Annesley Hall

Located in Nottinghamshire, England, and North of Hucknall, near to the village of Annesley, Annesley Hall is said to be a 13th century building dating back to the 1200s. However, sources also say that the ownership of the location can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name of 'Aneslie'. The hall was home to the Annesley family before eventually becoming the home of the Chaworth-Musters family who were one of the most powerful families in Nottinghamshire at the time. The grounds around Annesley Hall also included a church and a Motte and Bailey castle which people suspect may have a connection to the legend of Robin Hood. This is because there are suspicions that a member of the De Annesley family may have been the real life Robin Hood with the brother of the Sheriff of Nottingham possibly building the castle to keep an eye on him. The hall also has connections to both Lord Byron and, to a lesser extent, Charles Darwin.

Annesley Hall left Chaworth-Musters ownership during the 1970s and fell into a decline with two different fires damaging the property and rendering it as uninhabitable. It's currently under private ownership and is closed to the public, but there are signs that it may be undergoing repairs. Most Haunted investigated the property in an episode which aired during 2004, and so it does have a reputation for being haunted. The most prominent spirit here seems to be the White Lady, speculated to be the spirit of Mary Chaworth. In connection to Mary, there is a belief that she and Lord Byron's spirits both haunt the hall in search for one another. Other spirits thought to haunt the hall include shadowy figures, a pregnant woman thought to have been murdered, and a young serving girl.

History

Annesley Hall is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Aneslie'. This document also states that the location was held at the time by Richard, a Breton tenant of Ralph Fitz-Herbert. I have found contradictory information to this which says the Domesday Book instead states that the location was held by William Peverel. As I found this piece of contradictory information much later in my research of this location, I'm inclined to believe it was held by Richard during this time; regardless, I feel the important information here isn't who owned the location but rather it's how far back the location dates to as there is little else I've found about this 1086 time period.

I have also found that Ralpe Brito de Annesley, alternative spelling Ralph Britto de Annesley, managed a property at Annesley for Ralph Fitz-Herbert; hence further indication that the location didn't have an ownership connection to William Peverel. It's said a house was then built called 'Annesley Hall' and the name of 'de Annesley' was eventually anglicised to 'Annesley'. It's been said that Ralpe Brito de Annesley died somewhere between 1156 and 1161. While I don't know how old he was when he died, I feel these death dates further line up with the ownership around the time of the Domesday Book not being under William Peverel.

The All Saint's Church, located north of the hall, is Grade I listed and was built during the 12th century, also known as the 1100s. This church was partially demolished during the 20th century, also known as the 1900s, after it became unsafe. By this time it had already been replaced by a new parish church located in Annesley Woodhouse during 1875. Aside from the church ruins, the site also includes and a motte and bailey castle which dates from the 13th century, also known as the 1200s. The hall, castle, and church are all within a Grade II listed historic park and garden which consists of around 260 hectares.

By the early 13th century, also known as the early 1200s, Annesley Hall was owned by Ralph de Annesley. Ralph was a baron who participated in forcing the Magna Carta on King John during the year of 1215. It's said that Annesley Hall dates back to the 1200s, and so I'm unsure on what kind of property existed here before the 1200s. Regardless, it's said the Annesley Hall you see today originated as an aisled hall house during the 13th century, also known as the 1200s. During Ralph's ownership, Reginald Marc decided to build the motte and bailey castle within the estate. Reginald Marc, alternative spelling Reginald Mark, was the Sheriff of Nottingham for this time, and the castle was built within what was then part of Sherwood Forest. It's been said that the castle was built by Reginald to monitor Ralph, although it's likely that the castle was abandoned soon after.

