Ghostly Happenings at Leicester’s Guildhall
Do you want a try your hand at ghost watching?
The Leicester Guildhall was built around 1390 by the Gild of Corpus Christi, a lay religious body. In 1563, the building was bought by the Leicestershire Corporation, and it has been used for many purposes down the centuries.
Much of Shakespeare’s work was acted out in the Great Hall during his lifetime and legend has it that the Bard himself once put in an appearance.
One somewhat bizarre annual event that preceded a huge banquet at the Guildhall was the ‘Mock Hunt of the Hare.’ This involved throwing a dead cat into a tub of aniseed water. The animal was then tied to a horse’s tail before being dragged through the streets. A while later a group of huntsmen and a pack of hounds would follow the trail of the “hare”, eventually arriving at the Guildhall for the celebratory dinner.
Bear baiting took place on numerous occasions. This barbaric form of “entertainment” involved a bear being led into the Great Hall where it would he chained to a specially constructed post. A number of mastiffs would be introduced then let loose to attack the bear.
Leicester’s Borough Police Force was founded in 1836 with the constables having their headquarters in the upper floors of the Guildhall with the cells…