Tettenhall Towers - Wolverhampton,

Ghosts of Tettenhall Towers

So many different types of activity have been reported here at Tettenhall Towers that it would be impossible to list them, but the caretaker of the building refuses to go into the \'Doll\'s House\' since a recent terrifying experience. Ghostly figures have been reported, an unwelcoming presence is felt in the attic and even Poltergeist activity experienced in parts of the location.

Our ghost tours here have always left us wanting more and on a lot of the overnight events that we have run guests have reported seeing a sinister figure in the door of the Doll\'s House. Is this what the Caretaker is so afraid of? What will you experience during a ghost hunt at Tettenhall Towers?

History of Tettenhall Towers

Tettenhall Towers was the home of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Thorneycroft of Thorneycroft itself. It is a Grade II Listed building which was originally built as a country house on the site of The Holly Bush Inn by Thomas Pearson, on land purchased from the Foley family in the late 18th century. It is set in 26 acres and is located in Wood Road, Tettenhall. In 1853, Colonel Thomas Thorneycroft purchased the property and over the years he extended the house adding the \'towers\', which gave it its name in 1866. The colonel was also a keen inventor, a sanitation and ventilation enthusiast to the point of obsessiveness.

The house became noted for its elaborate system of ventilation superior in its day. This also extended to the sewers and he had at least twenty toilets installed, including one invented by himself. He also invented a device which pumped foul air from the sewers, the gas was burned at the head of a pipe some forty feet from the house. Most of the rooms were fitted with ventilating fans and there were a number of elaborate devices again developed by the Colonel, for room and clothes heating.

There was a rather sinister side to the Colonel though because among other things, Colonel Thorneycroft was known for pushing his butlers off the top of the towers to test his flying machines, as he was a keen inventor. He also apparently used the towers as a means of communicating with his workforce across the Black Country, waving semaphore flags from the roof! Colonel Thorneycroft made many structural additions to the building, including a great hall complete with stage, and a theatre with seating for 500, featuring a giant indoor 44 foot cascade of water. His eccentricity was in a way genius and he did invent some very important elements to society, albeit by very controversial means.

Additional History of Tettenhall Towers

Tettenhall Towers house a lot of artefacts from a bygone age and as well as the standard items you would expect, such as china, glass, linen, and furniture, there are also some rather unusual items, such as the 16in. Burmese Gong in oak and stag’s antlers frame,  the various rugs made from Canadian Fox, Otter and Opossum, and the Collection of Antique Arms, Bird’s Heads etc

There are further records of the building and of the Thorneycroft family, available on the Black Country History website at www.blackcountryhistory.org, as well as some uncatalogued material unearthed by the College in 2010.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Tettenhall Towers still has further secrets to uncover.  You could join Haunted Happenings on an overnight ghost hunt at these creepy Towers to find out.