Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Bournemouth Pavilion Investigation
Friday 8th January 2010
Attending Investigators - Julie Harwood, Simon Steadman, Rachel Steadman, Jackie Gilmartin, Gary Catlin, Mark Wright, Mark Pettet, Sarah Pettet, Maureen Taylor, Marie Holder, Simon Harwood, Abbie Holding
Guest Investigators - Emily Clarke & Linda Bates
Host – Martin Judd
Introduction
The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom is Bournemouth's traditional venue for year round entertainment. Built in the 1920s, it retains its splendour and elegant styling and is Bournemouth's regular home for West End stage shows, Opera, Ballet, Pantomime and Comedy as well as for corporate presentations and dinner dances, product launches and small conferences.
Owned and managed by Bournemouth Borough Council, the Pavilion operates alongside its sister venue, The Bournemouth International Centre, to provide the event organiser and leisure visitor with some of the best facilities on England's south coast.
Advocated as early as 1859, proposals for a Pavilion building incorporating a concert room, reading rooms and cafes were first authorised by the municipal authorities in 1892. The architectural competition was won by a young and unknown firm of architects called Home and Knight. On 19 March 1929, the building was opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester. It had cost £250,000.
Initially the Pavilion's main auditorium was not called a theatre, but a Concert Hall, and within a few years it became apparent that its shortcomings in presenting staged productions were insuperable. As a result, in 1933 the stage was enlarged, both in depth and height, and it was reopened as a theatre in July 1934. Numerous further alterations have been undertaken since, including the addition of two storeys to either side of the main entrance in the early 1950's, and the replacement of the large fountain in the forecourt by a smaller one in 1968. In 1998 the building was listed Grade II and its future has therefore been protected.
Information taken from Wikipedia
HISTORY OF THE LAND AND BUILDINGS
The building of the Westover Villas was started in 1836 by an architect called Ferrey and then the first two hotels opened in 1838. One was the Bath Hotel, which went on to become the Royal Bath, although the original building was much smaller and less grand than today's five-star facility. The other was the Belle Vue Boarding House, which stood where the Pavilion is now and later became the Belle Vue and Pier Hotel.
Your browser may not support display of this image.Picture taken from Wikipedia
The following passage is taken from A Visitors Guide to Bournemouth and its Neighbourhood by Thomas Aitkin in 1842.
For the appropriate accommodation of the numerous visitors who may prefer the retired and quiet mode of life available in such establishments the ‘Belle Vue Boarding House’ situated close to the beach has been fitted up with every regard to elegance and comfort, to which the attentions of Mrs Slidle, the conductress, are very conductive. In addition to the ordinary advantages of such institution, accommodations are provided for the more casual visitors, and parties preferring that delightful mode of recreation designated by the term ‘picnic’ may here be provided with every requisite. This establishment has recently been enlarged and the extensive gardens and pleasure grounds laid out in a tasteful and attractive style.
Amongst the essentials of a watering place, a Library and News Room, affording the mental recreation, the enjoyment of which, is indispensable to true comfort, ranks highly, and such an institution has accordingly been founded. Being most delightfully situated in immediate proximity to the beach, which it fronts, and commanding a beautiful marine prospect, forms a choice promenade for the lounger, whilst a plentiful supply of books, magazines and newspapers proffers information as to the course of the busy world, and presents sources intellectual amusement and intelligence.
There were very few Catholics in Bournemouth at this time in fact there was only one and a Mass was held in a private room in the Belle Vue Hotel.
This part below is taken from the History of Catholics in Bournemouth
The reason for the Mass lay in the decision of Mrs. Washington Hibbert, of Dover Street, London, to winter there. She stayed at the Belle Vue Hotel (now swallowed up by the Pavilion) and opened a private oratory in its assembly rooms. That in those days was an achievement of quality.
The priest who offered the Mass is believed to have been a young Jesuit, Fr. Thomas Mochler, then serving at Lymington, 15 miles away, who died a few weeks later from T.B. The news of that first Mass quickly travelled the countryside, bringing forth a handful of Catholics.
By the time Mrs. Hibbert left, she had set a tradition. For the next two winters, her example was followed by Lady Catherine Petre, who, conceivably for the purpose, also stayed in the Belle Vue.
By then the Catholic population had undergone a metamorphosis, but remained numerically at one.
People/Names connected to the building
Mrs Washington Hibbert
Father Thomas Mochler
Lady Catherine Petre
Mrs Slidle
Ivan Slaney, musical composer and conductor at the Pavilion
Ernst Slaney father of the above and also
Dolores Ventura who was a pianist and married Ivan.
Organists at the Pavilion
1929 - 1932 Philip Dore
1932 - 1932 Herbert Maxwell
1932 - 1946 Percy Whitlock
1946 - 1962 Harold Coombs
1962 - 1978 Reginald Hamilton-White
The following is a list of some of the past entertainers who performed here and have all past over to that great stage in the sky who may still return to put in an unseen performance!!
James Mason, Marlene Dietrich, Dirk Bogarde, Gracie Fields, Stan Holloway, Roy Castle, Morecambe and Wise, Alma Cogan, Dusty Springfield, Edmund Hockridge, Jack Warner, Peter Sellers, Paul Robeson to name but a few.
