Student flats to be built on ghost-myth site

 Haunted?: The Church of St. Andrew.
Image ©2011 Adam Wareing

A CHURCH RUIN in Liverpool City Centre — believed to be haunted — is set to be turned into 100 student flats, but a developer says: “There is no ‘presence‘.”

The Church of St. Andrew, on Rodney Street, sits adjacent to the Mackenzie Monument.

Local folklore claims that William Mackenzie lost his soul to the devil at poker, and that his body sits upright, at a card table inside the pyramid —  to cheat Lucifer by not being buried in the ground.  

However, Tracy Russell, of Penlake Ltd, the company that will provide the accommodation, said: “There is no fact in the myth.”

She claimed that although Mackenzie was a very wealthy man, he was not a gambler.

Tracy also revealed that she had consulted a paranormal enthusiast to help dispel the ghost story and claimed: “There is no ‘presence’ at the site at all.”

She added: “The myth is something that has been generated over the years...for entertainment.”

The sandstone exterior of the church is set to be fully restored, and the flats will be built inside the existing structure. 

Part of a monumental myth?: Mackenzie’s tomb. 
Image ©2011 Adam Wareing

The protected area around the tomb will be cleaned up, landscaped and separated from the accommodation.

Liverpool author, Tom Slemen, wrote in Haunted Liverpool 1 about the “Rodney Street Spectre“. 

He stated: “I do think that many of the sightings and encounters are with Mr Mackenzie.”

In the book, he tells the story of 68-year-old Dr Lionel Harland, from 1871.

He wrote: “Mackenzie’s face looked as if it was lit up by a red flame, and his eyes were ink-black and lifeless. As the doctor shivered, the figure in black walked straight through the wall of the cemetery.”  

Rachael Sumner, 27, a student at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “Personally, I don’t know if I would live there, but I can see why it would appeal to some people.

“I imagine it would be a lot of fun for a group of friends to live there, knowing about the supposed ghost. People like to be scared.”  

The project is being undertaken by Middle England Developments, who are managed by Penlake, and it is expected that the renovation will be completed “on or before 1st September, 2012”, according to a document available online from propertyfrontiers.com.