Scarborough Town HallExclusive Halloween Themed Event with Ian Lawman
Exclusive Halloween Themed Event with Ian Lawman
Star Medium
Most Haunted and Living With The Dead celebrity medium Ian Lawman will be joining the investigation as our star medium of the night.
The Event
You will be very much a part of the team on this event, taking part in some intense vigils, and being able to use the teams paranormal or ghost hunting equipment. The event will start promptly at the time specified on the events page, and we ask that all attendees be at the venue at least 30 minutes prior to the event start time.
A tour of the event location will be undertaken before ALL the lights are turned off, there will be set refreshment breaks when drinks and snacks will be provided for you… if anyone has any special dietary requirements please telephone 0781 555 2495 to arrange suitable dietary alternatives.
Health and Safety
Please be aware that persons considered to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs with be refused admission and asked to leave the event with no refunds being given (please see Terms and Conditions).
A good pair of shoes and warm clothing are advised on our events as some venues/locations can be very cold.
Ghosts?
The town hall has had many sightings of the paranormal over the years and its not surprising with all its history! (see below)
Staff who work here have seen many of the sightings especially early morning and late at night when they're opening and locking up. With ghostly figures appearing before their eyes and suddenly disappearing. With feelings of being watched and feelings of uneasiness. Heavy doors slamming shut on there own. Footsteps being heard when there's no one around! Could this be the ghost of John Woodall making his presence known?
Join the Shadows of the Night team and celebrity medium Ian Lawman as we investigate the Old Town Hall for the very first time. As no other team has been allowed, we are the first to investigate this magnificent building that stands on the south cliff tops over looking the east coast!
Staff who work here have seen many of the sightings especially early morning and late at night when they're opening and locking up. With ghostly figures appearing before their eyes and suddenly disappearing. With feelings of being watched and feelings of uneasiness. Heavy doors slamming shut on there own. Footsteps being heard when there's no one around! Could this be the ghost of John Woodall making his presence known?
Join the Shadows of the Night team and celebrity medium Ian Lawman as we investigate the Old Town Hall for the very first time. As no other team has been allowed, we are the first to investigate this magnificent building that stands on the south cliff tops over looking the east coast!
Location
18-23 St. Nicholas Street, Town Centre, Scarborough YO11 2HE
History
The original building which stood on the site of the Town Hall was 22 Long Room Street (re-named St. Nicholas Street in 1844). The house was the home of the Woodalls, a prosperous and influential Scarborough family, whose connections with the town date back to the 17th century. One of the family businesses, Woodall’s Bank, stood on the corner of St. Nicholas Street until it was acquired by Barclays Bank in 1896. In 1844, John Woodall had the house demolished and replaced by an impressive red-brick mansion named St. Nicholas House.
In 1898, when Scarborough Corporation was seeking a site for a new Town Hall, John Woodall’s son, who had inherited the property on the death of his father in 1879, offered St. Nicholas House to the Corporation, who purchased the building for £33,575.
The sale price included St Nicholas House, three properties on St Nicholas Street, the St Nicholas under-cliff, the Exhibition Hall on the Foreshore Road (now the site of the present Olympia), the adjacent Coastguard Station, and a building in King Street.
Work then began on the extension and conversion on the new Town Hall at a total cost of £18,522. The Borough Engineer at that time was Harry W Smith and was responsible for most of the design work. It was officially opened on 28 July 1903 by HRH Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg), youngest daughter of Queen Victoria. On the same day she unveiled the statue of her mother, which stands in the Town Hall gardens.
The mosaic in the entrance to the building is the Common Seal of the Borough, which was used as the armorial bearings of Scarborough until 1935. The Latin words surrounding the seal mean: "The Common seal of the Burgesses of Scarborough". Behind the stairwell are stained glass windows bearing the coats of arms of some of Yorkshire’s major cities and towns. From top left they are: Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Hull, Wakefield, York, Sheffield and Harrogate.
