What's the haunted history of Halesowen's oldest shop?

WHEN Nici and Andy Patchett moved their wool and knitting business last August into new premises on Halesowen High Street they were understandably interested in the history of the old building. Then strange happenings began to occur and Nici and Andy became even more interested to know who had been at the shop in the past. Both the Patchetts and visitors to their shop have sensed a strange, intangible spirit among them and while no ghostly figure has been seen the spirit has made its presence felt. He's quite a friendly ghost, really,' said Nici. "We have a knitting group in the back room every Monday morning and Friday afternoon and he always comes and joins us. He usually stands in the corner. It's always cold where he is and if he stands next to you you can feel the cold. His main trick is blowing cigarette smoke in your face. You can't see anything but you can definitely smell the smoke, then when he's gone the smell is gone too." The shop is called, perhaps appropriately, Withit Witch and is at 75 (formerly number 30) High Street, Halesowen. It is an old timber-framed building, Grade II listed, and is thought to date from 1450-1500, making it one of the oldest, if not the oldest shop in Halesowen. But who is the ghost that haunts the shop? "We had a lady come in with her children,' said Nici, "she didn't know about the ghost but afterwards she told us that we had a spirit. His name was Edward and he didn't like children." That sounds a little sinister but Nici explains that their 'Edward' is not that bad really. "He's never bothered our daughter," she said. "He's all right with children when they behave but if he thinks they're being noisy then he flashes the lights in the shop until they've gone." Edward comes into the shop most days but apart from blowing cigarette smoke, moving the odd ball of wool around and occasionally telling someone to 'shush' he is not a nuisance. But Nici and Andy would like to know who he is. Is he a previous shop owner on the site? Julian Hunt, in his 2004 book A History of Halesowen, has this to say about the shop: "Number 30 High Street was a timber-framed house with one gable facing the street. This, too, was owned by Joseph Harris, who died in 1845. It was occupied by Jane Hodgetts and her son Thomas. Thomas Hodgetts later became Halesowen's postmaster and ran the Post Office from these premises, until moving to the new Post Office on the other side of the street about 1884. It was renumbered 75 High Street in the 1960s." That is obviously only part of the story of the shop's 500 years history. The 1921 edition of Kelly's Directory records that Alfred Craddock, a boot and shoe maker, was at the shop and in more recent years it has been a branch of Peplow's, the Stourbridge jewellers, and Easter Interiors. Can readers provide anymore information about the past of this historic shop that may help to explain the mysterious presence? Perhaps previous tenants have had similar spooky experiences? With the building's old timber beams, low ceilings and uneven floors it certainly is a place ripe for haunting. "I keep an open mind about these things," said Nici. Hopefully Bugle readers can provide some answers to this spooky puzzle.