GazetteFeature - A Chase Ghost Story for Halloween
The Spine Tingling Tale of the Miller’s Children
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By Joss Musgrove Knibb
taffordshire is a strange place. For such a landlocked county we have played a central part in many of the most important events in history. I think it’s this depth of history and the folklore that surrounds it that has led to practically every village and hamlet having its fair-share of ghost stories. Cannock Chase and the surrounding area seem to be a particular hotspot. Ye Olde Windmill is a 400 year old country pub and restaurant in Gentleshaw, overlooking a beautiful common that is home to lots of rare creatures and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. In the grounds of the pub stands a disused windmill, built in around 1790. Made of local red sandstone and
brick it no longer has its ‘sails’ that rotated to run the milling machinery, but at 40 ft tall it’s still pretty impressive. Visitors can walk inside and look up to where the trap-doors once were. Inside the pub hang pictures of Edward Bonnell, who is the son of the first miller John Bonnell. John had a large family, but in 1807 two of his children were tragically killed in a mill accident, with many of the details recorded in the Christchurch Parish records for Gentleshaw. It appears that the children were working in the mill the day of the accident, portioning out the freshly milled flour into sacks. This job took place on the first floor where a heavy weight and pulley system would lift
bags of grain from the ground, through trap-doors to the floors above. Mills would take the grain of local farmers and mill it for them for a fee, transforming the seed into saleable flour. It appears that the milling was finished for that day and the trap-doors were firmly closed when somehow the children fell through to their deaths below. How this accident happened is still a great mystery 206 years later. These trap-doors only opened one way and were so immensely heavy that they could not have been lifted by the children. The deaths were so inexplicable that an open verdict was returned during the inquest into their deaths In Lichfield. Since that day forward, owners and staff at the pub have reported hearing the long since disappeared trapdoors slam shut, and the sound of children playing. The two children, covered in white flour-dust have been seen by local people, peering down at them from the first floor as the temperature plummets and sometimes when it snows it's also said that two sets of small footprints can be seen circling the mill. Regardless of whether you believe in ghost stories, Ye Olde Windmill pub in Gentleshaw is a great spot to visit. I’ve been there myself and the atmosphere is anything but spooky, with great cask ales and good food. More information is available at www.yeoldewindmill.co.uk Sources: wix.com yeoldewindmill.co.uk lichfieldlore Images: lichfieldlore yeoldewindmill.co.uk
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