Bate Hall on Chestergate is the oldest pub in Macclesfield, dating to the early 16th century and retaining much of its original character, including oak beams, panelling, a Jacobean staircase, and a priest’s hole.
The pub is associated with several reported hauntings. The most documented concerns a young woman in a long grey dress, whose last confirmed sighting predates living memory. In 2005, paranormal investigators were given permission to conduct an overnight vigil; the group’s medium claimed to make contact with the figure, who described being accused of witchcraft and hanged from the banister by those she had sought refuge from. No name or date was established.
Two further figures have been reported: a former landlord who died on the premises, and an elderly man recalled by members of the Miller family who once held the licence.
Physical disturbances have also been reported, including doors moving independently and a cellarman found locked in the kitchen when the building was otherwise empty.
