Southern Paranormal - Investigations

Botleigh Grange Hotel Investigation

Sunday 11th April 2010

Attending Investigators – Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Rob Butler, Maureen Taylor, Amanda Horley, Marie Holder, Mark Pettet, Sarah Pettet, Steve Boston, Robin Turton, Kieran Gillingham, Jane Gillingham, Karen Reynolds & Belinda Robinson.

Hosts / Members of staff – Gemma, Julie, Hazel, Emma, Terry & Dan

Introduction

When the management of Botleigh Grange agreed for us to visit we were excited and privileged as to our knowledge it had never been investigated before. A huge thank you to all the staff that facilitated our visit and joined us on the night. A special thank you to Emma Gray.

History & Recorded Sightings

Like so many historical English Houses, Botleigh Grange is not without its haunted chamber. A former owner is said to have kept his daughter confined in one of the principle bedrooms owing to the lady having become ‘enamoured of a certain knight’. Marks made by her fingernails on the door, in her frantic efforts to escape before dying of starvation, were visible for many years. Her spirit still walks the landing at the hour of midnight. Nearby, stands a ‘haunted oak’. Her father stood here to gaze upon her confinement and revel in her suffering.

A monument of mystery – with no inscription or name, stands in the grounds. It is believed to mark the position at which a former owner’s daughter fell from her horse and was killed.

Thomas Hellyer Foord, a shipbuilder and contractor of Rochester, purchased the 100-acre estate in 1868. He was responsible for the addition of the Tower over the porch, which housed a clock with Westminster chimes, by Buggins of Clerkenwell. Other additions and decorations were carried out personally by one of the family. The principle addition being the oak panelled walls and a magnificent ornamental ceiling which can be seen in the ‘Cocktail Lounge’. The carved mantelpiece depicting acorns (which is situated in the Lakeside Bar) may have been a reminder of the family business carried out at Acorn Wharf. Mr Foord, being fond of animals, established a herd of 200 deer on the estate, and the occasional deer can still be viewed strolling around the grounds of the Hotel. Thomas Hellyer Foord died, at the age of 93, in 1917.

The Estate was eventually sold in ‘lots’ in 1923.One ‘lot’ being the Mansion House and 25 acres of gardens and lakes. It was converted into a private Hotel in 1932 and continued as such until the Plumpton family purchased it in 1949 and acquired a full licence to run the ’Botleigh Grange Hotel’ as a Licensed Country House Hotel. The Hotel is still owned by the Plumpton family to this day.

Taken from - www.legacy-hotels.co.uk

Vigil Area's

Ground Floor–
Foord Room – our Kit/Base Room
Board Room
Bar Area's
Cocktail Lounge
Dining Room

1^st Floor – All available rooms (that are not hired out to guests), linen/house keeping office

2^nd Floor – All available rooms (that are not hired out to guests)

Teams

Team 1
Julie H
Maria
Sarah
Steve
Belinda
Gemma
Dan

Team 2
Rob
Kieran
Maureen
Marie
Julie
Emma

Team 3
Amanda
Karen
Jane
Mark P
Robin

Itinerary

10.50pm Arrive at Hotel & meet team outside. Please do not go in until all

All the team have arrived.

11.00pm Meet our hosts

11.10pm Tech set up & Team Equipment allocation

11.50pm Pre vigil preparations break

12.30am Vigil 1

Team 1 – 1^st floor

Team 2 – 2^nd floor

Team 3 – Ground floor

1.30am Break

1.45am Vigil 2

Team 1 – Ground floor

Team 2 – 1^st floor

Team 1 – 2^nd floor

2.45am Break

3.15am Vigil 3

Team 1 – 2^nd floor

Team 2 – Ground floor

Team 3 – 1^st floor

4.15am Pack up

4.45am Depart

Personal Reports

TEAM 1

Maria Street

It was back last August when I first approached the hotel with a view to conducting an investigation there. I didn’t hold out too much hope. After all this was a prestigious hotel and country club with a fabulous reputation. Would this be too much for them to risk? To my utter surprise, I received a reply almost immediately from Emma, one of the receptionists. I called her and arranged a meeting with her, a couple of other members of staff, and the general manager. Accompanied by Rob and a couple of meetings later, we were good to go.

