SMITHILLS Hall is a Grade One Listed manor house and used to boast a moat.

But did you know the mystery of the footprint that is said to bleed every year at the historic site?

Early medieval records about the hall began in 1335 when William Radcliffe acquired it from the Hultons.

But in 1554 George Marsh a preacher from Deane was “examined’” at Smithills Hall, before being sent to Chester to be tried for heresy.

He was found guilty and executed in Chester.

As the story goes, his footprint is said to bleed each year on April 24 which is the anniversary of his death and his footprint can be seen here.

The oldest parts of The Hall opened in 1963 as a museum and in the 1990s the museum was extended.