To be more specific on the hall's origins, which also being somewhat contradictory, it's said it was built during the mid to late 13th century, also known as the mid to late 1200s, by either Sir Reginald de Annesley or his son, John. With this information, I really don't know what existed on the land around the time of the Domesday Book or what house Ralph was involved with. It is possible that there was a previous house on the site, but this is just speculatory from me. I've found that it was during the year of 1280 that Edward I granted the Annesley family rights of free warren on their demesne lands. This meant the family was given permission to hunt on their land and so, if that's in reference to the Annesley Hall land, then this is definitely an indicator to me that the Annesley family would have have a house, or at the very least some sort of hunting lodge, on the land during this time. It was during the year of 1327 that a deer park consisting of 60 acres was established northwest of Annesley Hall.

It was around the year of 1442 that it's said Annesley Hall passed to the Chaworth family through the marriage of Alice to George Chaworth. Alice was the daughter and heiress of John de Annesley, and George was the third son of Sir Thomas Chaworth of Wiverton. It's said that most of the present structure of Annesley Hall dates to the 17th century, also known as the 1600s. This will be because around the year of 1610 the original hall was substantially rebuilt by George Chaworth, the 1st Viscount Chaworth, and he likely laid out the landscape park, along with the surviving terraces and orchard which are visible in Robert Thornton's 1677 engraving.

After 1644, further alterations were made to the hall when Patricius Chaworth, the 3rd Viscount, inherited the estate. A couple of years after 1644, during 1647, Wiverton Hall was destroyed during the English Civil War and so Annesley Hall became the primary seat of the Chaworth family. It's said it was then during 1661 that Patricius enclosed 1,200 acres for a landscape park. This is slightly contradictory as some sources, as already mentioned, have said George Chaworth is the one who established a landscape park during 1610. I'm not sure which is correct, and the only thing I can think to speculate here is that George established the landscape park but then Patricius possibly enclosed or formalised it in some way. As usual, if you are a historian or you have access to documents which would clarify any contradictory details in the article then please do contact me.

It's thought that an upstairs drawing room was probably added during the year of 1669. There is a sundial which is dated to 1691, and it's thought that extensions abutting the terrace, plus a smaller wing, were all added during this time period. I have also found information saying that the 'wings' were added during 1691, so I'm not sure on exactly how extensive the wing work on the building was at this time. During the 18th century, also known as the 1700s, Venetian windows were inserted on the east front which enhanced the Jacobean structure.

Annesley Hall does have a connection to Lord Byron, and it's said that during 1765 Byron's uncle, William Byron, who was also known as the 'wicked lord', killed Mary Chaworth's uncle, William Chaworth, in a duel over game rights. Sources have varied a little with the reason as others have said the argument was over who had more game on their estate. This duel is said to have taken place in the Star and Barter pub in London, and apparently it resulted in William Byron putting a sword through William Chaworth's stomach. William Chaworth died the next day and William Byron was found guilty of manslaughter but got off with a small fine. Sources have also said that this event deepened tensions between the two families.

Mary Chaworth grew up in Annesley Hall and inspired Lord Byron's early affections and poetry during his visits to the nearby Newstead Abbey. Mary was born during 1786 and later died during the year of 1832. During the year of 1805, the hall passed to the Musters family when Mary Ann Chaworth married John Musters of Colwick Hall. From this point, their estates merged and the family adopted the hyphenated 'Chaworth-Musters' surname; although, John later dropped this surname. Apparently John Musters was also called Jack, and he died during the year of 1849. It was after the hall passed to the Musters family that the Annesley Enclosure Act of 1808 was passed which reorganised local roads and fields. Pleasure grounds, a walled kitchen garden, and an icehouse were all developed within the 1800s following this 1808 act.

