Peak Experience

Ghosts of Ipstones  Picture of Hermitage Farmhouse  Picture of Ipstones church

 

 

Visit Ipstones to find several places associated with ghosts.  The Revd F. Brighton, vicar of Ipstones, recalls the stories in his 1937 book, A Tale of Ipstones.

 

At a spinney not far from the Red Lion pub at Ipstones Edge, on the road to Bottom House (B5053), people have felt the presence and seen the ghost of a young woman murdered and buried there.  Her body was discovered through her mother’s dreams.  Near the same place four different people have seen what appeared to be three figures standing over a bicycle.  All vanished as they approached.

 

Another extremely haunted location to look out for is 300-year-old Hermitage Farmhouse, south of Ipstones.  It was named after an old miser who lived there and hoarded his wealth.  A stooped old man with a tall hat still haunts the building.  People report feeling a passing wind and hearing a rustling noise.

 

The Revd F. Brighton also wrote of strange events from 1916 during WWI.  A servant heard ghostly screams under the window and a cousin of the household lay in bed and heard the sound of an organ playing downstairs. The hauntings occurred regularly at Easter, Whit, Good Friday, Christmas and at haymaking time.  Once an unoccupied bed was heard to move.  In addition a phantom large dog has been seen many times at the end of the lane leading to the farm.  One man kicked out at the beast, but his boot touched nothing and the dog vanished.  One evening the family were in the kitchen when they heard a sound like a hundred planks of wood falling over.  They ran outside, yet the planks remained standing.

From Ipstones, take the B5053 south to the A52.  Left onto the A52, first left again, then look to your left over a small canal bridge.

One evening after a social at the village school a young man headed home to Clerk’s Bank just after midnight.  A few yards past the churchyard corner he found he could not move forward.  But he saw and heard nothing.  So he turned back as far as the two cottages by the church gate and tried to pass again.  Again he was stopped.  History fails to record whether he passed easily when the  drink had worn off!

 

Public transport information for all locations can be found by calling Traveline on 0871 200 2233.

To plan your journey to Ipstones, which has direct bus services from Leek, visit the Staffordshire journey planner.