27 January 2024 , 08:48
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A street may look normal from the outside but houses have a maze of "hidden tunnels" and a little girl is said to haunt one of the homes.
Tucked away off Church Street in Prescot, Merseyside, you'll find Vicarage Place, a cobbled street full of history. Many of the Georgian houses date back to the 1700s and are Grade II listed.
Through its name and location, the street has a strong association with St Mary’s Parish Church and its vicarage. Barbara Houghton, who has lived in a flat at number six Vicarage Place for the last 18 years, told how she found out about the tunnels.
"I've been brought up around here. I can't imagine living anywhere else. When I came to view the flat it was a lovely warm feeling. I knew the flat was for me," she said, having moved into the flat shortly after it was renovated. "In the bottom flat downstairs, the girl who lived there had a trapdoor in the hallway. When one of the workmen went down they said there was a tunnel leading to the church."
Local historian Philip Battle, who runs the Born & Raised in Prescot Facebook page, has researched the early occupants of Vicarage Place. Philip said Thomas Dennett and his family were among those who once lived on the street back in 1890. Thomas had a butcher's shop in Market Place and was also a founder of the Lancashire Watch Company. The Lyon family also lived in Vicarage Place since at least 1909. Other former residents include the Bennett and Neve families.
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Houses in the street have a maze of tunnels (Liverpool Echo)With so much history it's hardly surprising that people have reported seeing ghosts on the street over the years. Barbara said a man who used to live in the building told her "he had a ghost in his flat." She added: "A little girl used to sit at the bottom of his bed. I said to him 'were you not scared?' He said no, she just used to sit there and stare."
People have said the houses are haunted (Liverpool Echo)Barbara also once encountered a ghostly figure in the hallway of the building. "One night I was coming in, I had a friend with me, and we got up the first flight of stars and this figure ran past us with a hat on. I said 'have you just seen what I've just seen?' But I never felt scared," she told the Liverpool Echo.
One story is of the ghost of a little girl in one of the houses (Liverpool Echo)Number eight Vicarage Place is adorned with Prescot's coat of arms which was adopted from King's College, Cambridge. The town's historic links with King's College date back to 1444 when King Henry VI granted the college his land in Prescot, making it the Lord of the Manor of Prescot.
Number four and six Vicarage Place, which are both Grade II listed, were renovated by Knowsley Council in 1978, while the street itself was resurfaced the following year. The oldest house, ten Vicarage Place, is set behind a small front garden and has distinctive curved window heads. It is believed these would have been shaped by hand, showing the wealth and status of whoever lived there.