We all arrived late on the Sunday evening and offloaded our equipment into our kit room for the night, the very spacious Ford Room. Unfortunately, Emma was unable to join us for the evening but we were joined by other friendly members of staff, Gemma, Dan, Julie and another Emma.

Gemma joined with my team, Team 1, along with Julie H, Steve, Sarah and Belinda, who was joining us for her first investigation. We started on the first floor in Room 9 and had such a successful first vigil that we didn’t venture anywhere else. Room 9 has a raised balcony at the back and I sat there close to Gemma. Julie sat near the steps, close to Belinda and Sarah and Steve sat in the main part of the room. Steve began taking pictures and captured something quite strange on the door. He took a control picture and nothing appeared the second time, so closer inspection is definitely needed. We decided to call out and I picked up on a girl named Sarah, Julie picked up on an Emily and Sarah picked up on a girl named Kate.

There was a real feel of energy in the room but with nothing tangible to go on we decided the time was right for a glass divination. This was something we hadn’t tried for a while, as it is very rare for the glass to move, but it felt right. I decided to sit out and ask the questions. After a little persuading, the glass moved, which is a little startling at first, especially if you’ve never experienced it before. We designated areas for yes and no answers and I asked if we were talking to a Sarah. Immediately the glass went to “yes”. We established she was 17 and had lived here in the 17^th century. It transpired she had two sisters named Kate and Emily. What is particularly interesting is the K11 meter lit up at the mention of the name Kate, just as the glass was moving towards it in answer to “yes”. Also, it was intriguing to note, that each girl was allegedly stood by the same person who had got her name. i.e., Sarah was stood by me, Emily was stood by Julie and Kate was stood by Sarah. We asked if she had been seen in this room and the answer was ‘yes’. Gemma confirmed that there had been sightings by guests in this room. It was all too soon before we had to finish and we reluctantly made our way back to the Ford Room for a break.

Our next vigil was on the Ground Floor and we started in the Cocktail Lounge. Dan, one of the members of staff, had joined us for this vigil and we all sat quietly whilst Steve took some photographs. I called out, particularly as Sarah had picked up the presence of a ‘Champagne Charlie’ type of character. I had the name of Robert in my head, so we called out for him. We had little response after this, so moved to the Boardroom. Julie felt a little uneasy where she was sitting, but nothing tangible. I was sitting just across from her and felt cold across my legs. We decided once again to do a glass divination, and, once again I sat out. We asked if we had a Robert with us and the glass very strongly went over to ‘Yes’. It appeared he was a very happy person, around the age of 28, who had got mixed up in drink and drugs. I felt he was a party person who liked to sing ‘Zippy de do dah’ The glass moved to Yes in response to this also. At one point, I saw a definite black shadow move across my feet. It seemed to be a small animal, such as a cat. Very strange!

We, again, went over our time and snatched a quick break before resuming, this time on the 2^nd floor. We started in Room 44. We called out but had little response, although a few people felt uneasy about the bathroom. We then moved across to Room 26. The window rattled in here, apparently in answer to our calling out. There was very little wind outside, so we have no idea what could have caused this. Our last vigil was in the linen room, which members of staff do not like at all. Gemma felt very uneasy about having the light off, but very bravely agreed to do so. It did feel very different in the dark, but I didn’t feel anything more than I usually do in a dark, allegedly haunted room.

That was the end of our night at Botleigh Grange, and I would like to thank our hosts for taking part so readily, to Emma for setting it all up for us, and to their general manager for allowing us to investigate this lovely place. It was a first for us and a first for them, so I hope they enjoyed it just as much as we did.

Sarah Pettet

Vigil 1 - Room 9. No EMF readings (except by alarm clock) and average temperature reading 20°C.

