Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Ringwood Town & Country Experience Investigation
Saturday 27th September 2008
Attending Investigators: Julie Harwood, Marie Holder, Gill O’Farrell, Mark Boulton, Jeff Aldridge, Maureen Taylor, Amanda Horley & Eileen Rutter.
Guest Medium – Alison Crocker
About Ringwood Town & Country Experience
Ringwood Town & Country Experience in Blashford (Nr Ringwood) is over 30,000 sq ft of exhibitions, including a full size railway station, RAF & Wartime display, Olde shops, vintage cars and motorcycles. With so many genuine exhibits in one museum we were delighted to be invited by the experiences’ curator Jeff, to investigate the site which stands on the Normanton Estate just outside of the town centre. If like many of our members you have passed it hundreds of times and never gone in, make sure you pay it a visit as you will not be disappointed and will receive a very warm and friendly welcome.
We would like to thank the owners of the Experience for inviting us to investigate and also thank you to Jeff for his kind hospitality on the night.
Possible/Suspected Hauntings at the Museum
All details below were given to us by Jeff at the end of the investigation. Before we arrived he wrote down all the details below on a single sheet of paper and sealed it in an envelope for the evening (signing over the seal on the reverse). We all (and Jeff) can confirm that the envelope remained sealed until we had finished investigating at 11pm when Jeff opened it himself to read to us. Unfortunately even though this was done, lots of details were (probably unintentionally) mentioned during the night and there were lots of information boards and photographs on display and so we have to consider that some of what was picked up on by members could be due to auto suggestion.
* The presence of an American Pilot who was shot down and crashed 2 miles from the museum.
* The presence of another World War 2 Pilot who flew a Bi Plane that was reported lost near the museum.
* Alex – the spirit of a farmer is believed to haunt the engineering area
* Bill Nicholson – the former owner of the Silver Wraith Rolls Royce is said to haunt the area around where his car is displayed.
* The ghost of a gun shop owner is said to haunt the old gun shop in Ringwood however as many of his possessions are now at the museum it is believed he also haunts the museum.
* In the shop area, near the dummy of the policeman people have reported corner of the eye sightings.
* The spirit of an animal has been seen by near the exit of the Barn cafe.
These sightings / experiences were mentioned to the team before the investigation
* In the office paperwork is tidied up and moved around overnight
* People have sensed/seen a presence near the fire exit (by the RAF display), Burial Cart & Galloper and the security area by engineering.
* A Fan in the main display area has been apparently turned off at night but found to be on in the morning
* A dishwasher in the barn cafe kitchen has been known to come on even though electric is thought to be turned off.
Itinerary
7.00pm Meet at Museum
7.30pm Tour of Museum with Jeff and Wayne
8.10pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – Barn Bistro & Office
Team 2 – Downstairs in main exhibition area
Team 3 – Upstairs in main exhibition area
8.55pm 5 minute comfort break
9.00pm Vigil 2
Team 1 – Upstairs in main exhibition area
Team 2 – Barn Bistro & Office
Team 3 – Downstairs in main exhibition area
9.45pm 15 minute comfort break
10.00pm Vigil 3
Team 1 – Downstairs in main exhibition area
Team 2 – Upstairs in main exhibition area
Team 3 – Barn Bistro & Office
11.00pm Pack up and de brief with Jeff
Courtesy of www.rtce.co.uk
Investigation Teams
Team 1
Julie
Marie
Eileen
Team 2
Amanda
Mark
Alison
Jeff (Curator)
Team 3
Maureen
Jeff
Gill
Investigator Personal Reports
TEAM 1
Julie Harwood
I have passed the Ringwood Town & Country Experience many many times but unfortunately have never paid them a visit so when we were invited to investigate it, I really looked forward to venturing inside. To be honest I was pleasantly surprised. It has lots of displays and is a lot bigger than I imagined it would be. Jeff the Curator was also the perfect host, friendly and very welcoming.
