A sinister history of fairytale castle

Antiques stolen and owner beaten in aggravated burglary at hall

WALKERS seeking fresh air at one of North Staffordshire’s most picturesque beauty spots will no doubt have noticed the derelict fairytale castle with its impressive stone turrets, gargoyles and arches.

Built in 1811 for a part of the Wedgwood dynasty, Grade-ii listed Cliffe Park Hall sits looking down on Rudyard Lake and a more beautiful location you will not find in this part of the world.

But the early Gothic revival-style mansion has a sinister recent history involving the then owner.

Back on one September night in 2014, 79-year-old Brian Dalley was taped to a medieval chair, hooded and repeatedly beaten around his head as brutal criminals ransacked his home of 50 years. They left eight long hours later, with the bleeding and terrified pensioner – who was recovering from a triple heart bypass – still bound by gaffer tape.

Among the dazzling array of antiques stolen included a gold ceremonial sword studded with opals which once belonged to Saddam Hussein and a suit of armour worn by Oliver Cromwell.

Although some of the items were regarded as priceless, the value of the goods – which represented a lifetime of collecting by Mr Dalley – was put at £200,000. He had invested in the antiques as an alternative to savings or a pension, and was not insured. The raid left him virtually penniless and he died the following year.

Meanwhile, only some of the seven members of the ‘highly professional’ Eastern European gang were jailed for aggravated burglary.

Speaking at the time, Mr Dalley, a former actor and salesman, said: “I was coming back from Sainsbury’s and it was just about eight o’clock.

“I’ve got big iron gates to the courtyard at the back of the castle and they (the gang) just barged out.

“I felt a gloved hand around my mouth. My first instinct was somebody’s having a joke, but then I couldn’t breathe. I thought my heart was going to burst, then they kicked me to the floor. They said ‘Tell us where the money is or we’ll kill you.’

“They brought in three bales of bubble wrap and started taking my pictures off the wall. They were wrapping them in the most professional manner, as if they had come from a museum.

“I managed to sort of ‘walk’ the chair to a table, where there was a glass, a good glass. I held the glass with my mouth and smashed it on the table. With a piece of glass in my mouth I was able to saw through my bonds. I felt a bit like James Bond at that point.”

Mr Dalley was then able to drive to a neighbour’s about a mile away.

Police and an ambulance arrived within 20 minutes.

He added: “I’m anxious in my own home. I don’t want to (sell up) but there’s too many memories.” Following Mr Dalley’s death in 2015, Cliffe Park Hall was put up for sale. Sadly, it has fallen into disrepair but features include a cantilevered stone staircase rising from the Grand Hall with a glazed occulus above.

Covering a little under 10,000sqft, there is a wealth of neo-gothic and Georgian features inside and 1.5 acres of land with a mooring on the lake. There is a butler’s pantry, servants’ quarters and a secret passage. Footage from Stoke-ontrent Youtuber Tomm Daniels, who sneaked inside the castle – also known as Cloud Mansion – shows many of the windows and doors now boarded up.

Gavin Scott-brooker, of Brooker and Co Chartered Surveyors, one of the executors of the estate who dealt with the sale, told The Sentinel in 2015: “I would say it is one of the most special country houses in Staffordshire, both in its setting and the grandeur of the building itself.

“The hall is beautiful and the two together, the setting and the building, are like something out of a fairy tale.”

Cliffe Park Hall was built between 1811 and 1830 for John Haworth at an estimated cost of £25,000. It was sold to the North Staffordshire Railway in 1904. Between 1908 and 1926 the building was used as the club house for Rudyard Golf Club. From 1933 to 1969 it was a Youth Hostel before reverting back to a private residence.

According to property site Zoopla, the hall sold in October 2016 for £480,000 after initially being listed for £600,000. The identity of the current owner is not known.