Sightings
A Ghost associated with the Bournemouth Pavilion is an actress called Emily who is said to have died on stage in the 1930’s. Footsteps have been heard and a sighting of a women in a bonnet who some think is Emily.
Other activities reported - a member of staff claimed to have been chased up the corridor, another reported seeing things being thrown about the stage and footsteps across an empty stage.
Teams
Team 1
Julie – Team Leader
Mark W
Abbie
Emily
Linda
Team 2
Sarah
Simon
Marie
Jackie
Martin - Host
Team 3
Rachel
Mark P
Simon H
Maureen
Gary
Vigil Locations
Made available to us on the night are –
1. Lobby/Foyer
2. Main Theatre Stalls & Front Stage
3. East/West Staircase (Foyer to Circle)
4. Theatre Circle
5. East/West Corridors
6. Stage (Left Only)
7. Backstage corridor
8. Phoebe Bar
9. Mezzanine Corridor
10. Paddy’s Well & Lucullus Room
11. The Old Bakery
12. Maintenance Corridor
13. Boiler House
14. The Cellar
Itinerary
7.00pm Set up team to arrive at location (Julie, Simon, Rachel, Mark W, Mark P, Sarah, Simon H & Abbie)
9.00pm All other investigators to arrive at location. There may not be enough time for all investigators to have a full tour, however there is one member of the set up team in each investigation team (and they will have had a tour).
9.50pm Team Photo in Lobby
10.00pm Prepare to start vigils
10.15pm Vigil 1
11.15pm break
11.30pm Vigil 2
12.30am break
12.45am Vigil 3
1.45am break
2.15pm Vigil 4
3.15pm break
3.30pm Vigil 5
4.30pm Finish, Pack up
5.30am Depart
Personal Reports
Gary Catlin
After arriving at the location, we had to change the teams due to the weather and members unable to get to this investigation. In my team was myself, Maureen, Simon, Mark and Rachel the team’s leader. We started our investigation on the back stage area. We had a limited area however we were pleased just be able to be on the stage. Rachel started calling out; each team member took this in turns. We heard what sounded like a growl noise coming from the control room onstage left, but after several attempts we could not get it to happen again. From where I was standing I could hear what sounded like faint chattering coming from just in front of the safety curtain, We did not have access to this area, but we did check via the walkie-talkies if any team member was around the area at that time, to which the answer was no. Simon also could hear what sounded like a faint chattering noise from the area. We decided to move on to the dressing rooms.
Once we had arrived at the dressing room area, we decided to split the team into the different rooms. Maureen and Simon were in room 8, Rachel and Mark were in room 10, and I was in room 9. In room 9 was a trigger object so I was very careful not to disturb this. After calling out nothing much happen to me, and I waited for the rest of the team to return. Once the others had finished, Rachel checked the trigger object in the room I was in and noticed that 2 of the coins had moved. Rachel said that she would have to check with Sarah who helped her set this up to make sure if or if they had not moved.
We moved on to the celebrity dressing rooms. We based ourselves in dressing room 14. There was nothing to report on in this room and we returned to the “hub” area.
After a short break we moved to the main auditorium area. We began by playing several pieces of music from the laptop that was setup on the stage area. I sat by the piano on the stage, Maureen was in the front row of the stalls, Rachel was controlling the laptop, Simon was next to me, Mark was in the middle row of the stalls. After playing several bits of music, we called out; Maureen was using dowsing rods to see if she could channel any energy. The answers were very hard to interpret. I moved to the balcony area to see with anything would happen and Mark and Simon joined me. We spent a lot of time calling out and trying to get a response however this occasion we were unsuccessful.
After the break, we moved to the basement levels, this consisted of the lower kitchens, micro brewery area, the basement (workshop/pump room), and the sub basement area. We started in the micro brewery area, we spent some time calling out, to see if we could get some sort of response. Even in the pitch black, none of us felt unsettled. We moved to the kitchen area. After looking around the area none of us felt as if anything was in the space. We moved on to the basement (workshop/pump room) adjoining this room was the sub basement level which is where we started. Myself and Mark explored the area to see if anything would happen with just us moving around in the space. Simon/Rachel/Maureen went back into the workshop area. After a short while we joined them. They seemed to be hearing a noise coming from the middle of the room. After looking into the origin of the noise, we concluded that it was a boiler part making the noise. We headed back towards the ballroom located at the back of the complex. This area was being used as storage for the kitchen while it was undergoing a refit. This room was very cold, and again none of us felt anything in this area. We spent the rest of the time calling out in this area and the stairs. We returned to the “hub” area.
For the final vigil we all decided to go back to the theatre auditorium as a whole group. We all took part in calling out, and moving around in the area, however I did not hear anything during this. I am hopeful that other members did.
Overall I enjoyed this location and would be very interested in a return visit.
I would like to thank Julie for the opportunity and all the members who worked together really well on the night. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff/Owner of the theatre for letting us in for the night. I would also like to pass on my appreciation to all the members of SPUK who came to this investigation and supported the night; I hope to work with them even more in the not too distant future.
Jackie Gilmartin
This investigation was for me one of the best investigations so far. What a truly beautiful place. I would like to thank all the team and our host martin for allowing me to come to this investigation.
Our team consisted of Sarah (Team leader), myself, Simon, Marie and Martin.
