The Darley Abbey Choirboys

(Written By Milly Wong)

Local legend has it that Derby once boasted the second oldest school in English history. There is no firm information regarding the site of the original school but we do know that since the 12th century it was owned and operated by Darley Abbey and despite moving to several different locations during its existence it had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries.

During the 16th century the school was almost totally obliterated along with the abbey during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. (Some years later Derby School was reopened in a purpose-built building next to St Peter's Church, Derby).

The only remaining building in Darley Abbey from the monastic period is The Abbey pub where over the years there have been numerous reports of beer mats and ashtrays flying off tables by themselves.

As beautiful as the local area is, it has a very long history and so I wasn't surprised to hear from a fellow Derbian about an unexplainable experience they had there several years ago.

One evening, the gentleman and his wife had been taking a walk on Darley Park and were making their way towards The Broadway. It was dusk and for some reason the lady felt unnerved by something behind them and had a gut-wrenching urge to look back over her shoulder towards the Darley Abbey Tea Rooms.

She saw a group of young men walking up the path behind them and the site of them frightened her so much that she had no choice but to draw them to her husband's attention. What was so unnerving was that they were wearing what appeared to be old-fashioned choirboy cassocks with white frilly collars.

The couple continued to walk on nervously and as they looked around again to convince themselves they were not going insane, there was not a soul to be seen. The choirboys had simply vanished into thin air.

Could this be an apparition of the unsettled souls that torment the staff and guests at The Abbey pub? Maybe they are forever roaming the streets of Darley Abbey in search of their beloved school and abbey buildings that were demolished at the hands of Henry VIII during the 16th century.

< Back to Hauntings List