Derelict House, Croxton Lane, Middlewich

There’s something particularly intriguing about this house. It has become somewhat of a local mystery and talking point amongst local people for years now as to why this house eerily stands amongst the surrounding empty fields. For those of you who do not know of this house can find it situated along Croxton Lane in Middlewich, Cheshire. Croxton Lane is the road that runs off the main Roman road next to Morrison’s warehouse near Northwich and runs right through to Middlewich.

Being a local I decided to go and see the building for myself and to collect some photographs as I’m sure one day it will be gone.
The house is the ideal setting for a spooky Halloween trip although I would not advise anyone to enter the house as it is clearly unsafe. You will see from the photographs that the walls have decayed considerably and now only a skeleton of what was once probably a warm and welcoming home remains.

Now I have to be honest. I didn’t really feel scared as I walked around the building. There were no feelings of dread nor the feeling of eyes watching me as one may expect in such a setting. If anything, it was a feeling of overall sadness. Sadness for such a lovely building that has now been forgotten and left to wallow in history.
I did in fact go into the building from the rear (only a few feet) to catch a few images from the inside but did not stay in there for too long for fear of having a loose brick or rafter to fall and land on my head. That would be unfortunate. The inside now resembles a shell of empty and open rooms very much what you would expect from a house in its condition.

After spending a few more moments I left the house to continue to stand its course against the elements, of which one day will inevitably bring an end to its life and of the stories and conversations of which its ghost will remain.

So the question most people ask is “why has this house been left to decay for such a long time?”

The reason is a fairly simple one and has nothing to do with the so-called spirits that haunt its decaying walls. Bit of a shame really, as there is nothing better than a spooky tale to share amongst friends.

However, there is a more gruesome side to this house’s history albeit a small one.

There had been two incidents of suicide that had taken place in the house’s history. The first incident took place back in the 1970’s when  a local police officer named Glynn had visited the property due to a report of suicide, and sure enough when he got there, found some poor sole hanging from the rafters.

Another report took place in the 1990’s of similar nature of which I have a little more insight.

I just happened to be showing a colleague some of the photos I had taken of the house (the ones I have included in this post) and that I was in the process of writing a blog article on the house’s history when coincidently, he informed me that he actually knew and was in-fact a close friend of the person in question. He concluded with the story of which to be honest, left me feeling really quite sad. This was an incident that should never have taken place. The details however, I shall not disclose here but I can assure remains a sad and somewhat haunting tale in itself.

Despite these tales of woe, the reason the house is still left standing is not down to the evil spirits that turn any daring individual away, but down to the fact of the legalities and loop holes of ownership.

I have included a report from the Middlewich Guardian printed in May 2009 by David Morgan which I am sure will answer your questions of the houses history.

Readers solve mystery of derelict Croxton Lane cottage in Middlewich

By David Morgan
Saturday 16th May 2009

GUARDIAN readers have helped unveil the mystery surrounding the derelict cottage on Croxton Lane in Middlewich.

Reporter David Morgan was inundated with phone calls and emails from budding historians, keen to share their memories from the last 40 years.

On April 22, the Guardian printed a photo of the cottage taken by Jonathan Beech and appealed to readers to get in touch if they knew its history.

Alan O’Brien, from Northwich, reckons the home was lived in by tenants until 1963 when it belonged to a Middlewich farmer.

He says a law came into force that the farmer had to pay the Government if the property was occupied, so the tenants were asked to leave.

Nevertheless, Maxine Wrench, treasurer of Middlewich Clean Team, told the Guardian that her partner Andrew’s parents, George and Rose, also lived in the cottage in the late 60s.

George, who has now passed away, worked as a farm hand for the Smith family and lived in the left hand cottage (the property consisted of two homes).

The cottage appears to have been empty ever since but it has certainly caught the eye of people in mid Cheshire.

Helen Scott’s parents were in the process of buying the cottage in the early 70s but the contract was withdrawn at the last minute.

ICI, which is thought to have owned the cottage at that time, was willing to sell. The farmer agreed at first but changed his mind as he wanted the building to be used by farm workers.

Helen, from Northwich, who was 18 at the time, said: “Every time we go past that house, we think: ‘It’s such a shame that no one’s done anything with it’.

“It was a beautiful house 40 years ago. Ok, it needed updating but it could have been lovely and my mum and dad had the money to spend on it at that time.

“After that it started to fall apart – the windows, the roof – and now it’s just a shell.

“I pass it often and wonder what it would now look like had my parents purchased it.”

Then the cottage went up for auction in 1973. Guardian reader Dee Ackerley would have loved to have bought the property but thought the price would be out of her reach.

She added: “I would drive past a couple of times a week. I really liked the distinctive house.

“I would have loved to buy it and if the property had been for sale rather than auction, I would have pursued the matter further.

“I assumed the auction had gone ahead and someone bought it but have never seen any signs of occupancy in all this time.”

Fred Langley, whose brother Alan lives in Lindisfarne Close in Middlewich, may have been the last to try and buy the house, about 35 years ago.

He wanted the cottage as his marital home and to run his heavy goods business.

But after he was told he couldn’t live there unless he worked at the farm, he moved to Crewe instead.

To view the original article click here - Middlewich Guardian, Croxton Lane Derelict House