Site History

Arrouasian Canons from Dorchester On Thames first came to this part of Shropshire in 1143,  Settling within a mile of the present Abbey site.  In 1148, Richard De Belmeis founded a new house at nearby Lilleshall Wood and - now absorbed into the Augustinian Order - the monastery became Lilleshall Abbey.

King Henry III is said to have visited the Abbey on two occasions during hunting trips to the area.  After the Dissolution of the Abbey in 1538, the land was given to the Cavendish family who subsequently sold it to James Leveson of Wolverhampton.

The Leveson family converted parts of the building into a family home and donated the 15th Cent. choir stalls from the Abbey Church to St. Peters, Wolverhampton.  (The latter mentioned are still house in Wolverhampton Parish Church today).

Ghostly Activity

A number of visitors to the Abbey have reported hearing ‘unusual noises’ during early evening.  It is said that the sounds resemble the moans and shrieks of someone being tortured and many say that a foul deed was perpetrated here in the past.

One room in the Abbey is commonly known as ‘The Murder Room’ and it is here that the doyen of ghost hunters, the late, great, Elliot O’ Donnell, sat playing cards when he spent a night at the site during the early 20th Century!  (The ‘Murder Room’ name comes from the fact that this particular area is covered in a sticky, red coloured lichen which clearly resembles patches of blood).  A number of stories associated with the Abbey concern a ‘Murdered Monk’, but there is no historical data to substantiate such tales.

An Archaeological Excavation carried out at the site a few years ago was headlined by the press as: ‘a ghost hunt with Government sanction’.

A former custodian of the Abbey claims to have actually conversed with the ghost of a monk while walking his dog through the ruined Church early one morning.  As the man entered the building, he saw a figure - dressed in a black Augustinian habit - kneeling approx. six feet from the East window.  (Roughly where the Altar would have once stood).

The custodian called out to the monk and the figure is said to have slowly risen to it’s feet with some difficulty.  The monk - described as very old, infirm and carrying a thick, gnarled walking stick -  smiled and asked the custodian if he had ‘discovered the secret of Lilleshall Abbey yet’?  When the man enquired what the monk meant, the figure simply replied that he should ‘know when the time is ripe’?..

At this point, the custodians dog made a whining noise and, momentarily, he turned to look at the animal.  Directing his gaze back to the figure, he was shocked to find that the monk had completely vanished and a subsequent search found no sign of anyone in the area.

The wife of a more recent custodian thinks that she may have caught a glimpse of the ghostly monk, passing from the East end of the Church into the area of the Sacristy, on two or three separate occasions.

The ‘Daily Mirror’ for Aug. 25th, 1932, carried a double page spread on the ghosts of Lilleshall Abbey.  One of the stories mentioned in the article concerned a boy who lived at nearby Abbey Cottage with his parents.  The lad is said to have regularly experienced trouble when trying to sleep at night, due to ‘strange noises’, one of which resembled a noise akin to someone turning the pages of a large book?..

A Birmingham Spiritualist once spent the night at the Abbey and claimed to have made contact with the ghost of a monk who spoke in a foreign tongue.

Two gentlemen who spent a night in the Abbey grounds reported hearing the sound of footsteps at 12.20am.  The noise came along the path from the Cemetry and through the Chapter House to the junction of the path with the East Cloister.  The footsteps were said to have been soft - as if whoever made them were wearing sandals.  The two men shone their torches in the direction of the sound, but there was nothing to be seen.

West Midlands Ghost Club members have paid a number of night-time visits to Lilleshall, most frequently in collaboration with our friends, the Black Country Paranormal Society.

One visit incorporating the W.M.G.C., took place on Saturday the 27^th of April 2002.

Because of the considerable size of the site, our members saw this visit to Lilleshall as a perfect opportunity to organise an investigation incorporating a slightly larger group of people than usual.  

While the main aim of the group was to conduct as much research as possible during the stay - manned vigils, video / audio recording sessions, etc - the visit itself was never planned as a ‘standard’ Ghost club investigation.  The sheer size of the Abbey site - and the very fact that it was an outdoor venue - would have, needless to say, made any formal investigation rather hard to co-ordinate and control.  Also, a number of the people who would be attending the venue had never actually experienced a ghost hunt previously.  Mainly because of the latter mentioned, the actual length of time which individuals were to stay on site was left completely to the discretion of those attending.

Unfortunately, despite a preceding week of rather clement weather, the night of the 27th / 28th was dogged with constant rain and moderate winds - elements hardly conducive to an all night, outdoor vigil!   Under the circumstances, the group could do very little with regards to actual investigative matters, with only one, solitary manned vigil being conducted during a brief lull in the (otherwise constant) rain.

One full audio recording session was carried out in the ‘Murder Room’ (12.22 am - 12.55 am), while a second session - set up in a stairwell at the West end of the Church - had to be prematurely aborted following the arrival of an unknown vehicle in the nearby car park.  (Approx. 2.50 am).

Then group member, Andrew Arnold, reported experiencing ‘power drain’ in both his torch and dictation machine, despite the fact that he had just installed new batteries ready for the visit.  Darren Simpson also reported low power readings on the digital audio recorder - even though the battery had been fully charged that very evening.

Despite the past haunted history of Lilleshall Abbey, all who attended on the 27th / 28th (independently) commented on the absolute serenity of  the site throughout the night.  (A factor noticed by a number of researchers during previous visits to Lilleshall).

Sadly, following our initial reports (via this web site) of our visits to Lilleshall, the site became somewhat ‘popular’ amongst the Midlands ghost hunting fraternity….  Unfortunately, this has apparently led to considerable trouble / disturbance for people living in the vicinity within recent years….