Our first vigil was in the mezzanine corridor. I had the hearing enhancer on and I could clearly hear a woman’s footsteps and you could hear she was wearing high heels. Sarah had a listen and she too could hear the footsteps. We then went to the staircase. We went through some doors and we knew we had shut them but after a couple of minutes the doors banged shut again.
Our second vigil was in the kitchen. Straight away I felt a man’s hand go in front of my face and the hand was huge. I was aware that this man worked in fridges. I was directed to a wall. I asked martin what was here before and he confirmed it was fridges. I asked the man to take the temperature down and he did. I then asked him to take it back up and he did. I asked him several times what is your name and I then got the name of John Clarkson and he kept saying go and see Emily”. What this meant I had no idea until later in the evening.
We then went to a little alleyway. I knew there was a man there and he was very irritated, pacing up and down. He wore a brown apron/overall and he kept looking at his watch. I felt like I wanted to pace like him, but he led me to the end of the alley and stopped. I knew he had a barrow with him. I was using the EMF meter and was getting strong readings from it. We thought it might have been the air duct. I then herd the man say he was Arthur and he was a drayman. After about another five ten minutes Simon bought our attention to a small sign on a piece of machinery. It said “draymen call this number”. I went cold. It confirmed to me that I had been in contact with Arthur. Later on we went back to this area and we checked the EMF in the same places. This time it did not go off and we can’t explain it.
Our fourth vigil we went to the cellar and boiler room. I knew straight away that Arthur spent time down here. There was a little office that I just knew was his. This was confirmed by Martin. I felt that Arthur was looking for his buzzer. There was some wiring but we could not find what it was connected to. Then I found a bell. I asked martin could I press it and when I did this confirmed what I had felt, that Arthur used had used this to buzz and let people know if anything was coming up and down in the little lift. Also I was aware of a couple of men down there who throw things at people. This was also confirmed by Martin.
We then went to another area but I felt that I was being led by someone by the name of Tommy. He led me to a corner room and he told me this was his workshop and that he made things here. This was confirmed by Martin. There were taps and knocks but where they coming from we couldn’t tell.
We then went to the auditorium and at the back of the stalls I was aware of a young boy, Henry James, a playful child who lets people know he’s there. Sarah was using the rods and contacted the child. She also contacted Emily. Emily knew John Clarkson. He loved her but she only saw him as a friend. Emily told us she played piano and sang. Emily then went on to say that she was pregnant by a fellow actor but he would not marry her as he was engaged to someone else.
We then went backstage where we heard noises and could see a shadow of a man leaning against the wall at the back. He was very quiet and it felt like he was just watching us. Nothing much else happened here.
We then went to the dressing rooms. Martin and I went into one dressing room, but the room did not feel right to me. I felt that there should be another door for people to come into the room. I had a look around and I noticed that behind the worktop there was what looked like a door frame. Martin confirmed that there used to be a door there and that I was right. There had been one room for the boys and one for the girls. We then went in to the next dressing room and straight away I felt like this was a girly room filled with laughter. This was confirmed by Martin. We were then joined by the rest of the group and as we were sitting there I felt a woman brush past me. I was aware she was very polite and quite posh. Daphne was her name and she breezed over to the back wall, but motioned like she was opening heavy curtains. “Look at all that I can see” kept coming to my head. She told me it was a boarding house and people came here to use the spa. The house had white pillars on the outside, four to be precise. Martin said he had access to the archives and he would check. We all then went back to the stage area. Martin disappeared for a few minutes, and then Sarah came up to me with a book that Martin had got. Sarah showed me the picture of the boarding house with the pillars and reference to the spa. Confirmation for me, which I have to say, was fantastic. This building however has a lot more to give and I hope one day to go back.
Marie Holder
Team: Sarah Pettet (leader), Jackie Gilmartin, Simon Steadman, Marie Holder, Martin (host)
This was a unique experience to investigate a wonderful location in the heart of this town. Despite the horrible weather, I arrived with Maureen at about 8.40pm and met the rest of the group and our host, Martin.
Mezzanine corridor
While standing in this area I got the feeling that people have on occasions heard footsteps walking up and down this corridor when there has been no one there. We went through the double doors at the end of the corridor and after a couple of minutes the door banged behind us even though we had seen the door shut when we came through it originally.
Kitchen area
Jackie was picking up the presence of quite a large gentleman in this area who called himself John Clarkson and she asked him to bring the temperature down. I monitored this and the temperature did come down as requested. Jackie then asked him to raise the temperature to what it was previously and again her request was granted. I felt the presence of a foreign person in this area, possible German.
Maintenance corridor
Jackie again asked for the temperature to come down and again it did, we also got some unusual EMF readings near an air duct but only in one particular place. We went away to investigate another area, came back and took EMF readings at the same place and they had disappeared.
Boiler room and Cellar
I experienced nothing unusual in these areas.
Room leading off maintenance room
During this vigil and while investigating down the other end of the room the door to this area slammed shut when it was already shut when we came in and there was nobody near it at the time.
Workshop
Quite significant taps and knocks were heard in this area which I could not explain at the time.
Tanker room
Despite several requests from us for activity, nothing unusual was experienced by me in this area.
