Heaton Hall sits at the heart of Heaton Park, one of the largest municipal parks in Europe, in a 650-acre landscape on the northern edge of Manchester. The Grade I listed mansion was designed by James Wyatt in 1772 for Sir Thomas Egerton and remained in the Egerton family until 1902, when it was sold to Manchester Corporation.
The park is associated with several ghost traditions, the most persistent of which concerns a figure known as Lady Alice, described as a former resident who appears in a nightdress in the early hours, most often in the park grounds and near the Orangery. In May 1968, five students from St John’s College of Further Education spent a night in the grounds hoping to encounter her. No follow-up account has been found. Around Christmas, a phantom coach and horses is said to be heard pulling up to the courtyard.