Room had a feminine feel which most of the team picked up on instantly. Maria and Gemma both had the name “Sarah”, Julie and Belinda both had “Emily” and I had “Kate”. I felt as if someone walked through me when the name “Sarah” was said out loud.

We decided to do some glass divination work in here. Belinda, Steve, Gemma and myself all sat round a table and used a beaker. Julie and Maria asked questions. We got responses straight away and there was a definite change in energy. Julie became uncomfortable where she was as the atmosphere had changed. The spirit we were in communication with indicated this was her brother. Maria had the name David. He had hurt Sarah in some way and was standing in the room. At one point the K2 that Steve hold between us and the glass, spiked. From the glass divination we worked out that Sarah, Emily and Kate were sisters; Emily the eldest and Kate the youngest at 5 or under and Sarah was 17. They had brothers. Maria got the surname of “King”. When asked where they stood, interestingly Emily stood between Julie and myself, Sarah between myself and Gemma and Kate on my lap. I felt that Sarah had been breathless when she passed, which she confirmed. Unfortunately, we had to leave here as we had run out of time, which was a shame as we were getting such great responses.

Vigil 2. Cocktail lounge – no EMF readings, Temp Ave 20 deg cent - Dan joined the team on this vigil.

On the walk-around I immediately felt the presence of a man. The room felt definitely male. We all felt a little anxious in the room. I got “Champagne Charlie” as an impression of a male in the room; a gentleman who liked a good time. I also got the impression of top hat and tails and a moustache, which was preened. Interestingly the males in the team seemed right at home. We had several male names here – Chris, Stuart, Clive, Arthur and Robert. And a surname that began with “Wes…” –We though it was Westfield.

We moved to the Boardroom. We did a glass divination here – Steve, Gemma, Dan, Belinda. I sat in to begin with and we had worked out that we were in communication with one of the males from the cocktail lounge who was a little imbibed. He stood between myself and Dan facing Maria, it was quite cold between Dan and myself. Communication was sporadic to begin with so I swapped with Steve to sit out. I picked up that this spirit in life didn’t just enjoy drinking but also drugs, I felt like I had a nose-bleed (my nose had begun to run for no reason) and that the drug of choice may have been cocaine. Again we ran out of time.

Vigil 3. Room 26 – no EMF Temp average 17°C.

I sat on the bed in this room and felt the need to lie back. As I did this I sensed an old lady named Elizabeth who preferred to be called Betty or Bet. I could feel her drawing very close and felt she was coming toward the end of her life. The team switched the lights off and at that point I felt a kind of overlay of Betty on to myself. I found I was rocking back and forth and was very unhappy and frightened about being in the dark. In the end I had to ask for the lights to be switched back on. Another person in the group also felt uncomfortable with the lights off, so they were switched back on. Julie asked if I was aware that I was rocking and said I didn’t look like me, I looked like an old woman. I found this interesting, as I had not mentioned the woman to the team. We then left as I felt we were frightening Betty.

Room 44 – No EMF – temp average 19°C in bathroom and 21°C in room.

There was a male influence in the room. Maria sensed a male with ginger hair. I was drawn to the bathroom and it felt very wrong in there, but the wrongness actually felt like the room itself was unhappy about being a bathroom! I had to leave the room but often found myself staring at the area during the investigation. The females in the room were feeling slightly weird in the room; I felt very tired suddenly, Julie felt very lethargic for example. Steve was least effected it seemed. Maria felt that the male spirit didn’t like men being in the room. She got a name from a rhyme going through her head, and she asked if anyone else in the group picked up on it – I said “Georgie porgie pudding and pie” and this matched what Maria had. Maria felt this spirit was George, he liked girls but was not fond of boys and Maria felt that this was because he may have been bullied. We ran out of time and were feeling too uneasy so we left.

Last vigil. Linen closet – average temp 17°C.