New South gables were added during the 1830s before John Musters returned from Colwick. Annesley Hall also technically has a connection to Charles Darwin as Mary and John's teenage son, Charles Musters, sailed as a volunteer 1st class aboard the HMS Beagle with Darwin; however, Charles Musters died of Malaria in South America on the 19th of May 1832. Sources have said the south east end of the hall was then added during the year of 1838. As said earlier, John Musters died during 1849. After this year, John's Grandson, John Chaworth-Musters, oversaw further improvements under his guardian, Captain Philip Hammond, which included demolishing most of the old Annesley village located south-west of the hall. This was done by the mid-1850s along with enhancements to the grounds such as building a new entrance lodge and replacing the eastern side of the courtyard. More specifically, I've found that these renovations were conducted between the years of 1849 and 1859. I've also found that Philip Hammond's surname has been spelt alternatively as Hamond, and he was John Chaworth-Muster's guardian as John was a minor at inheritance.

During the year of 1859, John Chaworth-Musters came of age and married. John Chaworth-Musters then served as the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire between the years of 1864 and 1865. More work was done on the hall during 1865 as a major extension on the north side of the hall was completed, hence adding a new north wing, and this was done to designs which were possibly created by an architect called Anthony Salvin. While I have found the date of this extension to be 1865, it is important to keep in mind that some sources have somewhat contradicted this by saying the work was done during the late 1860s; so either the year may be slightly off, or someone has thought of the mid-1860s as being the same as the late 1860s.

In the graveyard of the church is a memorial to Mary Chaworth's son, George Chaworth-Musters. He was one of the naval officers in the family and he spent a year from 1869 to 1870 living with and learning about the Tehuelche people of Southern Chile and Argentina. This earned him the nickname of 'The King of Patagonia'. It was during the year of 1880 that a service wing was added to the hall. I'm not sure on exactly when, but John Patricius Chaworth-Musters inherited the estate, including mining interests, during the late 1800s. John Patricius Chaworth-Musters was born during the year of 1860, and it's during the late 19th century, also known as the late 1800s, that they defied social conventions by marrying a housemaid called Mary Anne Sharpe. It was during the year of 1881 that Mary Anne Sharpe had joined the household as a junior housemaid. Sources have said that John's relationship with Mary had also begun in the year of 1881.

The next significant event for Annesley Hall occured during the 1950s when the building first gained it's Grade II listing on the 14th of May 1952. The Annesley Motte and Bailey Castle was first listed as a 'scheduled monument' on the 13th of April 1955. It's important to list both of these dates as I've also found that 'Annesley Hall Park and Garden' gained a Grade II listing on the 1st of January 1986, and sources have claimed the hall instead gained it's Grade II listing on the 13th of October 1966. The source 'Historic England', which officially documents the listed status of buildings, has said the building was first listed on the 14th of May 1952; and so this will be the correct date. I believe the 1st of January 1986 date will likely refer more so to the grounds of the building instead of the hall itself. As for the 1st of January 1986 date, I'm it too sure what this is connected too. It could be a date that the listing was revised, but I'm really not sure.

It's commonly said that the hall's decline begun during the year of 1972, and it's also been said that it was during this year that the Chaworth-Musters family sold the hall. I have found contradictory information though regarding the 1972 date as it's been said that the hall was sold during 1973 to the Football Association before being sold again to developers. So, it's possible it sold to the Football Association during 1972 and then to developers during 1973, but this is purely speculatory from me to try and explain why the two different dates could somewhat correctly exist. However, it's also entirely possible that someone accidentally typed one year instead of the other given 2 and 3 are both next to each other on a keyboard. Having researched a little more, sources such as Historic England have claimed the correct date of sale was 1973, and it's been said that it was Major Robert Patricius Chaworth-Musters who sold the hall during this year. As Historic England thoroughly document listed buildings, I trust their information to be correct.

The Football Association had planned for the hall to be used as the home of a new football training centre, however this centre was never built and so never opened. Following the sale, parts of the hall were adapted for institutional use while the surrounding landscape became both partially industrialised and overgrown. During this time, many of the fittings dating from the 17th century, also known as the 1600s, were removed from the hall. The major extension on the north side of the hall which had occured during 1865 was also demolished during 1973.

