HAUNTED !
HISTORIC LIVERPOOL HOUSE
Demolition of Edge Lane Hall
Operations have begun for the demolition of Edge Lane Hall in order to make way for the International Exhibition directs the attention to the impending disappearance of one of Liverpool’s most interesting land marks.
It was inevitable that Edge Lane Hall should come down as the exhibition buildings went up, for at the moment it is incongruously out of place, just as for many years past it has, standing alone, presented a somewhat unsightly appearance –
Nevertheless, the hall is of considerable antiquarian interest.
The pity of it is that so little is known of its history.
No information is available as to when it was built, although it is safe to speculate that its date of origin goes back more than 100yrs.
It has been in the occupancy of several prominent Liverpool families, of which best known in recent days, has been that of the name ARKLES.
“At the back of the house facing Edge Lane, writes a local antiquarian, “the picturesque mullioned windows and low old time Norman-looking, deep-set porch, with its great iron clad lamp bracket overhead, and its broad inner benches gives to the buildings a homely, though somewhat gloomy, appearance, and speak to us eloquently of the time when comfort and solidity were the first consideration of our forefathers.”
A notable feature of the immense solidity of the building, its walls are fit to withstand a siege, being 2ft 6ins in thickness.
It is not generally known that Edge Lane Hall has more than once been regarded as haunted. One of the caretakers of the hall used to report all sorts of strange noises heard at night time, the origins of which could have been traced.
They may be partially explained now by a discovery, which has been made since the demolition work was taken in hand. In the yard the workmen have unearthed what seemed to be an old well, but its depth is so great that its use as a well is open to question. More remarkable still, it has been discovered part of the way down, 100ft below the surface, an opening which gives entrance to a subterranean passage, extending a considerable distance.
Up to the present, complete mystery attaches to the why or wherefore of this passage. It is interesting to learn, however, that the contractor in charge of the demolition is on the lookout for anything which will throw light on the early history of the hall, and, amongst other things, is trying to locate the foundation stone, in hope it will reveal the date the hall was built.
So far the foundations have not been reached- indeed it is suggested they lay at a depth of over 200ft.
It may be added that two quaint memorials of the hall – the front door knocker, the great smoke-jack and spit from the kitchen – have been transferred to the Corporation Museum
1881 CENSUS
104 Edge Lane (Edge Lane Hall)
West Derby, Lancashire,
Benjamin ARKLE, M, 62, Liverpool, Lancashire, England Head Banker
Mary A. ARKLE, M, 51, Liverpool, Lancashire, England Wife
James B. ARKLE, U, 24, Son,Occ: Cotton Broker, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
John W. ARKLE, U, 23 , M, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, Son, Occ: General Broker
Ellen C. ARKLE, U, 21, Liverpool, Lancashire, Engl, Daur
Benjamin ARKLE, U, 20, West Derby, Lancashire, England, Son, Occ: Articled Clerk To Solicitor
Charles J. ARKLE, U,19, West Derby, Lancashire, England, Son Occ: Medical Student
Edith M. ARKLE, U, 17, West Derby, Lancashire, England, Daur
Evelyn A. ARKLE, U, 5, West Derby, Lancashire, England, Daur
Sarah DOKE, U, 47, Liverpool, Lancashire, England ,Sister In Law Occ: Annuitant
COPYRIGHT 2002 / To date