Stalls and Stage
I sat in one of the stall seats at the front of the auditorium and at first did not sense or pick up anything unusual. Sarah decided to use the rods and contacted a boy called Henry James and then an actress called Emily who knew John Clarkson (who Jackie picked up on in the kitchen), and who said that she was stood on the stage. Emily told us she played piano and sang, she took her own life because she was having an affair with an actor whom had got her pregnant and then refused to marry her because he was already engaged. Emily also told us that John Clarkson loved her but she only saw him as a friend. I decided to try the rods and while asking questions I felt an extremely cold draught wave over me.
Backstage
I saw shadows during this vigil and it was extremely cold in this area but very quiet.
Dressing rooms
Room 10
I felt a draught which may have been coming from the vent above us. I called out and I heard footsteps going across the stage above us. We radioed the other team and they told us that they had moved across the stage 10 minutes beforehand. We asked for a noise to be made in one of the other dressing rooms that the rest of our team were in and a minute or two later we thought we heard someone say ‘what was that bang?’
Room 8
Nothing unusual experienced in this area
Group vigil in the auditorium
Nothing unusual experienced in this area.
Maureen Taylor
Vigil 1
Stage left - -
For me this was a quiet vigil, a few noises heard, but I think most of them could be put down to noise from one of the other groups or coming from somewhere outside the building.
21-59 – there is a large digital clock on the stage facing back into it so that performers can see it, so it was easy to record the times at which things occurred. Rachel was calling out, but with little response. She heard distant women’s voices, but I suspect that these may have been from an external source.
22.05 – a click, followed by other similar noises, from near the clock.
22-13 – a humming from near the curtains, certainly sounding like a person trying to hum a tune rather than from any machinery.
Dressing rooms –
We split into smaller groups so that we could look into more rooms, with Simon H and me taking dressing room number ten. We sat listening for a while, but the only noises we heard we thought were coming from whoever was in room 9. A while later they put their heads round the door of our room to ask if we’d been making a noise – we hadn’t, and nor had they, so that one remains unexplained for the time being.
22-35 I sensed something close by me, but not clearly enough to pick up on anything more than the presence.
22-45 The whole group gathered in dressing room fourteen, but nothing of any interest happened in here.
Vigil 2
Auditorium –
I had great hopes of this space. Over the decades not only would there have been performers on stage, but vast numbers of those who formed the audiences, however, it was not to be.
Julie had learned that there was a particular piece of music associated with the auditorium and had put together a CD with 15 tracks on it so that we could select and play any that took our fancy, in the hope that some of us would pick the correct one. I don’t know if any group did, we certainly didn’t. However, I think that maybe, considering the vast numbers of people that have passed through the building over the years it’s not unlikely that other pieces would have some lesser connection with the place.
So – at 11.30 - we had done the usual – wandered around for a bit taking photos, chatting quietly, we then settled down to look and listen. At first very little happened, but I then became aware of a presence somewhere behind me. I was sitting in the seat to the right hand side of the left hand aisle, in the front row. During quiet discussion, Mark asked me if I could be at all specific about where the presence I felt was situated. As I sat there it became clear to me that there was someone sitting about five seats to my right and in the third row back. When I first mentioned this presence Mark took a photo in that general direction. Once I told him where I felt that it was he showed me the photo he had taken – which had a very clear light anomaly in the very seat that I’d described.
We got out the dowsing rods and I asked that rather than my asking questions, so that I couldn’t influence the answers that came through, the rest of the group ask out. Gary felt, as did I, that the spirit I was sensing was a gentleman in his mid to late fifties and his name was Charles, and that he was a regular member of the audience there, and as far as we could ascertain he had a liking for orchestral performances rather than for plays and the like. We then selected and played a couple of tracks from the CD – Claire de Lune elicited no response from him, but Greensleeves certainly did. It seems that this was among his favourite pieces.
At one point I had the name Annie pop into my head, but couldn’t get any further with that one.
Vigil 3
Cellars, bakery, basement rooms, workshop etc
I’ve lumped all of these together simple because none of us sensed anything anywhere in these areas. We were all perfectly happy to wander around looking into various rooms, nooks and crannies, none of us felt uneasy anywhere. Calling out elicited no responses in any of the areas.
Vigil 4 –
A ‘free’ vigil where we could choose to revisit any areas we wanted to, whether in a group or individually. Most of us gathered in the auditorium, and indeed, after a while, everyone was gathered there. Sarah was up on stage calling out, but was getting no response at all. In fact nothing happened at all during this last vigil, so we eventually gave up, packed up, and went home.
A good night even though a very quiet one – not all investigations prove fruitful and we shouldn’t expect them to do so. An amazing building, such a warren of rooms, but such a shame, as so often happens with such places, that so much of it is near derelict, but I understand that there are hopes of ultimately restoring much of it to its former glory.
My thanks, and no doubt those of the rest of the group go to our host for the night, who was brave enough to stay all night and join in with us. Even though it was a quiet night as investigations go it was nonetheless an enjoyable experience.
Sarah Pettet
Team 2 – Sarah, Simon S, Jackie, Marie, Martin (Host).
I was very excited and looking forward to this investigation and the venue certainly lived up to expectations, plus some. The place was huge and, although some areas were closed to us due to renovation, we had been given access to other areas that more than made up for that.
