22/08/2026
History and Details of my Trip to Leeds Old Workhouse/Thackray Museum - Leeds - Friday 14th August 2026
The building is a Grade II listed building, the former Leeds Union Workhouse, which opened in 1861 (foundation stone laid 1858) to accommodate 784 paupers. By the end of the 19th century, the buildings had become largely used for medical care of the poor, rather than workhouse and training. During the First World War it was called the East Leeds War Hospital, caring for armed services personnel. After becoming part of St James's Hospital, the building housed the first geriatric ward in the north of England. The building was later known as the Ashley Wing, which was part of the hospital until the 1990s when the old Leeds Union Workhouse building was considered unfit for modern medicine. As a listed building, it could not be demolished and Parliament gave permission for it to house the Thackray Medical Museum, which opened in 1997.
The museum's origins can be traced to Great George Street, Leeds, where Charles Thackray opened a small family-run chemist shop in 1902. In less than a century the corner shop grew into one of Britain's principal medical companies, Chas F Thackray Limited, manufacturing drugs and medical instruments and pioneering the hip replacement operation alongside Sir John Charnley. In the 1980s Charles Thackray's grandson Paul Thackray established a small collection as an archive of the Leeds-based medical supplies company. In 1990 a charitable trust was established to develop the collection.
Before the redevelopment, highlights included Leeds 1842: Life in Victorian Leeds, Pain, Pus and Blood, describing the history of surgery and pain relief, Having a Baby focusing on developments in safety for childbirth and The LifeZone!, an interactive children's gallery, looking at how the human body works, with a smaller room for the under-fives
I continued my tour of haunted venues in Leeds by visiting the Leeds Old Workhouse/Thackray Museum, a place that has seen disease, death, and hard labour throughout its chequered history.
On arriving at the venue, the first thing that physically spooked me was the price of parking: £13! I had totally forgotten that the working St James's Hospital is in the same vicinity.
Inside the building, you are greeted by a splendid entrance with many original features from its active days, whereas most of the workhouse has now been transformed into a modernised museum.
We started our vigil as a group in the upstairs corridors of the former infirmary. Surprisingly, we had no interaction. I was slightly disappointed, as of all places I would have expected activity around that area, but the night was still young.
We soon split off into smaller groups, and I returned to the first vigil area, where I sat and did some calling out. A couple of the group tried table tipping, which didn't yield many results, but during the calling out we heard two clear taps and footsteps when we were the only ones there. Despite getting minimal interaction, a couple of the guests had taken photos that included unusual shadow-like figures that couldn't be explained. However, we couldn't be certain that these were paranormal.
After a brief break, we made our way to the ground-floor medicine room, which had a small side room that is now used as a soft play area for children. Some of the group used Ouija boards. I do try to avoid these because, as silly as it seems, I think they bring bad luck. I decided to sit in the soft playroom as there had been reports of a presence there. For the first part of the vigil, nothing happened, but after a while I thought I saw a pair of boots with no body attached. This could easily have been a trick of the eye, however. Using the SLS, I mapped a figure in the doorway that appeared briefly, but as with all gadgets, until I have concrete proof, I can't class this as paranormal. Other people in the group also sat in the room and reported feeling an oppressive atmosphere and a sense of being watched, but nothing substantial occurred.
We moved on as a group and sat in the operating mortuary. We all took our places in the gallery and called out while positioning various devices around the room and on the table. Within seconds of calling out, we heard a loud bang from the corner of the room opposite where we were sitting. This was unexplained, and at the same time one of the cat balls near the table lit up on its own. We heard a few more distant bangs, but apart from that the room remained very calm.
The last part of the night was spent conducting vigils in the famous Disease Street, a replica street built to resemble Leeds in years gone by. This vigil was particularly interesting because we had only been there for five minutes when the torches we had placed around the area started to be manipulated, with one going completely out. The batteries in a piece of equipment also drained unusually quickly.
However, the most frightening experience of the night was hearing what sounded like an old hospital trolley being wheeled down the corridor above us, bumping along the floor as it moved. There have been no trolleys there for years and, at that point, nobody was above us at all. The sound was as clear as day, and I have been unable to debunk it. It was a very unnerving experience.
I came away having enjoyed a great night. Unfortunately, the activity was very minimal, but as we always say, spirits don't perform on command. I would love to visit this place again in the future, as there are still many unanswered questions. While it wasn't my most active night of investigating, I certainly don't feel disappointed.
I have a relatively quiet few weeks ahead, but I already have three investigations planned for September, so please keep your eyes peeled. I have a couple of new and interesting venues coming up.
Thanks to you all for taking the time to read, like, and follow my page.
A special thank you goes to Haunted Happenings for allowing me access to the Thackray Museum.