It's also important to mention at this point in the timeline that a theory on a local legend surfaced during a 1975 book, written by Frank Lyons, called 'Hills of Annesley'. The local legend relates to Robin Hood being a local resident and a member of the De Annesley family who once lived at the hall. It's thought this theory has a possible relation to the addition of the nearby castle, possibly regarding the information about Reginald Marc, the brother of the Sheriff of Nottingham, building it to keep an eye on Ralph de Annesley; but it's also been said that the castle was added to protect the deer and game of the forest from poachers.

It's been said that during 1997 a fire caused the hall to be uninhabitable, although some sources have contradicted this by saying the fire occured during 1998. Since this fire, the building has sadly remained in a state of ruin. Annesley Hall, despite being in ruin, was investigated by the 'Most Haunted' team in an episode which first aired on the 7th of December 2004. Some sources have incorrectly said they investigated during 2005. The next significant event for the hall occuded during 2014 when English Heritage, now called Historic England, added Annesley Hall to the Buildings at Risk Register which notes high vulnerability.

The high vulnerability of Annesley Hall was sadly shown during the 16th of May of 2015 when a second fire occured and destroyed two-thirds of the roof and severely effected two upper floors of the building. As of 2023, the hall remains at risk. It's also currently in private ownership and is closed to the public. As of the March of 2024, there are signs that the privately owned hall may be renovated. An article published on the 12th of April 2024 discusses this and photos on social media show a new roof being built on the main building.

Hauntings

It seems that the Annesley Hall Hauntings have stemmed from Most Haunted's investigation which aired during 2004. During this investigation, Yvette Fielding and Derek Acorah believed that they contacted two spirits called 'Elizabeth' and 'William'. Aside from this, it's believed that the hall is haunted by the mistress of a former owner who died during childbirth and appears within the house and grounds as a 'white lady'. More information about the white lady has said she was the mistress of a former owner and she was seen during the year of 1970 crossing a road outside the hall. The driver went through it, and this may be the same haunting as one discussed a little later in the article. The white lady has also been said to be Mary Chaworth and that the scent of roses occurs near her former bedroom.

Children and their bereaved parents are also said to haunt the location along with a young serving girl who is said to have hanged herself in the stables. I have found that another young serving girl is thought to have hanged herself off the staircase in the laundry after suffering from the hands of a man, and it's thought she is the figure who has been seen peering out of one of the windows. It's thought she appears at windows as she is looking to see if her abuser will return. During the October of 2012, a team of ghost hunters apparently recorded laughter within the stable while the area was empty. Another team in the September of 2012 spotted a black dog, presumably when there was not one as I have found no additional information to this event.

There is also a belief that Mary and Byron haunt the hall in search for one another. Mary has been seen walking in and out of her own bedroom, plus through walls. Mary's son, Charles, is also said to haunt the location as he apparently throws stones and other objects at people. Sources have also claimed that Byron's uncle, the 'Wicked Lord', haunts the cellar of Annesley Hall as strange knocks are heard in there. In Bryon's bedroom, also known as 'The Blue Room', people have experienced being pushed along with gaining scratches and burn marks. Whispering and the smell of cigar smoke have both been reported to occur within the library of the hall.

A murdered pregnant woman has apparently been glimpsed beside a fireplace holding a baby. This may link to an event which is said to have occured during the 1940s as sources claim that human remains were unearthed at the hall during this decade. The bones were analysed and sources say they belonged to a pregnant woman dating back to the 1600s. I have found seperate information saying that the bones of a pregnant woman were found beneath the staircase when electricians were fitting electric cables into the hall. As there is no date connected to this information, I can't be sure if it's the same event, however I suspect it is because the details are extremely similar and, having done more research, new homes in urban areas of Britain were being lit by electricity by the 1930s. A statistic I've found says that two-thirds of homes were wired up to electricity by the end of the 1930s. I feel this lines up really well with the bones being found by electricians around the time of the 1940s.

