In part one, we looked at the Legend of Loftus Hall which involved Anne Tottenham.  If you have not read Part one click here.

Do ghostly goings-on still happen at Loftus Hall?  It seems so.

But before we look into that, I think we need to take a quick look into the history of the house and the land.

A brief history of Loftus Hall

We will start with the land. It is said the land was a sacred and spiritual place for the druids. This would give the location a lot of spiritual energy.

In the 12th century, the land saw many conflicts. I have not seen any records of this, but it would be fair to say many lives were lost. Which would have added a different, possibly negative layer of energy.

The original hall was built in 1350, during the time of the Black Death, by the Redmond family. It was known as Redmond Hall until the 1650s, when it was given to the Loftus family. From then on, it was known as Loftus Hall. 

John Henry Wellington Graham Loftus (1849–89), the fourth Marquess of Ely, had the house we see today built between 1865 and 1875 with the guidance of his mother.  Interestingly, only the circular foundations of one of the towers and an underground passage survive from the original building. Therefore, the building would have been very different from the one in which Anne Tottenham lived.  Remember, Anne was born in 1744 and died in 1775.

A royal visit that never was—the downfall of Loftus Hall

It is believed that the second house was built in anticipation of a visit from Queen Victoria (born 1819–1901; reigned 1837–1901). As we saw in Part One, Jane Loftus, Dowager Marchioness of Ely and mother of the Fourth Marquess, was the lady of the bed chamber and a good friend of the Queen.

The expensive revelations took place but the Queen did not visit. This left the fourth Marquess of Ely with a lot of debt.

Things did not get any better for the Marquess. In 1889, he travelled to Nice, in the south of France for health benefits. What was wrong? I was not able to find out, but he passed away on the 3rd of April at age 39.  He had no children. A year later, his mother passed away and the bankrupt Loftus Hall was put up for sale.

In 1917, the hall was bought by the Sisters of Providence, who turned the hall into a convent and a school for young girls.

This was until the late 1980s, when the hall was bought by Michael Deveraux.  Deveraux turned the hall into the Loftus Hotel. The hotel closed in the early 1990s.  The Deveraux family owned the hall privately until 2011.

By 2011, the hall was in a derelict state and was bought by brothers Aidan and Shane Quigley, farmers and builders. They did a lot of refurbishments.

Loftus Hall became a tourist attraction, with guided tours and lots of paranormal investigations.  The Ghost Adventures team investigated the hall and it was used as a location for a gothic thriller called The Lodgers. 

The hall, which was sold in 2021 to a private owner, is undergoing further refurbishments. However, it is no longer open to the public.

Further hauntings at Loftus Hall.

The tapestry room was said to be haunted by a woman. Many believe that this is Anne Loftus. One guest had a very strange encounter when he stayed in this room. Something jumped on his bed and growled at him! I am guessing this isn’t down to the woman!

 However, one gentleman, woke up after the bed curtains were opened, and he found a woman staring down at him. Another guest saw a woman walk through the room towards another door. This happened on the second night of his visit also.

 On the second night, the brave unnamed gentleman decided to try and grab the lady’s arm, but of course, his hand went straight through her. When the guest made enquiries he was told that it was Anne herself who walked through the room every single night.

It is believed that the tapestry room was from the original house and was more than likely demolished during renovations.

More recent paranormal goings on.

Although Loftus Hall changed dramatically Anne is still believed to haunt the place.   A woman in white has been seen on the staircase and many believe there is still a demonic presence.

During investigations and tours, witnesses have felt like they have been pulled back by unseen hands and have even been scratched. There is a lot of poltergeist activity with objects including rosary beads randomly disappearing. Footsteps and moans have been heard all around the house, strangely, so have the sound of horses. 

So who haunts Loftus Hall?  A lot has been attributed to Anne, it all ties in with the legend very nicely. but given its history could there be others?  I will let you decide.