I was in team 1 with Marie and Eileen and after setting up, having a tour of the museum and meeting the photographer Wayne, we waited for the other teams to disband before starting our vigil in the Barn Bistro (which was also our team room). We all sat at one of the smaller tables against the wall and started to call out. Eileen could feel a strong breeze on her left side (nearest me) and I could feel a cold breeze on my back. While calling out asking for any spirit to come forward we did hear creaks and taps in the room with us however we were all fairly sceptical as the room was almost entirely decked out in wood (including the tables and chairs) however the room did seem to get darker and it did start to feel different. We decided to try and use the divining rods and so Marie went and stood at the end (furthest away from the door) a is we had heard tapping coming from the area near the large picture frame. We were getting responses and all of us felt that there were 2 spirits there but no one could sense whether they were male or female. The movement in the rods was weak and so Marie decided to change ends and go and stand by the door. Again the rods did answer our questions however they were very vague and Marie clearly did not like this area as she became very twitchy and nervous which is something she does not normally do. She asked out if someone was stood behind her (as that was the feeling she was getting) and the rods immediately crossed. It was then that I started to imagine a pulley system hanging from the eaves but I had no idea what it was or what its purpose was other than to lift large items up but the strange thing was that there was not a upper level to this barn and it was really very Low so what a pulley system would have been used for is a mystery. Possibly my over active imagination?? It was in here that I did something very stupid that I am always telling my team not to do and that is to think of something and then keep it quiet. Very very strongly in this area I got the name Billy running through my head continuously. Every time I tried to think of something else it came back Billy Billy Billy Boy! I did not mention it and as it turns out Billy is actually a name associated with the museum, proof I think why I am always telling people to say what they get even if they sound silly. It may be nothing but it could mean something! I will be taking a bit of my own advice in the future! I also got the initial M in here. The one interesting thing we did get was that a spirit in there did not want to talk to anyone else but us or Alison in the other team. I hope Alison was able to catch up with them on their vigil in there.
Our second vigil was on the upper floor of the main exhibition area. Aware that a team was directly below us and that the floor was very creaky we settled ourselves in the RAF / World War 2 display area with the gun placement from the Lancaster bomber. We were all extremely cold in this area and could feel moving breezes across our arms and legs yet we could not detect a draft with the temperature gun which was very strange. We used the rods again after we called out and heard numerous taps, creaks and bangs and we seemed to make contact with a service man from the war who was not trapped here but visits here. Marie got the name David and a surname for him and we asked if he was a local man. When we got no response from the rods I got the overwhelming feeling that we were not talking to an Englishman but in fact an American. I also immediately said Ibsley feeling he had a connection to there but died whilst on duty. We then got a little side tracked and there was talk of him being a French Canadian but I wonder if we were in fact picking up on a second spirit as I still got a strong feeling he was American. This vigil went very quickly and it was such a shame as we seemed to be getting good audible responses to our questions as well as responses on the rods. We also picked up several light anomalies on our camcorder.
Our Third vigil was downstairs in the street mock up and I immediately found this a very eerie place to be in the dark as it made you feel like you were in a deserted town centre. We headed over to the area where all the cars were and settled down in front of the bouncing bomb. As team 2 were directly above us and seemed to be getting information and responses we stayed as quiet as we could as to not disturb them. We called out occasionally in whispers and we did get lots of knocks and taps seemingly in response. We stayed quiet for long periods of time to test to see if these sounds happened all the time and during a good 5 minute silence we heard nothing however when we started calling out again the noises started again. We were talking about the cars and suddenly I could see a man in my mind standing by the big Rolls Royce. I described how I imagined him and that was a tall slender man dressed in a grey suit with a big curled moustache. I saw him standing with his hand on the car and described him to Eileen and Marie as being a proud man who was very proud of his car. I could almost imagine him patting it with pride. Eileen decided to then go over to the car and on walking around it found there was a photo of the owner Bill Nicholson pictured next to his car, dressed in what looked like a light grey suit with a large curled moustache. I hope that Eileen and Marie are happy to endorse that I went nowhere near that picture or indeed the car before we had sat down however in fairness I have to consider that I may have noticed this picture on the tour even though I don’t remember seeing it. We also all heard twice the sound like someone drumming their fingers on something solid but we could not work out where this was coming from.
