Eeerie photos show an abandoned mansion once home to a treasure trove of antiques until it was raided by a gang who tied up and attacked its elderly owner.
The neo-Gothic-style property with its stone turrets, gargoyles and arches was built by John Haworth, the son of wealthy merchants, in 1811.
Known as Cliffe Park Hall, the Staffordshire house, which lies near Rudyard, was passed to his cousin and lover Fanny Bostock when he died in 1831.
It was then was sold to the North Staffordshire Railway in 1904, reports Wales Online.
Between 1908 and 1926 the Grade-II listed building was used as the clubhouse for Rudyard Golf Club and from 1933 to 1969 it was a youth hostel.
The house was then turned back into a private residence.
On a September night in 2014, while the elderly owner at the time, Brian Dalley, was at home, the property was raided by a criminal gang.
They taped the 79-year-old to a medieval chair, hooded him and repeatedly beat him around the head before ransacking his home of 50 years.
The thugs left eight hours later, with the bleeding and terrified pensioner - who was recovering from a triple heart bypass - still bound by gaffer tape.
The list of antiques stolen included a gold ceremonial sword studded with opals that once belonged to Saddam Hussein and a suit of armour worn by Oliver Cromwell.
Other pieces taken were an original painting of a child called Time For A Nap, a 14ft elephant gun, an Indian matchlock gun, Scottish broadswords and an Indian snake horn with ruby eyes. The thieves took so much that they ended up also stealing Mr Dalley’s Mercedes van to ferry their loot away.
Although some of the items were regarded as priceless, the value of the goods – which represented a lifetime of collecting by Mr Dalley – was valued at £200,000.
But it was not just the objects that were stolen. The thieves also took Mr Dalley’s financial security, as he had invested in the antiques as an alternative to savings or a pension, and he 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, an ex-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.”
Following Mr Dalley's death in 2015, Cliffe Park Hall fell into disrepair.
Urban explorer, Daniel Sims, also known as Bearded Reality, ventured into the house recently and captured photos of the eerie remains.
Images show derelict rooms with peeling paint and wallpaper and graffiti, but also a number of period features, including a cantilevered stone staircase rising from the grand hall with a glazed oculus above.
Daniel described the building as "spooky" and believes he may have encountered a ghost on his visit
The explorer, who admits he may have seen too many horror films, said: "I was standing in the middle of a room at the end of the explore taking photos and finishing up and I kid you not something barged past me and knocked into me but obviously there was nothing there so it definitely freaked me out.
“After hearing about the place and history it makes you think the place could be haunted. Definitely the old bed dating to the 15th century I think it was interesting and seems it had been converted at some point and the random hand dug tunnel was definitely surprising.”
The property covers a little under 10,000 square feet and sits on 1.5 acres of land with a mooring on Rudyard Lake.