NB due to sizes of areas we did not take EMF/temp readings straight off, instead we used these tools in order to check any apparent phenomena.
Vigil one and Two – The corridor, Paddy’s well, old restaurant, Old kitchens, bakery, Maintenance corridor, workshop, cellar, boiler room
We started in the corridor and Paddy’s well. In the corridor Jackie started off using the sound enhancing device and she thought she could hear footsteps. We all stood very still and she could still hear them so she passed the device to me and I could also hear them. To me they sounded like they were in Paddy’s well, so I moved down toward that way but lost them as soon as I opened the door. I passed the device to Martin back in the corridor and he could also hear the footsteps and thought they were also coming from the well and he headed out that way. We decided to move directly out to Paddy’s well. Marie took the sound amplifier. Shortly after, the door which was shut, clicked as though closing. We tried to see if there was a delay in the closing of the door but could not get it to do it again. The only other noise we heard straight off in the well area was the old alarm beeping. We tried calling and on our first response the walkie talkie went off (triggered by another team) and we all jumped! We got no further response to our call outs though. After about 10 minutes we started to hear a strange squeaking sound. It sounded like a squeaky wheel. I caught the noise on digital recorder. These noises sounded like they were coming from the bottom of the stair well but we couldn’t locate where or what was making the noise, and after a few minutes it stopped. We spent some time in this area and decided not to do the old restaurant but move on to one of our other vigil spots.
We moved down to the old kitchens. I was interested to see if anyone could pick anything, as during the walk around myself and two other members of the group felt very strange and dizzy in certain parts of the room. Jackie immediately picked up on a very big man who was walking up and down. She asked Martin if anyone had experienced being pushed down here. Martin confirmed he was not aware of that but machinery etc down here had been rattled. I asked Jackie to see if he would push one of us. Whilst Jackie called out Marie heard a whistle. We asked if this could be done again but it didn’t happen. Jackie asked for the person’s name. Jackie was given the impression that he used to steal meat from here. As it happens, where Jackie was stood there would have been walk in fridges that held meat (there was no evidence that they had been there). Jackie asked for temperature readings where she was stood and Marie recorded 4.3°. Jackie asked for the temperature to be dropped as if it was in a fridge, down to 2 deg if possible. During this time we recorded temperatures as follows:
4.1°, 3.9°, 3.8°, 3.7°, 3.5°, 3.4°, 3.1°, 3.0°, 2.9°, 2.8°, 2.6°, 2.5°
Jackie then said she wanted the temperature to be raised back up to 4°, it dropped to 2.3°. During the time Jackie was asking for temperature to rise she was given the name John Clarkson, the temperature then dropped to 2°. Jackie asked if the entity John could make the lights change on the EMF. She was then told to ‘go and see Emily’ we asked who Emily was and where could we find her, but all we got was ‘go and see Emily’. He was being very dismissive and Jackie had the impression he was in charge in this area – for example deliveries. Jackie asked for more details on Emily – was she a cook (no). She was given the impression that Emily was a flapper type (but wasn’t sure this was the right description) and physically, she had dark hair. John then gave a name of Henry James, but would not give any further detail and despite pressing we could not get any further and other members of the team were being drawn to the outside maintenance corridor. As soon as we decided to leave, the temperature started dropping. Jackie as if this was John doing this. The temperature reading was 7.1° and Jackie asked if he could drop it down to 5°. The temperature readings went:
6.9°, 6.3°, 6.2°, 5.9°, 5.8°, 5.7°, 5.6°, 5.4°, 5.2°, 5.1°, 4.9°, 4.8°
Jackie asked for it to be raised but it continued to drop. During Jackie asking out, we had heard some noises coming from the bakery. We asked where Emily could be found after the temperature drop experiment and we heard a bang, again from the bakery. We went out there and asked out but got no further. Jackie was drawn to the room which held another fridge. I could smell burning in there but Simon thought it was food. Jackie had entered the fridge and felt it was dairy fridge. Martin said he would find out if that was right. In the meantime John kept saying my name over and over to Jackie, but I refused to enter the fridge area. I felt uneasy about it. I said at this point that he still hadn’t told us where to find Emily and I didn’t think he knew where she was, to which Jackie was told upstairs, upstairs. We said that we were now going to leave and thanked John for talking to us.
We moved to the outside maintenance corridor – which was very cold! Jackie was pushed in the back. I asked that if there was someone here could they push one of us. Jackie had an impression of a man charging up and down the pathway, who was really peed off, in a ‘if you want a job done do it yourself ‘way. We asked what he did here. Jackie said he was wearing a brown overall. Martin asked if she could tell what it was made out of – but she couldn’t. Jackie was given an impression of something being pushed, she thought like a wheel barrow. Martin said that there would have been a type of barrow. He was wheeling it up from the gates to the end of the pathway, but Jackie didn’t know why he stopped there. Jackie said that he had been seen here before. We asked if had seen any of us before, but we couldn’t get any interaction. During this time Simon saw a shadowy figure pass by the doors inside of the kitchen. Martin began to feel a cold breeze by the side of him which stopped and started and stopped. We asked for a name and Jackie suggested Arthur. We asked for confirmation, but there was no interaction. Simon checked the recorder that had been set up to collect EVP as it appeared to not be reacting to us. He played it back and could hear the noise of clicking bottles (there were no bottles in this area). Jackie had a sense that an accident had taken place here, and Martin confirmed this area was also part of Paddy’s well where an accident took place. Jackie continued asking for more information and was told that he was a drayman which Martin confirmed would be right. Martin asked if he had seen Martin before and Jackie confirmed yes and Martin had seen him. Jackie said that he liked to test the water so to speak. I was holding the digital recorder in my hand which vibrated for no reason. Jackie was drawn up to the far end again but couldn’t figure it out, so Martin pointed out the lift to the cellar to her. At this point the EMF meter in Jackie’s hand went off again but only in the lift area. We all tried holding it in various places to see if it was electrics – it did pick up electrics in other places but not where it was continually going off. Simon as our technical expert could not understand it either, especially as it was going off more rapidly at the air duct directly above our heads but only in one section! We asked out to see if any entity would stop it going off. (We tested the same area again at a different time with the EMF and it failed to even beep once!).
