hovel
20. Chronical Live
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