Poltergeist reports · Historic house museum
Epworth Old Rectory
Epworth · North Lincolnshire
A Grade I-listed Queen Anne rectory where the Wesley family recorded weeks of unexplained knocks, footsteps and disturbances during the winter of 1716–17.
Photo: Graham Hogg / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
A famous haunting preserved inside a genuinely important historic home.
Epworth Old Rectory was the childhood home of John and Charles Wesley, who later helped found the Methodist movement. Its stranger reputation comes from a concentrated series of disturbances reported by members of the Wesley household between December 1716 and January 1717. The family described knocks, groans, footsteps and other noises that they could not trace, eventually nicknaming the supposed presence “Old Jeffrey”. The surviving correspondence makes this a historically documented report – not proof that the cause was paranormal.
Your visit at a glance
Visitor information verified 8 August 2026Gardens free
Thu–Sat, 10:30–15:30
What the Wesley household said happened
The Epworth case is unusually interesting because the story grew from reports made by a known family in a house that still survives. The core events belong to a short winter period, although later retellings have often added colour and certainty that the earliest accounts do not support.
Knocks and groans
Members of the household began reporting groaning sounds, knocks and other noises in the rectory.
The sounds were heard by several family members and servants, but descriptions varied between witnesses.Footsteps and movement
Reports included footsteps, apparent movement on the stairs and noises that seemed to shift between rooms.
The family searched for ordinary causes and possible intruders but recorded no agreed explanation.A name for the mystery
One of the Wesley daughters gave the supposed presence the nickname “Old Jeffrey”.
The nickname endured, helping turn a brief cluster of family reports into one of England’s best-known poltergeist stories.A documented report is not the same as a documented ghost
The historical value of the case lies in the Wesley family’s correspondence and testimony. These sources show that household members reported unexplained disturbances and took them seriously. They do not establish what produced the sounds.
Later versions sometimes present every dramatic detail as equally secure or imply that the haunting continued indefinitely. The strongest record instead points to a concentrated episode during the winter of 1716–17, followed by decades of retelling and interpretation.
Fire, survival and the Wesley family
The rectory has enough documented history to be compelling even before Old Jeffrey enters the story.
The 1709 fire
The earlier rectory burned down on 9 February 1709. Five-year-old John Wesley was rescued from an upstairs window shortly before the roof collapsed.
A grand replacement
The present brick Queen Anne house was completed in 1709. Its scale and materials made it conspicuous among Epworth’s predominantly timber-and-thatch homes.
Wesley heritage
The house preserves the story of Samuel and Susanna Wesley and their family, including John and Charles Wesley and the origins of Methodism.
Explore the house, then leave time for the gardens
A self-guided house visit is the simplest option, while guided tours provide more context on the Wesley family and the building. The museum’s main interpretation centres on the house’s social and Methodist history, so do not expect a commercial haunted-house attraction.
A simple way to plan your visit
Check the opening day and tour availability before setting out, particularly if a guided visit matters to you.
Choose your visit
Self-guided admission starts at £4 for visitors aged five and over. Guided tours cost more and may need planning around availability.
Explore the rectory
Look beyond the haunting story to the building itself, the Wesley family rooms and the surviving objects, letters and portraits.
Walk the gardens
The gardens are free and open year-round. They provide a worthwhile extension even when the house is seasonally closed.
Getting there
Epworth Old Rectory stands close to the centre of Epworth. Visitors who need parking close to the house should contact the venue before travelling.
Accessibility & facilities
A ramp leads to the front door and the ground floor is accessible, although there are small changes in floor level. The first floor is not wheelchair-accessible.
Continue through eastern England’s haunted history
Carry the story into two very different historic buildings – a museum with centuries beneath its floors, and a York townhouse famous for its Roman soldiers.
Peterborough Museum
Explore a former infirmary whose cellars, historic rooms and reported apparitions have made it one of the city’s most atmospheric stops.
View destination →Treasurer’s House
Visit the elegant townhouse where an apprentice plumber reported a column of Roman soldiers emerging through a cellar wall.
View destination →Meet Old Jeffrey where the story began
Check the seasonal opening and tour arrangements before travelling, then explore more researched mysterious places with ParaMaps.