Chester: England's Most Haunted City

Fireman 'Jack'

Now one of Chester's most popular French restaurants, the Old Fire Station on Northgate Street is haunted by a helmeted and bewhiskered old fireman.

Built in 1912 just within the city walls, the fire station occupies an ancient site built upon since Roman times. In the 1960s, in the quiet periods of the night watch, the firemen often told tales of old ‘Jack’. According to a retired officer, colleagues claimed to have seen a ghostly figure in brass helmet and full uniform sitting on one of the fire engines' turntable ladders, smiling directly at them.

The beaming apparition so alarmed one nervous fireman that he instinctively ‘threw the bells’, summoning the rest of the watch. When they reached the ground floor control room, they found him shaking and ashen faced. Records show he retired soon afterwards.