Sources have also claimed that a shadowy figure steps out onto the main road and that a woman reported seeing it appear from nowhere. This figure apparently disappeared at the point of impact, and the woman described the figure as wearing a 'swirling dress that floated in the air'. Due to this description, it has been speculated that the figure could either have been a woman or a monk. It's important to mention this particular event could be the same as what happened during the 1970s with the spirit suspected to be the white lady and sources may just have written about it differently. The black shape of an old man has been seen by both the entrance and a staircase by the ex-caretaker. He's also seen the apparition of a young girl near to the laundry room. This is possibly the same spirit as discussed earlier, except in this variation she isn't described as being a serving girl or abused. Instead, it's thought the girl became pregnant to one of the laundry gentry and hung herself in the room later used for laundry.

Sources have also reported stones and firewood being thrown violently, plus a lavender-like smell has been reported. Snorting and whispering noises have also been said to occur at Annesley Hall. A luminous figure has been reported by the author Len Moakes, and apparently victims of the black death were buried on the grounds which could possibly lend an explanation to the lavender smell as such scents were used to cover up the smell of death and ward off the disease. Sources have also claimed that a monk has been seen near the church ruins. John Harris, also known as John Sixthsense, is the organiser of a research team who visits some of Nottingham's most haunted locations and, as of 2022, has worked in the paranormal for 22 years as a professional psychic medium. He has been quoted in Nottinghamshire Live as saying the following about the team's investigation of Annesley Hall:

"You can clearly see a spirit trying to communicate with us as his face and eyes were visible. We ask for viewers to send in screenshots if they see anything and this was very clear. It was a full apparition of a spirit called Nick. Our medium could see it but didn't realise that everyone else could too. We had a lot of equipment activity at the same time... Nick is someone who we don't know much about but we have a lot of evidence when it comes to Charles. Sometimes, people can bring spirits with them when they visit these venues. We can investigate more but I think he travelled with me. I was serving in Afghanistan in 2012 and I used to experiment with spirits while I was there... He has been spotted in other locations so I think I brought him back with me. He is a bit of a negative spirit in that he affects everyone when he appears. He has stabbed a pen through my hand before and also made my nose bleed live on air. It is really rare you see anything that strong... We had equipment going crazy, things were knocked over and we had team members feeling absolutely scared to death. They felt petrified."

Another quote I've found, this time from Notts TV, comes from someone called 'Dick Starr'. They have discussed an event which occured while they were working with a Derbyshire group to film the paranormal activity in the hall, and they've said the following: "She got possessed - she'd never been there before, she was only 19. Her mum and dad were frightened... they had to put the bible on her and sage and to get her out of it. All the cameras and everything were dead. They (the spirits) were relaying messages that they didn't want anything to be picked up... All her eyes went up in her head, her tongue went black - it was genuine, it was a frightening situation. That was upstairs in Annesley Hall".

Summary Of Hauntings

1. The white lady, possibly Mary Chaworth

2. The white lady, died during childbirth

3. A young serving girl, hanged herself in stables

4. A second young serving girl (?), hanged herself in laundry room

5. Lord Byron (?)

6. Charles, Mary's son, throws stones and objects

7. Byron's Uncle (?)

8. A murdered pregnant woman - by fireside holding a baby

9. A shadowy figure, possibly a woman or monk, maybe white lady - road

10. Black shape of an old man - entrance and staircase

11. A monk - church ruins

12. A luminous figure

13. Children

14. Bereaved parents

15. People pushed - Byron's Bedroom

16. People scratched - Byron's Bedroom

17. Burn marks - Byron's bedroom

18. Whispering - the library

19. Smell of cigar smoke - the library

20. Stones and firewood thrown

21. A lavender-like smell

22. Snorting noises

23. Scent of roses - near Mary Chaworth's bedroom

24. Laughter - stable

25. A black dog (?)

26. Possession

27. Elizabeth (?)

28. William (?)

My Thoughts

As I said at the start of the hauntings segment, it seems a lot of Annesley Hall's haunted reputation has stemmed from Most Haunted's investigation of the location. There are a couple of bits which date from before this, such as the discovery of bones during the 1940s and the car incident during the 1970s, but seemingly nothing significant about the hall's interior until after 2004. As for burn marks and the smell of cigar smoke, I don't know when these things were reported but I completely expect for these to be in connection to the two fires that happened here. I think people may have picked up on the smell of smoke which could be in the fabric of the building, and I think the burn marks could be the mind weaving the fire information into psychologically caused paranormal activity.