The Cabinet Room, and the Members’ Retiring Room, which are both off the entrance foyer, were, respectively, the dining room and library of St. Nicholas House. Both rooms contain the original fireplaces and overmantels. The one in the Members Room bears the date of the completion of St. Nicholas House, 1845.
The Civic Parlour was the drawing room of the old house, and the wall on the left was the end wall of the house. Here are paintings of the original house, which stood on the site and of St. Nicholas House before it was converted into the Town Hall. Of note in this room, and in Committee Room 2, are the fire surrounds, which are adorned with semi-precious stones, all collected from the beaches between Filey and Whitby. They are mostly Cornelian amethyst and Whitby jet, with some opal types, and crystal formations. Also displayed in the Civic Parlour are photographs of visits to the Borough by members of the Royal family.
In the Mayor’s Parlour, the plaques around the walls have been presented over the years by military, naval and Air Force units and other organisations who have made official visits to the town. The brass plates above the sideboard are from Scarborough, Ontario, one of seven other places around the world which share the name Scarborough.
There is a picture on the right hand side of the door of the town’s former adopted Royal Navy ship, RFA Waveruler . The picture on the sideboard is of HMS Fearless’, one of the town’s previous adopted Royal Navy ships. The bell from HMS Apollo’, another of the town’s adopted ships, is on display in the Mayoral corridor cabinet. Also on the sideboard is the cap of a German naval shell recovered after it had been fired through the wall of the Grand Hotel during the bombardment of the town by two German Battlecruisers on 16th December 1914, and later made into an ornamental inkstand. Another piece of shrapnel is on display in Committee Room 2, together with a painting commemorating the event, which was later reproduced as a recruiting poster, ’Remember Scarborough’.
Also in the Mayor’s Parlour is a photograph of Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister, sitting in the Mayor’s chair during his visit to the town in 1952 to attend the Conservative Party conference. In this room is also the illuminated address presented by the Council to John Woodall in thanks for the gold Mayor’s chain of office, which he presented to the town in November 1852 at the conclusion of his term of office as Mayor.
The Prince and Princess of Wales did visit Scarborough on several occasions and in fact stayed with the Earl of Londesborough at Londesborough Lodge, in The Crescent, his Scarborough house. However, the Prince and Princess never walked on the Spa.
The Council Chamber is a most impressive room, which has some fine panelling, created by a firm of local carpenters. It is not only used for meetings of the Council, but also committee meetings, presentation evenings and civic receptions, including those for visiting conferences.
The cypher ’C.R.’ is prominent in the stained glass windows both here in the Council Chamber and outside in the corridor. This is the cypher of King Charles I, in whose reign the mace of the Borough was made.
At the rear of the room under the public gallery, is what is still referred to as the Robing Room, in which members of the Council used to don their robes before important civic occasion. The wearing of robes by Councillors ended on the re-organisation of local government in 1974.
Although the Borough mace and the chains of office may not be on display, it is appropriate to include a description of them. The mace was presented to the Scarborough Corporation in 1636 by Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby of Hackness Hall. The mace is the symbol of the authority of the Borough Council and must always be on display during a meeting of the Council. It is also frequently carried in front of the Mayor on ceremonial civic occasions.
The mace of the City of London is a replica of Scarborough’s mace, the original London mace having been destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
The Mayor’s chain was presented to the Corporation in 1852 by John Woodall, who has been referred to earlier as the owner of St. Nicholas House. Mr Woodall, the then Mayor, presented the chain at the conclusion of his term of office.
The Mayor’s chain was presented to the Corporation in 1852 by John Woodall, who has been referred to earlier as the owner of St. Nicholas House. Mr Woodall, the then Mayor, presented the chain at the conclusion of his term of office.
The Mayoress’s chain was presented to the Corporation in 1897 when a public subscription was held to purchase it to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria that year. The Deputy Mayor’s chain was purchased by the Corporation in 1925.
A portrait of John Woodall is hanging in Commitee Room 2 and of John W. Woodall in the entrance foyer of the Town Hall.
Just a few miles up the coast...
Part of our Halloween extravaganza!
