The hangars are haunted by the ghost of Sir William Hooton (4th Earl of Stanley) who built the original Hooton Park estate in the 15th century. I did an overnight watch there with a paranormal group a few years ago and we found evidence of strange activity in the Griffiths Trust offices (which had been going on for years). Chris Growmore, who runs the site, said it was the ghost of Hooton Hall's old gardener, a man called Tommy, who's high pitched voice could be heard on winter nights coming from the Griffiths Trusts canteen (the former Royal Flying Core mess room).
Tommy had been the first of the Hooton Park estate workers to be killed in a flying accident, when a WW1 bi-plane had crash landed into a greenhouse Tommy had been working in - he and the pilot of the aircraft (a Canadian) had been killed instantly.
Over the years many strange things had occurred at the hangars but it wasn't until NAHM (National Aeronautical Heritage Museum) took over in 2000, that the full extent of the hauntings was known.
At board meetings (which were held at night time) directors of the trust would encounter "a very hostile atmosphere" at the hangars. At one meeting, there was a sudden power cut followed by the sound of a "demented female laugh" coming from the Griffiths Trust offices. Board members investigated but found nothing.
In 1842, Sir Richard Jones (2nd Earl Of Stockport) was visiting Hooton Hall with Sir George Brothwood (Earl of Knowsley) and in Sir Richard's diary, the following entry was made: 3rd June 1842 - "Richard and I found the old hall to be a stuffy place and not commodious to relaxation in any way. During the night, we were awoken by a fierce banging noise, emanating from the estate stable block. We felt compelled to investigate the commotion and found, to our disconcertion, a peculiar heavy mist had encompassed the outbuildings and the horses, contained therein, were in a state of great distress. As we held up our lamps to the front gate of the building, we clearly saw the initials S.H.H written, as if in blood, on the cold, hard, steel of the outer doorway. We returned to our bedroom with a feeling of melancholy and foreboding and made plans to leave the hall by first light on the following day".
Most commentators at the time deciphered the initials SHH as the ghostly visitation of Sir Howard Hardcastle (4th Earl of Chester) but others dismissed the theory, preferring to assign them instead to, "Save Hooton's Hangings", a message to the local squire who had proposed dismantling the gallows at The Hooton Arms Hotel and transferring all future punitive hangings to the city gallows at Chester (as a money saving scheme).
We'll never know the truth about hauntings at Hooton Park but the disturbances that started nearly 200 years ago at the old hall, still seem to be felt by people working there today.
NAHM (National Aeronautical Heritage Museum) took over in 2000
Are you sure? I believed GM gave the hangars to "The Hooton Park Trust" in 2000, I can't find any mention of NAHM anywhere.
I had assumed "Sir William Hooton - Lord of Hooton" built the original estate (as Hooton Manor) and it was passed on to the Stanley line through Margery Stanleigh, hence the 4th Earl of Stanley would be after this. Hooton Hall was built on the same site at a much later date for William Stanley, 5th Baronet.
There is a lot of confusion with the name William being dominant for a few hundred years in this family line.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
NAHM (National Aeronautical Heritage Museum) took over in 2000
Are you sure? I believed GM gave the hangars to "The Hooton Park Trust" in 2000, I can't find any mention of NAHM anywhere.
The NAHM is (or was) actually the North-West Aviation Heritage Museum group, it was based in the Hangers at Hooton and was, together with the Griffin Trust, one of the main opposers to Vauxhall Motors application to demolish the hangers in 1999. The Hooton Park Trust was formed in October 2000 to take ownership of the site when it was handed over.
NAHM negotiated the deal with GM back in 2000 but HTP (Hooton Trust) became the owners. HPT are made up of the Griffiths Trust, NAHM and TPA (The Plane Colection).
I was refering to my notes made at the time of our overnight watch and all information was given to us by Chris Growmore and a little ginger haired lady who was called Julie (I think). We also spent some time with the Griffiths Trust but their chariman (Mike Davey) dismissed the hauntings as being "all in the mind". Mr Daveys assistant (Mrs Thomas) told us that there was an underground bunker at hooton park which had been top secret during the war and was later burried by GM. Mrs Thomas thought that the ghost stories had been invented by the ministry of war in order to distract attention from the noises coming from the underground bunker.
Bob Snow is the site tour guide and if you ever get the chance to visit, I'd take it if I were you. He knows about all the goings on there.
I thought you'd all be interested in some fascinating facts about Hooton Park - all of which can be verified as "on-topic".
1. Hooton Park was used to train pigeons in WW1. They (the pigeons) were dropped from aero planes and had messages attached to them inside small leather wallets. An early form of intelligence sharing.
2. Hooton Park was used as a radio school during and after WW2. Men were trained to repair and build radio and radar devices of all types.
3. Hooton Park was sold to Vauxhall Motors in 1959. Other interest was shown in the site by Lockheed and Boeing (both of which would have guaranteed Hooton Park's continuation as a working airbase).
4. Hooton Park was considered for a name change after the second world war. The MOD (then the Ministry of War) considered Mersey Bank and Hooton Mount as possibilities. No change was made after it was decided that essential runway resurfacing was too expensive to undertake and the site was earmarked for closure.