Towards the end of the vigil we wandered down to where the dummy of the policeman was and I felt very unnerved here as I think did Eileen and Marie because we did not stay here long. In general in this area I felt like we were being watched but not in a nasty way, just someone watching what we were doing and what we were up to.
I was very disappointed that the investigation was over, I could have spent many more hours there. I strongly believe that, although we don’t know for sure if it is haunted or not, there is a lot of energy there from the past owners of the items on display.
Thank you again to Jeff for welcoming the team and also to Alison for inviting us to join her for the night. All I hope is that Jeff will welcome us back as I think there is a lot more to this place than meets the eye and I would love the chance to investigate again. Until then I will certainly be making a daylight visit to this fascinating tardis of a museum!
Marie Holder
Introduction
Team: Julie Harwood, Eileen Rutter and Marie Holder
After investigating other museums and not experiencing much in the way of paranormal phenomena, I was a little sceptical about investigating another museum. I was soon to be proved wrong!
Baselines I took EMF readings in all investigation areas and no EMF readings were detected apart from in the ice age exhibit where there were high EMF readings in the centre of the room which could have been caused by under floor cabling.
Vigil 1 – Cafe
Plenty of orbs caught on camera. Julie called out and taps were heard over by one of the tables. Julie got the initial ‘M’ and Eileen reported that she was cold on the right hand side. I used my diving rods and we called out for the spirits to make contact. We contacted a male spirit who did not feel very strong as the rods were moving very slowly. He said that he would talk to us but not the other teams but did want to talk to Alison.
I moved to the other end of the cafe nearest the door and did not like it at this end and felt very jumpy like there was somebody behind me and there was! When I asked if there was anybody behind me the rods crossed to indicate a positive answer.
Vigil 2 – Upstairs WWII exhibit
Lots of clicks, taps and whispers heard. I used the rods again and contacted a man. I came up with the name David and later Medway who told us that he was a French Canadian who died in his twenties. It was extremely cold in this location and there was a constant draught felt and Julie reported that she had seen orbs on camcorder. ‘David’ was very willing to answer our questions and I sensed that he was a very handsome young man and I asked whether he was a ladies man and there was a definite NO answer so we did not ask any further questions relating to his personal life.
We found out that he died during combat and when asked where he was standing in the room the rods pointed to the right. We also asked him if there was anything in the room associated to him and the rods pointed to my right. We ascertained that it was one of the badges in the cabinet on the wall. We also went into the room next door where the uniforms where stored and we also ascertained from David that we were standing next to his uniform with a mask.
Vigil 3 – Downstairs
We experienced lots of audible phenomena in this area as there were lots of creaks and taps heard. Julie sensed a very proud man with a curly moustache and grey suit standing next to the Rolls Royce. Eileen went over to the car and said there was a picture of a man with a curly moustache and suit called William Nicholson.
More noises were heard and Julie then sensed that there was a spirit that is very anxious and she thought that they may be looking for something.
We were all very cold in this area and when we moved towards the mannequin in the policeman’s uniform it got even colder.
Conclusion
This was a very interesting location and there was a definite presence in every room I went into especially the cafe and WWII exhibit upstairs which were my favourite areas. I would like to thank our host Jeff for his warm welcome and wish him well in the future.
TEAM 2
Amanda Horley
This small museum is set in an old dairy farm, and very unimposing from the outside. Inside though is a wealth of local relics and artefacts and a fascinating insight to the history of the local area.
We started with a walk around the museum, office and café and in one area where there were a lot of RAF uniforms I was immediately drawn to a very battered flying jacket hanging up with items of uniform. It felt as if there was something there connected to it, and whilst I would have liked to have spent time with it then I reluctantly left it although I looked forward to going back to it on the vigils. The other thing I picked up on during the walk round was a very oppressive area in the café immediately below one of the beams.
