Caught during an affectionate moment at Oxford House Nursery on Grosvenor Road is four-year-old Jeremy Plested and three-year-old Stephanie Shaw getting into the spirit of things for Valentine’s Day.
Midweek Visiter (Southport), 16th February 1990.
Family flee their haunted house.
By Neil Johnston.
A terrified family told today how they were driven out of their luxury home by a ghost. Raymond and Barbara Plested moved out of the rambling detached home in Oxford Road, Birkdale, Southport, after the birth of their son, Jeremy. They told how they were afraid that the baby could be affected by creepy goings on at the Victorian house.
Mr Plested, 39, said ghostly incidents included knocking on their bedroom door at night, the piano playing itself and numerous sightings of a blurred figure. Mr Plested said: “There is no doubt that the house is an unhappy one. I certainly wouldn’t stay there on my own at night again. When Jeremy had been born with a heart defect we decided to get out. We believe there may have been a murder here or someone who had lived here died tragically.”
The house was exorcised last month by a local clergyman.
Now the couple say they are facing a new battle – with planning chiefs who are refusing to let them bulldoze the house and build a block of flats in its place. The couple, who run Oxford House Day Nursery on Grosvenor Road, Birkdale, want to demolish the building and replace it with a three-storey block of nine self-contained flats. But planning chiefs are opposing the move because the house is situated in the West Birkdale Conservation Area. Mr Plested added: “We will be lumbered with two properties we cannot afford to pay for if we don’t get planning permission. We know there is opposition to our plans but we will be fighting them.” The house, which operated as a day nursery, has been vacant for several months. Mr Plested said it would need a considerable amount of money to carry out extensive repairs on it. The application is due to be discussed by planning councillors later this month.
Wigan Evening Post, 15th May 1990.
Haunted owners call exorcist.
Report by Alison Tarpey.
The haunted house in Oxford Road – a planning application has been submitted for its demolition.
An exorcism has been carried out by a former Southport priest on a house in Oxford Road which the owners claim is haunted. Father Robert Brunswick once headed St Luke’s Church in Southport and now lives and works in Croston but was brought back to try and rid the house of its ghostly goings-on.
“We have owned the house for 17 years but we moved out four years ago because we couldn’t stand it any longer,” said owner Mr Raymond Plested. “We have suffered all sorts of unpleasant experiences but the crunch came when our son Jeremy was born with all his organs back to front. My wife felt that it may have had something to do with the haunting and we moved out when Jeremy was six months old. I feel that something terrible happened in the house a long time ago and I would never stay there on my own again.”
Father Brunswick was called to the house to carry out the exorcism. “He stayed for about two hours and then told us that whatever it was shouldn’t trouble us any longer,” said Mr Plested. “However I have been back into the house since then and I still feel as though there is something there.”
The Plested family, who own Oxford House Day Nursery, have now applied for planning permission to demolish the haunted house and build a threep-storey block of nine flats. “We believe that £150,000 needs to be spent on the property as it is in a bad state of repair,” explained Mr Plested. “The house has been on the market for six months and the only interest shown has been in redeveloping the site. People may feel that we are only saying that the house is haunted to get planning permission but it is not true.”
Leslie Byrom is a councillor for Dukes Ward and he told the Visiter: “Haunting in Oxford Road is very likely – the road is bound to be full of ghosts. However if this is the reason for redevelopment, planning permission won’t be granted – the application would be laughed out of committee. A lot of local residents have objected to development on the site and the lack of planning would be due to the spectre of the council rather than a ghost. I am not against planning consent but the penny has dropped with the planning committee that in Birkdale people don’t want new developments.”
The planning application is to be considered by Sefton’s planning committee at the end of May.
Midweek Visiter (Southport), 25th May 1990.
Have-a-go witch gets the brush off.
A couple driven out of their £250,000 home by a ghost have refused an offer from a self-confessed white witch to drive the spook away. Pendle witch John Robinson, 34, said he could chase the ghost out of the rambling house in Birkdale, Southport, by just spending one night there. But nursery school owners Raymond and Brenda Plested say they are not interested. The couple moved out of the seven-bedroomed house in Oxford Road after the birth of their son Jeremy.
Wigan Evening Post, 26th May 1990.
Haunted house claims ‘rubbish’ – ex-owners.
Report by Alison Tarpey.
Reports of ghostly bumps in the night in a spooky Oxford Road house have been rejected by its former owners. The present owners, the Plested family, moved out of the house after complaining of unexplained ghoulish goings-on and have now applied for permission to demolish the property and build flats.
However, former owners of the property the Hagertys dismiss all reports of the spooky happenings as “absolute rubbish.” “We lived there for six years and never noticed anything,” said Sarah Hagerty (22). “We were quite happy to stay on our own at night and we certainly never saw or heard any ghosts.” The Hagertys owned the house but it was split into three flats.
The Plested family believe that the ghost may not have materialised until the flats became part of the house again. “We lived in the whole house and took the flats out,” said Mrs Plested. “I don’t know if that changed things but it could be the reason for the appearance of the ghost.”
Southport Visiter, 8th June 1990.
D-Day for spooky house couple.
A Southport couple will learn next week whether their long running battle to bulldoze their haunted house and replace it with a block of flats has been successful. Ray and Brenda Plested fear they will suffer severe cash problems if the application is refused. The couple want to knock down the former nursery school in Oxford Road, Birkdale, and replace it with a three storey block of flats.
Sefton planning officer Tim Cox is recommending councillors refuse the application when they meet in Bootle on Wednesday night. He says in a report that the building makes a significant contribution to the character and appearance to the West Birkdale Conservation Area. Mr Cox said the demolition is unjustified as the £250, 000 building is capable of being refurbished for use as flats or continuing as a children’s day nursery.
The Plesteds recently called Father Brunswick, an Anglican priest from Croston with a ministry in exorcism, to the building. He confirmed the presence of a poltergeist.
Wigan Evening Post, 30th June 1990.