Guildhall Catacombs
The Guildhall
eneath Derby's Guildhall is a labyrinth of tunnels and catacombs.
One of the tunnels used to link the old police lock-up in
Lock-Up Yard to the Assize Courts which were at that
time in the Guildhall. Many prisoners have trudged along
those dark, dank tunnels from the lock-up to the courts,
where they were sentenced, and then trudged back into the lock-up
to be then taken away to be executed, transported, or imprisoned.
ne such person who made the mournful journey through those
tunnels was Alice Wheeldon, from Peartree.
In 1917 it was alleged that she had plotted to murder David Lloyd
George, the Prime Minister.
She was arrested in Peartree Road, Derby, taken to the
lock-up and eventually tried at the Assize Courts.
eople say that they still hear ghostly footsteps
along those tunnels. Perhaps it is those of Alice Wheeldon,
who although imprisoned, was later found to be innocent. The whole
story was apparently fabricated by the British Government because Alice
Wheeldon was hiding Conscientious Objectors - men who did not wish to
fight as soldiers- in World War One.She was later released from prison and lived as a recluse in Derby until she died and was then buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the town.
lso within the Guildhall catacombs, the ghost of a little boy
has been seen, dressed in rags. He often wanders through the tunnels
and has been seen by workmen. They shout at him, thinking that he is
trespassing, but then he disappears and although thorough searches are
undertaken, no sign of the boy can be found.
To the Derby Index page
Read about executions in Derbyshire.
Swann Internet Services.
The information on this page is supplied courtesy of Wayne Anthony (author) and Richard Felix (local historian).
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