Gemma was very nervous in here so I sat next to her for comfort. She would not go down the end where Maria Julie and Steve went. I think there was a suggestion of a female spirit in here but I did not pick up on this. I felt the sense of an old man who was very lecherous and did not want to be made known to the point that I felt I would be made uncomfortable if I mentioned him. I concentrated on comforting Gemma, but could feel this man at my shoulder and it felt like he was tinkering with my bra shoulder strap. I was very glad when we decided to leave this room and apologise now for not mentioning him.

Summary – The grange was a lovely building and I feel it has more to reveal than what we found on this night. I would love to go back here and investigate some more.

Julie Harwood

I was looking forward to this investigation as I knew it was an real privilege to have investigation time here.

I was in team 1 and we started our first vigil in room 9. There were quite a few of us in team 1 yet room 9 housed us perfectly and even though we only planned to spend some of the vigil time in here, the time flew by and we did not move from here. The room to me (and other members of the team) had a definite feminine feel and all commented how we could not feel anything masculine about it. We called out and someone asked what names we all had (if any) in our heads. Interestingly enough Belinda and I got the name Emily, Maria and Gemma got the name Sarah and our Sarah got the name Kate. I felt the room had a nice atmosphere and we all felt very comfortable and relaxed in here. We decided to try a glass divination as we thought our new members and our guest would like to try it. Secretly I did not hold out much hope. Tries at this often seem to be quiet with no or very little movement however this was to be one in a hundred that did seem to be working. Maria and I asked questions and Steve, Gemma, Sarah and Belinda put their fingers on the glass. I was sat on the steps to the raised area and after a short while I started to feel uncomfortable which I noticed immediately as I had felt so comfortable in here prior to this. While we were asking questions Steve placed a KII emf meter on the table and we asked from time to time while the glass was moving for this to be affected. We were all excited when the glass shot towards the KII and the KII then lit up all of its lights (right up to the top of the scale). It is important to note that prior to this ambient emf readings of the room had been taken by Sarah & Steve and there were no unusual readings (only a spike by the alarm clock) which was the other side of the room. We seemed to be communicating with Emily and we were able to establish that Emily, Sarah and Kate were sisters and they had lived in the house before it was a hotel. Many of the team felt like there was suddenly a male standing in the room (apart from Steve) and that he was stood by the door watching us.

We started our second vigil in the cocktail lounge and Dan joined us for this vigil. Sarah seemed on edge to me in this room and I kept feeling that I had to ask her if she was ok. She was very restless in this room. I will be interested to see if Sarah or anyone else picked this up. I did not get anything specific in this room though some names were picked up, specifically ones that started Wes….. After a while in here we decided to go to the boardroom / meeting room where we conducted a glass divination. In this room I felt a little drugged and dosey especially when I sat on one of the chairs round the outside of the room, so much so that I actually went and sat with Belinda at the table as I was started to feel a bit “wrong”. The glass movement in this room was much more sporadic and it seemed to indicate we had a man with us that enjoyed his drink and recreational drugs. I wondered if I was actually feeling how he normally felt “the day after”.

After a quick break we headed off for our third vigil in room 26. Sarah and Gemma was most affected in this room so much so that we were unsure whether to leave the lights on or turn them off as we did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Sarah could sense an older lady called Bett or Betty. Sarah was sat on the bed and she began rocking which to me is never a great sign. It was then that I noticed how old Sarah seemed to suddenly look and Maria could see it to. It did not look like Sarah anymore. I have to remain open minded with this as we did have the lights off and I know low light can play tricks with your sight and mind however it was very odd. We then decided to move on to room 44. This was a very masculine feeling room. Maria felt a connection to ginger hair and Sarah although drawn to the bathroom felt in someway it was not right. The odd thing was the women in this team seemed to be affected by lethargy, tiredness etc. Maria felt like if there was a spirit in the room it was trying to ignore Steve as he did not want him there. Again this room made people feel uneasy and so we decided to leave. I believe the name George was picked up on also.

Our last part of the vigil was spent in the linen room which was a cross between a store cupboard and a housekeeping office. Gemma hates this room and said that lots of other staff would not go in alone or in the dark. Maria, Steve and I sat up the far end by the desk where most people felt uncomfortable and Maria picked up on a corner of the room where someone had been seen. I believe Gemma was able to confirm this.

