Kraster Cook and his wife Dorothy once owned the Hall. They were falsely accused of theft by Myles Phillipson, who happened to be in a position of trust as a local magistrate. However, he had designs on their property and land. The Cook’s were brought to trail and found guilty. Phillipson sentenced them to hang, but Dorothy Cook cursed the treacherous magistrate and his family as she stood in the dock. She swore that their family would never be successful and would haunt the house whist the walls stood. Indeed, it is said that two skulls supposed to be those of the unfortunate Cook couple persistently plagued Phillipson, and his family did not prosper.