We decided to move on into the maintenance rooms and in the main corridor we could hear faint noises but were struggling to find what they were. Jackie called out whilst we investigated and we found that it was a meter that the noises were coming from. We were about to go to another room when we all heard the door we had previously come through shut. The door had been firmly closed behind us when we came through. We set a camera up on the door and moved to the old paint room. Jackie began picking up an entity called Tommy who would have been a craftsman. I walked over toward Marie and Jackie and stood behind them. Jackie called out asking Tommy if he could make that sound that he had done earlier, and I heard someone breathe right into my ear from behind (I believe this can be heard very faintly on the digital record I was holding right before I say ‘Jesus Christ’ recording WS116996 folder A). Jackie called out and we could hear various taps. Jackie confirmed this man could make plaster mouldings, and we could hear regular taps again. Because they were so regular we investigated for causes, and found that there was a lot of moisture, as the area was damp. The tapping sounds appeared to be moisture dropping down and hitting various things strewn around the place. Jackie said that big sets were made here too. My camera batteries began to run down very quickly. We could hear footsteps of people walking past outside of the theatre. Jackie could hear music and asked if they would have heard it down here. Jackie was told that Tommy liked Tommy Steel and asked if he had ever appeared here (this will need to be checked via the theatre archive). We went into a room labelled battery room, but Jackie felt it was a drying room. It smelt terrible in there and was very cold.
We moved on to bottle cellars. Jackie felt Arthur, and felt he had passed over with respiratory problems. She said he worked day and night but preferred the nights as it was quieter. Jackie drew a sketch of what the office looked like in Arthur’s day. She said there were photos of him in the office with his cap on. Martin confirmed this could be checked. Jackie felt there was a system where he could buzz upstairs so he could be informed what was coming up or down. Jackie found the buzzer over by the lift, which ran in towards the office.
Martin led us down towards the brewing rooms, which meant we had to go through a couple of corridors. Jackie was uncomfortable about going down them as she felt she was going to be jumped out on, so I led the way. As we entered the brewing area Jackie sensed a man that pushed people when they came in here. There is a staircase in here that had been previously hidden. I asked Jackie if she could ask where the stairs led and Jackie felt she would be going back on herself if she went up there. She felt it was stairs for workers. Martin said that the stairs would have led to the old Ocean room corridor, which would have come out near the old restaurant. Jackie felt someone had, had a nasty fall on the stairs. We settled ourselves into the room a bit more. Jackie asked if a lot of clanking was heard down hear. Martin confirmed a lot had been heard down here. A large light anomaly was captured very near Martin. Jackie asked if this was a place people don’t like to come and Martin confirmed yes. Jackie said people would feel tightness in the chest, feel they are being pushed. Jackie said there is more than one person down here, it was a group. They liked to play what they thought were pranks on people. I asked out and asked if they could throw something or roll something, but with no response. Simon tried calling out and we thought we heard talking outside of the room and initially thought it could be another team – however Martin confirmed that that would not be possible as the nearest areas were all blocked off. We called out again but got no response. Jackie went down to the staircase again. Marie tried calling out and asked if someone could repeat what she did as she tapped on the vats. Martin began to get a bitter taste in his mouth. We tried throwing a bottle top and asked for it to be thrown back. Jackie heard a breathy whiny noise of a woman. Martin also heard it. I felt something go down the front of my chest. Jackie said that normally things have been thrown at people by these spirits in the leg and back. Martin confirmed this to be correct. We asked for things to be thrown at us. I began losing my voice, and coughing (however, I did have an infection). Jackie confirmed that it was all a game not malicious and she said that it was directed at girls and that it was a boys thing like pulling hair in the playground. Jackie said that one person called Tracy was the best as she really flipped. Unfortunately we cannot check this as there are a lot of agency workers and students used for staff. Martin confirmed that it had got to a point where nobody would come down on here on their own. We kept encouraging a reaction but got none. Jackie got the name Brenda, directed at Martin, but he could not take it. We decided to move on as nothing seemed to be happening.
We moved on to the boiler room. Jackie felt that a fight/disagreement had taken place down here, between two men. One man had felt the other was intruding on his job role, one was in charge of a key and the other man wanted it. Martin confirmed that it was an Engineers area. Simon thought he saw a head peek out from behind one of the pipes very quickly. Earlier on the walk round I felt that someone had been shut in one of the side cupboards as a joke. Apart from that we did not really feel much else. It was also a fairly noisy area so hard to pick out of anything more that was going on.
