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Daresbury Hall in Lewis Carroll's village turned into a playground for the undead

This classic Georgian mansion was once home to the lords and ladies of the manor in the village Alice and Wonderland author Lewis Carroll grew up in.

But after being left to ruin for decades, it has now been converted into an apocalyptic playground for enthusiasts obsessed with the undead.

Daresbury Hall, between Daresbury and Warrington, Cheshire, is now an eerie empty space that looks more like a set from The Walking Dead.

With graffiti daubed all over the walls of the once great stately home, and burnt-out cars inside the rooms, the ruined interior looks like a scene from a dystopian movie.

Alice in Zombieland: This classic Georgian mansion was once home to the lords and ladies of the manor in the village Alice and Wonderland author Lewis Carroll grew up in but it has been left to ruin and the windows and doors are now boarded up

Alice in Zombieland: This classic Georgian mansion was once home to the lords and ladies of the manor in the village Alice and Wonderland author Lewis Carroll grew up in but it has been left to ruin and the windows and doors are now boarded up

Dried up: Inside is an empty swimming pool, a hint at the extravagance once enjoyed by the residents, which is now covered in filth, in a domed conservatory with missing pains of glass.

Dried up: Inside is an empty swimming pool, a hint at the extravagance once enjoyed by the residents, which is now covered in filth, in a domed conservatory with missing pains of glass.

Warning signs: With graffiti daubed all over the walls of the once great stately home, and burnt-out cars inside the rooms, the ruined interior looks like a scene from a dystopian movie

Warning signs: With graffiti daubed all over the walls of the once great stately home, and burnt-out cars inside the rooms, the ruined interior looks like a scene from a dystopian movie

Better days: This ruined car is inside one of the outbuildings, which itself has crumbling walls and looks on the brink of ruin

Better days: This ruined car is inside one of the outbuildings, which itself has crumbling walls and looks on the brink of ruin

Boarded up: Daresbury Hall, between Daresbury and Warrington, Cheshire, is now an eerie empty space that looks more like a set from The Walking Dead, a TV series about the survivors of a zombie apocolypse

Boarded up: Daresbury Hall, between Daresbury and Warrington, Cheshire, is now an eerie empty space that looks more like a set from The Walking Dead, a TV series about the survivors of a zombie apocolypse

Empty: This eerie scene of empty chairs around the green plant can be seen inside one of the rooms of the now empty estate

Empty: This eerie scene of empty chairs around the green plant can be seen inside one of the rooms of the now empty estate

Ruined: Inside, the wallpaper is peeling and furniture is in tatters, strewn all over the floor, in a room which now holds few signs that it once housed the village's richest residents for hundreds of years

Ruined: Inside, the wallpaper is peeling and furniture is in tatters, strewn all over the floor, in a room which now holds few signs that it once housed the village's richest residents for hundreds of years

Illegal activity: Last year, police raided the estate and found 600 cannabis plants with a street value estimated around £750,000 inside

Illegal activity: Last year, police raided the estate and found 600 cannabis plants with a street value estimated around £750,000 inside

HISTORY OF THE HOME THAT ONCE HOUSED VILLAGE'S RICHEST RESIDENTS BEFORE TURNING INTO GHOST HOUSE

Daresbury hall was built in the mid 1700s by the Greenhall family in the Georgian style, and it spent most of its life as a stately home before it was needed by Britain of a greater cause.

The estate was converted to a military hospital during the Second World War and a new ward name the 'Lewis Carroll Unit' was built, named after the village's most famous resident.

Later on, the 35-acre estate was sold back to the Greenhall family in the early 1950's, but it remained empty until the National Spastic Society (now known as Scope) boght it in in 1957 for £5,000

The estate was used as a full-time care facility and home for 52 patients and 75 members of staff, initially for patients suffering from physical handicaps.

More outbuildings were erected near the manor house entrance to provide accommodation for the on-site carers, but it was eventually closed by the charity reportedly because of the high cost of caring for its residents.

The building then lay empty for many years until it was sold to a millionaire bachelor who returned the building to its original use as a stately home. However, it was allowed to fall into disrepair following his death.

The building was most recently used by Zed Events to provide a 'zombie survival experience' and the outbuildings are heavily graffitied with comments regarding the 'apocalypse'. 

It has emerged that it was previous used by an events company that charged zombie enthusiasts money to run around the various buildings on the 35-acre estate while being terrorised by people dressed as zombies.

The graffiti on the walls inside includes various references to zombies, including the phrases 'why won't they stay dead', 'you're all going to die down here', and 'infection spreading'.

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Also inside is an empty swimming pool, a hint at the extravagance once enjoyed by the residents, which is now covered in filth, in a domed conservatory with missing pains of glass.

There are also windows and doors boarded up in the various outbuildings and annexes on the sprawling but overgrown estate. 