I'm extremely dubious on a number of the hauntings discussed and I've put question marks next to any I completely doubt in the summary of hauntings. I think there could be a serving girl who hanged herself, but I doubt there will be two. Going off the history alone, I haven't found any records of this kind of event occuring and so I would still be skeptical. The same goes with Byron and his uncle. I don't know if either of these people visited the hall, but it is known that Lord Byron had a connection to Mary Chaworth who did live in the hall. If the two families had a history of being rivals, as discussed in the history, I don't see why the Byrons would visit the hall at all; let alone in any frequent capacity to justify them haunting it. So, I can accept Lord Byron maybe haunting it due to his connection with Mary; but I'd be very surprised if his uncle was randomly in the cellar.

As I always say about locations, I completely expect for past residents to haunt the property. So, I completely agree that Mary Chaworth is likely haunting the hall. I would also expect for her descendants, such as her son, Charles, to haunt the property too. Monks would also not be far fetched given the close proximity of the church ruins. Regarding the bones found, I didn't include it in the history as sources only discussed it when I looked for hauntings. However, I do believe that the bones may be a legitimate piece of information as one source gave the 1940s date and another featured no date but said it was while electric cables were being fitted. As the date and the detail around electricity do coincide really well, I feel that it would be odd for two sources to make something up but get these details right without featuring the other parts of the detail as they have done. So, presuming the bones story is legitimate, I can see the pregnant woman haunting the location as being legitimate.

As for the quotes, I'd take both of them extremely lightly. The first, from John Harris, even states that one of the spirits they encountered may not even be from the location and may follow the team around; and so I wouldn't expect anything he discussed to still be there. As for the quote about the possession, I'm really skeptical when it comes to this claim. Possession is always on the extreme end of paranormal activity, and I believe this could be the first location I've discussed which features this claim from someone. It's really important to look at the source for this quote and the circumstances. The quote was featured in Notts TV and the group was filming paranormal activity. This suggests a media angle, and this means a monetary angle. If they want views, or any kind of buzz, then a possession is a good way of doing that. So, without having seen any footage of this possession, I really doubt this claim; especially as nothing to do with this location's history lines up with any possession narrative. Of course, I could be wrong; but I really would need to see the footage to change my mind.

As Annesley Hall is closed to the public, and is in ruin, the hauntings rumoured here are extremely interesting to me as there is no clear tourism angle. The only angle I can see, which could breed misinformation, is one regarding renovation. Renovating and repairing a property is expensive and so I can see a scenario where the owners may rent out the ruins to investigators in order to pay for such costs. I don't know for sure, but this could be how the Most Haunted team investigated the property back in 2004. The only thing which kind of goes against this theory is it's taken until 2024 for any kind of renovation work to be indicated. So, with the building in ruins, I can see it's naturally creepy appearance being what lends to some of the more extreme claims of paranormal activity.

It is important to stress though that, even though I don't believe the more extreme claims, I do think that the location will be haunted in some capacity; I just don't think that it will be particularly active. I think the overall condition of the hall will lend to causing a great deal of psychological activity misinterpreted as paranormal activity; so I think there will be a good chance of you experiencing something here, I just doubt that most of it will be caused by the spirits here.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article! I know it's been published ridiculously late, but I'm really hoping to get back on track with publishing the articles on time through March. The next article will be published on Friday the 13th of March and will document a paranormal influencer.

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