Vigil 3 and 4 - Theatre, backstage, dressing rooms, bar and corridors.
In the theatre we played some music as part of the experiments. A track was chosen at random. Jackie sensed a female presence who died young (perhaps in her 30s). Jackie went up on the stage. Jackie sensed the female was Emily. Jackie could see a figure of a man sat in the rows behind where I was stood (if looking from the stage, the left hand seats around 6 rows from the front). Jackie also sensed the presence of a small boy towards the back of the theatre – this she linked to the name Henry James, and that he had lived here before it was a theatre. The man she saw sitting in the stall area she felt was linked to Emily. She also felt that Emily had taken her own life as she was pregnant. We used the dowsing rods in here to ask questions.
Are there any spirits in here – Yes
Is there more than one spirit here – yes
Are all spirits male – no
Are any of the spirits sat on the same level as us – yes
Using the rods indicate where sat – points to where Jackie had indicated
How many rows back – first – no - second – no – third – no – fourth – no – back of the auditorium – yes.
Are you young in age – yes
Are you a boy – yes
Are you under the age of 10 – yes
Are you over the age of 5 – yes
Are you 8 – no
Are you 7 – yes
Do you belong to the theatre – no
Did you live her before this was a theatre – yes
Are your parents here – no
Do you know Henry James – yes
Is your name Henry James – yes
Henry do you know Emily – no
Do you know John Clarkson – no
Do you know Arthur – no
Are you aware of any other spirits – no
Do you know you’re in spirit – yes
Do you like it here – yes
Why do you sit at the back do you prefer it – yes
Do you like to watch the shows from the back – yes
Do you play tricks on people in the audience – yes
Do you play tricks on the people on stage – yes
Can you pull the seat your on down – no
Can you play the piano – no
Are there any other spirits who wish to communicate – yes
Is this Emily – yes
Are you the one Jackie saw earlier – yes
There is a picture on the stage behind us, does it look like you – yes
Is it a good likeness – no
Is it a fair attempt – yes
Were you an actress here – yes
Do you like to be on the stage – yes
Do you like to play the piano – yes
Do you sing as well – yes
Can you point the rods to where you are – right behind me
I move position and ask again – points towards the piano
Can you play a tune – yes
Do you know John Clarkson – yes
Do you know Arthur – no
Do you know Henry James – no
Can you tell us the year you were here – 1700’s – yes(?) – 1790’s – yes –
(J) Why are you so sad – are you sad – no response
(J) You were not ready to leave this world – no
(J) Did you take your own life – yes
Did you take your life because of a man – yes
Was this John Clarkson – no
Was it because you didn’t attain the fame you wanted – no
Was it because you were pregnant – yes
Was john Clarkson the father - no
Was it a person from a posh family – no
Was it someone from the theatre – yes
Was it the manager – no
Was it an actor – yes
Was he famous – no
Was he married – no
Was he going to get married – yes
Did he tell you he would marry you – no
Did you have your child – no
Did you lose your child – yes
Did you abort – yes
Did you illegally abort – yes
Did you get an infection after – yes
Did the father of your child know you were pregnant – yes
Is the father here now – yes
Does he know you are here – yes
Can you point the rods to him – over to the left side where Jackie had indicated earlier.
Was he sat near Martin earlier – yes
Does Martin remind you of the father of your baby –no
Have you ever spoken to others like this – yes
Was it tonight – yes
Do you enjoy chatting – yes
Before tonight have you ever spoken with others like this – no
Do you like this theatre – yes
Did John Clarkson know you were pregnant – yes
Did he try to help you – yes
Did he arrange abortion – no
Was he willing to marry you – yes
Did john Clarkson love you – yes
Is that why he asked us to come and see you – yes
Was johns love unrequited – yes
Was he just a friend to you – yes
Did he get angry with you – no
Did he stop speaking to you – yes
Did that make you feel depressed – yes
Did you have no family around you – no
Were you born in the country – no
Was you born in London – no
Were you born in Kent – yes
Tunbridge wells – no
Do you have 2 sisters – yes
2 brothers – yes
We all hear a sound.
Is someone else trying to get our attention – yes
Is it a man – yes
Where is he – between Jackie and us
Is he sat by us – no
Is he sat upstairs – yes
Do you want to go up – no
Shall we send Martin – no, Marie – no, Simon – yes, Jackie – yes
Emily uses rods to point to where they need to go in the circle – Jackie takes voice recorder with her.
Jackie calls out in upper circle asking if any spirits can make their presence known. Jackie reports that the temperature has dropped. Jackie asks for spirit to speak into the digital recorder and she asks for a name, for acknowledgement, if this is where they like to sit to watch shows, do you think you can put one of the chairs down. No response to questions – and nothing other than Jackie voice on recorder. Jackie can hear a noise (breathy), and asks for it to be repeated, but it is not audible to recorder. She asks if Simon heard it, but he didn’t, however, he does feel queasy. Both Jackie and Simon hear another noise but cannot track it down. Jackie tried to tune into the spirit, she got a portly well to do man, and he liked to watch the actresses. Whilst Jackie and Simon were up in the circle, Marie and I were in the stalls on the front row with one seat (that Jackie had been sat on) between us. I was kneeling against my seat when the seat between us went from a down to an up position. We put it back into a down position and tried to see if movement on the seats either side would make it move – but it didn’t.