All in all a fantastic investigation. It’s a real treat to be given the opportunities we are given and I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff that helped make this possible especially Emma Gray & Gemma. A thank you also to Maria and Rob for securing and pre visiting the site to talk and arrange with staff. If we were lucky enough to be invited back I don’t think we would have a shortage of investigators willing!

TEAM 2

Robert Butler

Vigil 1 - 2^nd floor, Room 26, Room 30 and Room 44.

I would firstly thank all the staff at the hotel for making our stay very comfortable and thanks again for Julie and Maria for making me team leader.

We headed up to our first vigil area on the 2^nd floor and headed to Room 26. We took some photos and a few light anomalies appeared in them and room temperature was normal. We all tried calling out but no responses were heard so we decided to try glass divination. This however was “hit and miss” for us; the glass did move but not in direct response to our questions being asked. It seemed quite sporadic but nevertheless the glass did show signs of small movement. There were also some loud knocks which Kieran and Dan tried to resolve but couldn’t. On a personal level for me this room seemed very calm although glass movement took place nothing else really happened.

We then went to room 44 and began taking pictures. For a while in here we were trying to work out a light anomaly that kept showing up in team members’ photographs in different areas of a section of wall. Although there was other anomalies showing up in different areas of this room our focus was drawn to this one in particular. It turned out to be a reflection from the flash on a brass-plated light switch that was causing the erratic movement of an apparent light anomaly on the wall. We called out but it was very quiet again. We decided to move onto our last vigil area, which was room 30. This room again was very relaxing to me on a personal level and although there was again a few light anomalies visible nothing significant happen in this room so we bought vigil 1 to a close.

Vigil 2 . 1^st Floor: Room 5,9 and Housekeeping.

Team 1 told me that room 9 was an interesting room so we went there first. On this vigil we had Julie, Emma and Terry (all staff). Dan went to join another team. This room again had light anomalies in various places around the room and the 3 staff members joined in glass divination. The glass jolted slightly at first but again nothing significant happened on calling out. I saw a shadow cross under the door outside in the corridor. On further investigation no-one was found to be there or walking along the corridor. After a while calling out with no response we decided to head to Room 5 along the corridor.

This room was a smaller room than the other rooms and again light anomalies were caught on camera. Maureen and Marie both tried crystal divination to which there was some response to questions. Something happened in the room that was rather odd; Kieran had been sitting by a large dressing table with drawers and two large open fronts. I took a picture as Kieran was sitting there which proved to be of some significance. As we were sitting in the darkness, one of the large swivel openers on the top of the dresser opened slowly. Julie (staff) and Kieran both saw it gently open and on examination we could find no reason for this unless someone had physically opened it.

As we only had ten minutes left we decided to go to the Housekeeping Room, Julie, Terry and Emma left us then as they had to get up early for work the next day (thank you to them all for coming with us). This room had an intimidating feel. Light anomalies were again caught on camera and Marie and I both heard a loud sigh when Kieran was calling out and asking questions. I personally thought that at some point chambermaids had seen movements out of the corner of their eye and on a few occasions had gone to the housekeeping room to find cleaning items and various bits and pieces all moved about but sadly never questioned it. We finished our 2^nd vigil and went down to the Ford Room for a break.

Vigil 3. Ground floor areas.

This was the last vigil of the night (it had gone quick)

We first went to the cocktail room and light anomalies were caught on camera, but this room seemed really odd but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

A strange thing happened to me when I was in there. I saw what appeared to be a man sitting on the sofa looking rather sad. In the half-light I just assumed it was fellow investigator Kieran but as I entered the room I saw him on the opposite side taking photos. Naturally my instinct was to look over at the sofa and saw no-one there. Although we went into the offices, the Ford Room and the Meeting Room nothing occurred.

Overall for me, the night was a night of hit and misses. The hotel itself is lovely and would love the opportunity to go back and investigate some more. Thanks to all the staff for their help and support.

