Ghoulish goings on at Lancaster City Council
TWO Lancaster City Council buildings will be part of a popular live TV show exploring the Lancaster district’s gruesome past.
The producers of Most Haunted Live will be filming in Palatine Hall and Lancaster Town Hall as part of this year’s live Halloween special – Eight Faces of Evil.
Palatine Hall in particular has a long and gruesome history. In 1935 it was home to Dr Buck Ruxton, who ran his GP surgery from the building.
Convinced his wife was having an affair, he strangled her in the front room of their home.
Unfortunately the couple’s maid witnessed the whole affair so he killed her too, dismembering both bodies in the bathroom before disposing of them in a ravine in the Scottish Borders.
It was at Lancaster Town Hall, which celebrates its centenary this year, that Ruxton was finally brought to justice.
The building houses the city’s former magistrates court and Ruxton was held, pending his appearance before the court, in the basement cells, before being committed for trial at the Manchester Assizes Court. He was later found guilty and sentenced to death at Strangeways.
As well as Lancaster Town Hall and Palatine Hall, Most Haunted Live will be broadcasting live from the Winter Gardens in Morecambe over a period of eight nights. All tickets for the event have now been allocated.
Coun Stuart Langhorn, leader of Lancaster City Council, said: “From the moment the city council was first approached by the producers of Most Haunted we were keen to bring the show to the district and provided as much help to them as we could.
“Our district has a long and colourful history and in publicity terms alone the show will be worth its weight in gold.
“Thousands of people will also flood into the district to be in the live audience so the show will also be very good for our local economy.”
Date Published: 20/10/09