We decide to move on to the backstage. Jackie and Marie move to mid stage. Jackie calls out – she hears a groan. She asks for it to be repeated – nothing. She asks for acknowledgement, or for the K2 to be lit up. She asks for something to be moved. Meanwhile Martin, Simon and I were experiencing temperature drops on stage left. Jackie confirms we are being watched and is looking towards stage right. Jackie and Marie both feel very cold. Jackie and Marie head toward stage right. Jackie says this is another spirit that likes to push people around – Jackie checks with Martin if this has happened but he has not heard of reports. Jackie sees a shape of a person down the far end of stage leaning up against something. We try to shine more light but can’t illuminate it. We take photos, nothing comes out on these. Jackie describes the entity as having jet black hair. Marie calls out and asks the entity to join us. The team in the dressing room area report footsteps across stage but we are not moving. Jackie says that there is definitely movement down the far end. Jackie and Marie both move down towards there. They can hear breathy noises and ask for them to make them louder. Jackie asks for a name. Something touches Jackie’s upper leg and Jackie and Marie move back towards the rest of us. We ask if we are not wanted and if so to make a noise and we will leave. The temperature continues to drop around us. Martin thinks he says a shadowy movement down the far end. Simon confirms the temperature has dropped, and is now at 5°. Jackie asks for the temp to be dropped to 2°. Martin tries calling out, he asks for one of the fly rails to be moved. Temp drops to 4°. Jackie requests for it drop to 3°. I try calling out. Simon gets Jackie to sit in a chair as that is where the temperature seems to be dropping the most. Jackie tries provoking for a reaction. Jackie asks if there have been any plays held on the stage about Romans – Martin confirms yes – Jackie confirms that is what she has seen at the far end of stage, a person in a toga. We decide to move on to the dressing rooms and swap with the other team so we can see if we can hear what they have been hearing downstairs.
We decide to split up and Martin and Jackie go in one dressing room, Simon in another, and Marie and I in another. Marie and I call out in our dressing room, we do not hear anything though, nor do we hear footsteps upstairs. In the other dressing room Jackie picks up on the name Arthur Askey. Jackie asks if this is Arthur Askey and she feels this person is bald. She asks for a noise to be made and to copy her, she asks for taps once for yes or twice for no. She asks if they can hear her voice clearly. She asks if this is a private room to them. She asks if they can whistle. She asks if something can be moved. Martin takes photos, and gets some light anomalies. They ask for hangars to be moved and they appear to – they ask for them to move again, faster. Martin takes another photo and gets the same light anomaly. He tries to work out what is causing this and thinks it may be glare off of something. Jackie does not feel that the room is right and would like to have seen it as it would have looked originally. Jackie feels there should be a view to the outside. Jackie and Martin change rooms and Marie and I join them. In this room Jackie feels this room is dominated by women, laughter, a very buzzing atmosphere. The room feels colder to the one Marie and I was in. Jackie asks if this was ever a boarding house. Martin confirms this was questioned if it was used as such during the war. Jackie says this is before the war, she feels spirits saying this is our home, definitely a place of residence. Martin remembers a photo of a building which the theatre was built up against. Jackie feels that the back wall of the dressing room was a window with a view – Martin confirms that you would have a view of the sea. The woman Jackie is picking up on wears a bustle and is opening the curtains to the view. She feels she is the person running the boarding house. Jackie describes it as having pillars or columns to the front and being white. Martin says that is possible. The lady is dressed in black taffeta and is welcoming us to her home. Jackie asks for a name she feels it begins with a D and wants to say Daphne. The lady was really sad that her boarding house was demolished and the theatre was built. She is very proud of her house. Jackie feels there would have been a lot of woman boarders. Jackie feels that we haven’t touched the surface with the investigation and that there is much more here to discover. Jackie asks if there is a health spa as she is being told people came here to get well and they had a lot of people who came here with consumption. Jackie gets a building with pillars again where people in ill health went – Martin confirms that there is a building not far called baths that has pillars. Simon joins us to let us know the group are meeting up.
During the break Martin showed us a picture of the building the theatre had been built up against. I also found a book on the theatre, and discovered that there had indeed been a boarding house on the site and it was the building that Martin had shown us in the picture! I hasten to add that NONE of us had read this book previously and could not have known this information.
Summary – This was a fascinating investigation. Jackie was extremely accurate with a lot of verifiable information. I think that Jackie was right in that we only scratched the surface with this investigation. Although we had no physical phenomena, what Jackie was getting, the odd EMF meter reaction we had, doors slamming and some good light anomalies caught on camera, it was well worth it. And perhaps we have stirred up enough that the next investigators do get some physical phenomena.
Photographs provided by Martin Judd, Assistant Operations Manager at The Pavilion, who accompanied the team on the night.
This was taken when Martin was told someone was sat behind him.
This was taken seconds after the above photo.
Light anomalies in the maintenance corridor.
Close up of light anomalies in above photograph. The photograph has been adjusted to full saturation hence colour difference.
Light anomalies caught in the cellar