Dark days: This swimming pool was once used by the Spastic Society, which bought the mansion in 1956 and converted it into a care facility for people with serious handicaps. It is now totally unusable

Dark days: This swimming pool was once used by the Spastic Society, which bought the mansion in 1956 and converted it into a care facility for people with serious handicaps. It is now totally unusable

Stark: The building is now literally crumbling from the inside and Halton Borough Council is attempting to gain permission to convert it into housing in a last ditch attempt to save it from ruin

Stark: The building is now literally crumbling from the inside and Halton Borough Council is attempting to gain permission to convert it into housing in a last ditch attempt to save it from ruin

Horror show: It was previously used by the events group Zed, which ran zombie run events inside, in which customers would pay money to run around it being chased by actors in zombie make up and costumes

Horror show: It was previously used by the events group Zed, which ran zombie run events inside, in which customers would pay money to run around it being chased by actors in zombie make up and costumes

Uninhabitable: It's horrendous state made it perfect for creating scenes akin to those in a dystopian movie such as 28 Days Later. Tiles are strewn all over the floor in this building, which was once a bathroom

Uninhabitable: It's horrendous state made it perfect for creating scenes akin to those in a dystopian movie such as 28 Days Later. Tiles are strewn all over the floor in this building, which was once a bathroom

Smashed: This former locker room in a separate annex to the home has painted windows with broken glass and toppled furniture

Smashed: This former locker room in a separate annex to the home has painted windows with broken glass and toppled furniture

Overgrown: The plants have grown wild on the grounds, which contain many annexes and outbuildings as well as the main hall

Overgrown: The plants have grown wild on the grounds, which contain many annexes and outbuildings as well as the main hall

Forgotten garden: The grass has grown high and there are now longer window pains in this old brick building on the 35-acre property

Forgotten garden: The grass has grown high and there are now longer window pains in this old brick building on the 35-acre property

Boarded up: The windows and doors are now almost totally boarded up so that people cannot gain access to the crumbling property

Boarded up: The windows and doors are now almost totally boarded up so that people cannot gain access to the crumbling property

Shoot on sight: A view through the broken windows of Daresbury Hall, in which graffiti has been written all over the wall in red

Shoot on sight: A view through the broken windows of Daresbury Hall, in which graffiti has been written all over the wall in red

Down the rabbit hole: Trees now obscure the view from the outbuilding to the grand main house in the village where Lewis Carroll grew up, an upbringing which inspired his famous book Alice In Wonderland

Down the rabbit hole: Trees now obscure the view from the outbuilding to the grand main house in the village where Lewis Carroll grew up, an upbringing which inspired his famous book Alice In Wonderland

Last year police raided one of the outhouses and found a cannabis farm with £750,000 worth of plants inside, and the council has argued that the current state creates special circumstances to build on the green belt land.

It is now trying to get planning permission to demolish part of the Grade II listed building, so it can build houses on the land.

The house, which is protected by English Heritage, was built in 1759 for George Heron, but was converted into a military hospital during the Second World War and a new wing was named after the most famous person ever to live in the village.

Carroll, whose real name was Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, lived in the small village for the first 11 years of his life, between 1832 and 1843.

Various historic buildings in the area hold clues to inspiration for his famous book and it is now place of pilgrimage for thousands of fans. 

Professional organisation: The building was filled with professional lighting and hydration equipment to help the illegal drugs grow

Professional organisation: The building was filled with professional lighting and hydration equipment to help the illegal drugs grow

THE 'VICTORIAN JIMMY SAVILLE'? DARESBURY'S MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT AND THE LETTER THAT LATER SPARKED SPECULATION THAT ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST CELEBRATED WRITER'S COULD BE A PAEDOPHILE 

Carroll, whose real name was Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, lived in the small village for the first 11 years of his life, between 1832 and 1843.

His father, also Reverend Charles Dodgson, was the much-loved vicar in the village for 16 years, from 1827 to 1843.

Carroll and nine of his ten siblings were born at the Old Parsonage in the village, which has since been demolished and is now run by the National Trust.

The Daniell Chapel in Daresbury is now a tribute to the writer. The Lewis Carroll Memorial Window. which was paid for by fans around the world, shows both Carroll and Alice at a nativity scene.

There are also five panels depicting characters and scenes from Alice in Wonderland, including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.

Carroll, who died in January 1898, wrote Alice in Wonderland after telling stories to a girl named Alice Liddell while on picnics and boating trips with her family.

Her father was Dean of Christ Church college at Oxford University, where Carroll was a lecturer.

Carroll was a close friend of the family until there was a mysterious cooling of relations in 1863, when she was 11.

The writer has been cast by many modern biographers as a social misfit with an unhealthy interest in little girls that led him to take hundreds of nude photographs of them.

A programme aired last year by the BBC investigated whether Carroll could be considered as a 'Victorian Jimmy Savile'.

In 2008, a letter from Carroll came to light in which the lifelong bachelor appeared to address speculation about whether he was a paedophile.

In the missive, he discussed his fondness for children. But experts who have studied his life say the allegations are not supported.

Following his death aged 65, pages from his diaries were censored or destroyed, and none of his ten siblings ever spoke about him to outsiders. The author hated anyone knowing about his private life and never gave interviews.

His circle of friends included Sir James Paget, surgeon to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. 

Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland after telling stories to a girl named Alice Liddell (pictured right) while on picnics and boating trips with her family. She is pictured with her sisters Edith (left) and Ina (centre)

Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland after telling stories to a girl named Alice Liddell (pictured right) while on picnics and boating trips with her family. She is pictured with her sisters Edith (left) and Ina (centre)

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-06-18