Historic find: ancient relics found under 'haunted' Wigan hotel's floorboards

Handyman David Worrall was pulling up floorboards in what is nicknamed "the wattle and daub room” in the oldest part of Holland Hall at Up Holland, when he came across a very ancient-looking child’s shoe and a vintage bottle of furniture polish.

The Joshua Gibson furniture cream probably dates back to late Victorian times but the well-worn child’s footwear could be much older, as that wing of the hotel was built in the 17th century.

Owner Bill Kenyon is now seeing how much it would cost to get the shoe examined properly and tested for DNA.

He said: “We were fitting out the rooms in the old part of the hall and when the floorboards came up there was this bottle and shoe, both under two to three inches of black muck.

"The shoe is phenomenally well made, in immaculate condition really, complete with the stud for fastening the strap across the front.

"It is a girl’s shoe and very worn underneath. Older people we’ve spoken to about it also point our the telltale split down the front of it which was commonly created when you wanted to get more wear out of a shoe when your feet were still growing.

"We have had ghost researchers in the hotel before now and they have said they have heard children laughing in this room, as well as feeling chills going down their backs. Personally I’ve never heard anything but some people are now putting two and two together with this shoe.

"The furniture cream probably dates from the late 1800s but the shoe may possibly be even older. The leather it is made out of is very, very hard because of the length of time it has been down there.

"We have been in touch with various places about it, one of which is the Shoe Musuem in Northampton and we are looking to see if we can do DNA testing on it.”

Mr Kenyon said that eventually the shoe will be put in a display case for visitors to view.