For sale: The Yorkshire vicarage where two people were murdered in grisly Victorian crime
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The Grade II-listed Christ Church Vicarage in Todmorden is currently on the market with Face2Face estate agents for £485,000.
For sale: 'Haunted' Yorkshire railway station with original platformThe four-bedroom Georgian property has been the home of Nigel and Collette Taylor for the last decade and the couple are hoping that a young family with children will fall in love with the house in the same way they did.
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Hide AdDespite the vicarage's notorious past, the Taylors say the house has been a very happy home for them. Collette said:
“Christ Church Vicarage is a little piece of history. We are very attached to the place, and we're sorry to be leaving, but it's got too big for us. People have said that they've spotted the face of a young woman in the vicarage window but potential buyers need not worry - if it had been haunted I would have run a thousand miles by now.”
Built in 1824, Christ Church Vicarage still has its original decorative coving, pane sash windows with folding shutters and high ceilings.
In 1868 the resident vicar, the Reverend Anthony John Plow, and his housemaid Sarah Bell were murdered by 23-year-old local weaver Miles Weatherill. The killer, armed with four pistols and a hatchet, had been drinking in the Black Swan pub nearby before taking revenge on the clergyman after he forbade Weatherill to court his domestic servant Jane Smith.
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Hide AdSarah was struck down by the thwarted suitor because she'd told the vicar of Weatherill and Jane's trysts. Less than a month later Weatherill was one of the last prisoners to be hanged in public outside New Bailey Prison, Manchester.
Jonathan Swire, managing director of Face2Face estate agents, said: “This is a beautiful detached house full of original features and oozing with history and heritage. It's got a fascinating story attached to it which will always be a talking point for whomever owns it.”
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