Marie Holder

I arrived at the location at around 10.45pm and met up with some of the other team members including our new members Steve and Belinda. The hotel was a lovely looking building and I was looking forward to investigating it. We were given a tour of the vigil areas by Gemma and after a short break we went to our first vigil area

Vigil 1 – Second Floor – 12.20-1.20

Room 26

I caught some light anomalies in this room. We tried a glass divination and it moved slightly a couple of times but nothing significant. During the divination the window kept banging although it did not look windy outside as none of the trees were swaying.

Room 44

There was a strange atmosphere in this room especially over by the window but it did not feel negative. I caught lots of light anomalies and after a while the strange atmosphere subsided.

Room 30

Again I caught a couple of light anomalies but nothing unusual happened in this room.

Vigil 2 – First Floor – 1.55 – 2.55

Dan joined another team and another 3 members of staff joined us

Room 9

It was noticeably cooler in this room. We tried a glass divination and got a couple of movements but nothing significant. Nothing else unusual happened in this room.

Room 5

I decided to try the crystal that Maureen had bought along and I contacted a man that used to work at the hotel and who confirmed that he had a reason for being there although we could not ascertain what the reason was. During the vigil, the cupboard on the dressing table opened on its own, I asked if he had opened it and he replied yes.

Linen Cupboard

Although nothing unusual happened on this vigil, this room, I felt had a very negative atmosphere. I got the impression that things got thrown around in here. We tried the glass but got no reply.

Vigil 3 – Ground Floor

Cocktail Room/Dining Room

Tried glass got no response. Nothing unusual happened in this area.

Sales Office

Nothing unusual happened in this area

Board Room

Very quiet. Nothing unusual happened.

Ford Room

Nothing unusual happened. Although I did catch some light anomalies in this room.

Conclusion

This was a lovely hotel with old-fashioned features. My favourite area was the linen cupboard as there was a very strange atmosphere that was distinctly negative and although nothing happened as I was not in that area for very long I felt that there was quite an angry spirit in there and I would have liked to have spent a bit longer in there, but not alone! I would like to thank the staff of the Botleigh Grange for allowing us to investigate and for joining us on the night.

Amanda Horley

We were fortunate to have the majority of the central older block of this hotel to investigate, with the guests being housed mainly in the two wings, and blissfully unaware of our presence.

Inside it was a maze of corridors and this made it difficult to get a sense of what the layout of the building would have been before it became a hotel as well as making it difficult to pin the building down to a specific era in history.

On the walk round, I was immediately drawn to the raised corner in room 9 although I couldn’t pin down why. I also found the corridor on the top floor quite un-nerving. I felt uncomfortable and a little nauseous and dizzy as I walked along it. I also liked the feel of the cocktail lounge, although I didn’t pick up anything specific.

I was in a team with Mark, Robin, Jane and Karen, and for the first vigil staff members, Emma, Julie and Terry, joined us. We were on the ground floor and decided to start in the Sales Office and Reception area. The temperature in here was 22°C and it felt warm. From a paranormal point of view it was very quiet in here, although the bank of computers was very noisy and this may have affected our concentration. We quickly moved on to the cocktail lounge and I was drawn to one of a pair of winged armchairs that were sited by a pair of doors that led through to a storage area. The temperature in here was 21° but it felt much cooler than the Sales Office. I wanted to turn my armchair round so that it was facing towards the pair of doors, and felt that there would have been a fireplace here, although there was nothing to indicate that there had ever been a fire here. Mind you, there was no indication anywhere in the room of where a fireplace would have been.

After a time I was drawn to a desk looking out over the back gardens. I felt that an older man whose hair was going grey, and who had a small moustache would have used it. When I went and sat there, the name John McArthur came into my head, and I felt he would have worn a grey suit (slightly darker than his hair colouring) and would have used the desk for writing whilst enjoying the views out onto the garden. It felt like a very peaceful room.

