hauntings leeds

[squaddie]

when i was a little boy, there was (as i lived opposite on town street) meny a tall about middleton woods. most especially relating to the maud family which in the late 1800 s meet with disaster, as the story go "s the old golf club in the middle of the park was once know as maud hall, i assume before it came in to possetion of leeds city council. as kids it was a bit of a dear to go sit in the rose gardens after dark as guess what! yes you"ve guessed it, it was said to be haunted. now as the story goes, there was a tragedy which befell the family when coming home one stormy night there carage was crushed by a falling tree killing the wife (or maybe the hubby too, i dont recall which to be exact) now they are said to haunt the woods. idont know if these were just kids tails. however- i do recall that a old fella who lived close by said to me once that as a teen he worked on the old maud estate and he pretty much confirmed this. also i know people who have stated they have seen phenonima in the woods. most especially my sister who now lives in york one of which i will now relate to you all-                                                                                                                                                     after coming home one night (having been out with her boyfriend) she asked my mother if she would like a cup of tea, my mother promtly said yes so my sis got the cups out put them on the kitchen work surface at which time she heard a lot of noise assuming the neighbours was having a party she went back into the living room and asked mum can you hear the noise the neighbours are making. but my mum could not hear a thing, my sis thinking no more of it went back into the kitchen at which time the cups flew of the work surface and smashed on the wall. this is just one account of sevarel occurances my sister and mother as welll as people i trust, have told me in the past. but i am in know doubt that middleton woods has meny secrets to reveal anyone else know of anything relating to miggy woods ta

[Festwerfer]

Hey Squaddie I used to live on Southcroft Drive as a kid and believe me I have seen or heard many strange things in Miggy woods I believe at least 10 Ghosts are resident in and around the area of the woods. Strange mists have been seen down by the old quarry at the Beeston side of the clearings. The old park cafe is haunted by someone who turns of the lights, Henry Maude is the Ghost you mention plus his mother has been seen looking out of the window in the old golf house even though it was long since bricked up. The old manor house which became the council yard was haunted and im told there is footage of the night it burnt down were you can quite clearly see someone in the window looking out. The black pudding is said to be home to elves (fantasy I know but...) The old school on town street has been mentioned to me as being the site of one or two unexplained happenings. If you look in the grave yard at ST Mary's Henry Maude's grave has the words (My brother shall rise again) written on the bottom of the base stone. Mind you in all the time I lived there the only thing I was scared of was Father Jones the vicar in the 70's early eighty's he was from Papa New Guinea Im told and had fought the Japs in WW2 wonderful man but a terror if you upset him i.e using the graveyard as a short cut from ST Marys Primary to the Manor Farms.    

[squaddie]

thanks festwerter. yeah old school (middleton CofE) INFANTS know it well was a pupil there in mid sixties, always remember one teacher MR THORNTON he was well shall we say a man of questionable parentage lol. yeah i also remember that St marys on town St. especially 1 xmas eve when at midnight, although the church been locked up after midnight mass the bell began to ring, police arrived and the vicar to investigate but when they accsessed the church there was nobody to be found. this was told to me by my parents so i belive this to be a accurate account. i too know of people who swear they have seen strange mist like apparitions down by the old tram lines. hmm makes u wonder. thanks again. the woods never, nor do i think they will stop supriseing me.

[Festwerfer]

I was a pupil at St Mary's when Mr Lawson was Headmaster and god he was a big bloke. I remember he drove an Austin Princess in the days when they were a expensive motor. Mrs Stead was my class teacher and she was great, firm but fair. I think her old man worked on the rigs and she was minted new Fiat X19 every year. Mr Scriminger the lolly pop man he was funny. PC Workman remember him a copper of the old school worked out of Holbeck for years. Remember any of these?. Do you remember Riders the mini market on the Southcroft parade? didn't take him long to bite the dust once Presto's opened christ I could go on for ever with stories of around there. Brings back good memories.

[miggyexile]

Hello, twittering noob here... lovely memories!I left Leeds in 77, and had a "you-can-never-go-back-but-why-not-try" nostalgia trip last year confined to Miggy.Also ex Miggy CofE (67-73), lived on the Manor Farm estate (and hasn't that aged well....). I was always convinced that the old school on Town St. was haunted, especially the outdoor toilets, in addition to to Maud Hall, the Parochial Hall (was it on Lingwell Avenue?), and all parts of the woods - although in hindsight, the woods were just haunted by a little terror called Peter Airey..Mr. Thornton was quite possibly the scariest man alive - he read "The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe" to us with a deeply unnerving relish. But Messrs. Fisher, Ness and Lowson were wonderful teachers - was sad to hear about Mr. Lowson's death in 87(?).Father Jones and his family were great - I hear they left Leeds in 87, no idea what happened to them.The "new" infants school looked a right mess when I was there last year - the old one looked in better nick..    

[Festwerfer]

Hi Miggyexile I did not know of Mr Lawson's death a good Man to have as a Headmaster. I don't remember Thornton my time was 75 onward.As for Father Jones for all his blood and thunder he was of the type that you sadly don't see anymore. As for the Manor Farms well....... I cant say I have been back to the old places for years My mum & dad live at Belle Isle but thats as near as it gets now.    

[Leedsboy]

It's a shame to see comments like those earlier in this thread about Arthur Ryder (not Rider), who ran the shop on Town Street in Middleton. Have no idea what prompted them, but many who knew Arthur Ryder,used that shop daily and knew him well held him in very high regard. He ran the shop for many years and not only provided a valuable service to Middleton, but also created employment for quite a few local folk, many of whom turned out to pay their respects at his funeral around 10 years ago. Running a store like that was a huge challenge in those days - long hours, no holidays to speak of, declining business, all-too frequent break-ins and the responsibility of keeping the place running for your family and those you are employing. It's easy to criticise people unable to defend themselves online, and those who knew them well are unlikely to be reading these posts fortunately... but folk like Mr Ryder and the next door Chemist Jack Newman, who were simply acting as decent shopkeepers and discharged their responsibilities and provided a valuable service to the community, deserve a bit more respect.