We then moved into the Board Room, where the temperature dropped by another half degree, but it didn’t feel noticeably colder. Although I didn’t pick up on any specific energy in here, it felt like a family room and there would have been a lot of bustle and moving around in here. Mark felt that the room was “Christmassy” and we also picked up an unusual light anomaly on the camcorder that passed in front of where Julie and Emma were sitting. We finished this vigil in the Ford room where the temperature was 19°. It felt like a room that would have been used for parties and dancing and Julie confirmed that it is used for functions. I got the sensation of a woman moving around the room, with her hair piled up on top of her head and a choker around her neck with a stone at the front. She was wearing a pale dress and was very elegant and probably older than she looked. She was gliding around the room and socialising. The 1920s came to mind, and I think she was a guest rather than the owner. I felt that when there are people in this room they would sometimes feel that someone has brushed past them when there is no-one nearby.

Our second vigil was on the second floor, and the staff members moved to another team for this one. We started in room 26. I did not like this room from the moment we settled into it, although I can’t say why specifically. I felt very jumpy, as if someone was going to appear suddenly and go BOO! The only other feeling that I got in here was that the bed was too small and too far across the room. It needed to be a couple of feet nearer the door. We moved on to room 30 which felt quiet to me although there were a lot of knocks and bangs in this room that we couldn’t tie down to anything specific. Room 44 was also quiet for me.

Our third vigil was on the first floor and for this one, Dan (a member of staff) joined us. We started in room 9. I went over to the corner that interested me on the walk round, but found it difficult to work out what I was picking up on. I think it was female, or a feminine male, and the only other thing I was getting was the word “witch”. I couldn’t decide whether it related to the spirit there, or whether it was being used about us/me doing the investigation. Dan got the impression of a teenage girl and the name Emma/Emily. At one point the EMF meter spiked, but other than that it was relatively quiet. We then moved on to the Housekeeping room followed by room 5, but both of these were quiet for me.

This was an interesting investigation, especially as we couldn’t get any hints from the rooms of the historical period to which they related. For me it was relatively quiet, but felt like it had a lot of potential for more to happen. Definitely somewhere I would like to return to.

Thanks have to go to the members of staff that enabled us to do the investigation and joined us for the night. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

Maureen Taylor

Vigil 1 - second floor

Room 26 - we discovered the ideal table for glass divination here, so tried it out, but with little success. Possibly some slight movement of the glass, but so little that I have doubts about the reality of it.

Marie and I were sitting in the armchairs near the window and both suddenly felt chills down our backs. For me these came and went, almost as if there was someone pacing up and down the room in front of the windows; either Kieran or Rob (I can't remember which if them) came up with the name Edward (though in my head this spelled itself out as Edouard).

Room 44 - I felt that we were followed by something from the previous room, but couldn't put a name to it, though possibly male. I also felt that someone was laughing at our antics. We spent some time trying to eliminate the cause of what looked like a light anomaly on my camera, but this turned out to be a reflection from the brass light switch, but there was, on one photograph, what appeared to be a moving light anomaly - a bug of some sort maybe.

Room 30 - we tried the dowsing rods in here, but with no very definite results.

Vigil 2 - First floor

Room 9 - We all felt perfectly comfortable in here and none of us sensed anything out of the ordinary.

Room 5 - All of us had a definite feeling of expectancy in here, as if something might happen. At first nothing, but then a small door on a dressing table, right beside where Kieran was sitting swung open - we checked all photographs that had been taken to see if it appeared on any of them and whether it was open or not - it wasn't. We tried to replicate the happening, but were unable to do so.

I got out a dowsing pendulum to try in this room, and we got some results - a male, the same one as on the second floor, but not Edward, he worked here during the time it has been a hotel.

Vigil 3 - Ground floor

We wandered through all the rooms that were made available to us, but felt quite comfortable in all of them except the cocktail lounge, most of us very uneasy in here, but calling out elicited no responses.

Conclusion - A beautiful building and an interesting night. Not a vast amount of activity for me, but this I could put down to my being somewhat tired to start with, having driven back from a very busy re-enactment show over the weekend and only arriving home a couple of hours before having to head for the investigation venue.