Our first vigil was in the downstairs area and we started off in the large area covering the older relics. This was quite an open area, with a fairly constant temperature of 14-15 degrees. To me it felt very neutral and I didn’t pick anything up here. We moved into the area where Ringwood railway station has been reinstated. This area was a degree or so warmer which would tie in with it having a much lower roof. However, it felt colder than the first area. It felt as if there was something around, but although Alison was picking up on someone, I couldn’t get any details. After a time it became flat and I felt that whatever was there had left us. After a time we moved into the area containing the old cars and motorbikes. I didn’t pick up on anything here.
Our second vigil started off in the upstairs office. There was a wide temperature difference up here, with the area by the stairs being around 15 degrees, whilst the far end of the office was 18 degrees. Although the computer was down the far end, there appeared to be no other electrical equipment down there to account for the temperature difference. For me, the office was also quiet. After a time we moved into the ground floor café. I walked the length of the room, and again felt a very oppressive feeling under the beam by the counter. I didn’t get this feeling under the other two beams. It was two degrees colder in this area (14.5 degrees) than the far end of the café, although as this was by the outer door which was being used throughout the evening, this could explain the temperature difference. As before in the railway station area, I couldn’t pick up any details relating to this area, but Alison did, and after the investigation had finished I was interested to find out that one of the other groups had also felt that there was something significant about this area. I also felt that there may have been a fire at some point that destroyed part of the roof above where there is now a door leading in to the kitchens.
Our final vigil was upstairs, and the stairs we went up lead to the area with the RAF equipment and uniforms. I decided to try some psychometry on the jacket, and as there were chairs set up in the area by the Lancaster gun turret I took it through there. This area however did not feel at all comfortable, so I moved back to the top of the stairs. Alison was picking up on an airman in the area that they were seated, but I wanted to concentrate on the jacket. I felt that it had been worn by a young man somewhere around 22 years old. He had blond hair and was incredibly good looking. I believe he died during the war, but I don’t think it was in a plane crash. I felt pain across my kidney area, and however he was hurt, I think he died sometime later (in hospital?) of kidney failure. He wasn’t bitter about having died. He was proud to have served in the RAF, and felt very mature for his age and full of respect for others. I think he would have been a lovely person, and very well liked.
I became very aware that I was standing at the top of the stairs, and started to feel very vulnerable being there, so went back and sat with Mark and Alison. I still had the jacket and felt quite comfortable sitting there, but Alison was a little agitated, so I passed her the jacket. Whether the sheepskin lining was comforting/relaxing I don’t know, but Alison seemed to like holding the jacket, and I became more uncomfortable, eventually taking the jacket back off her again. I felt that someone had walked from the doorway across behind me, had paused, and then moved on to the stairs. It wasn’t a comfortable presence, although not necessarily threatening.
Alison then picked up on a relative of mine that she had mentioned as being with me on a previous investigation. Without going into details I can confirm that the information she was coming out with concerning this relative was very accurate, and as Alison and I only met for the first time earlier this year, these are details that she could not possibly have known, have never been recorded anywhere, and are only known by a few members of my family.
Unfortunately our time ran out all too quickly and we had to finish our vigil. For me this was a great investigation as although a lot of the museum was quiet for me, there were definitely presences there, and the Psychometry with the flying jacket was wonderful. Big thanks have to go to Geoff for his enthusiasm and for making us feel so very welcome. He had taken the time to note down the experiences of other people in the museum and once we had finished the investigation, even though we were running late he took the time to go through what details he had. There were a lot of ties to things that had been picked up by our teams over the evening. This is a beautiful small local museum which is well worth a daytime visit, and definitely a place to re-visit for further investigations.
Alison Crocker
Engineers room - (accessible only from outside)
A few members of the team, along with Jeff, ventured into the engineers room and fire escape stairway at the very end of the building before the investigation started. We stood quietly for a few minutes and myself and Jeff Aldridge were very aware of the hairs on our necks standing up. I felt as if I had someone stood behind me. Also, my arms up to my elbows were burning hot and there seemed to be random areas of heat in the room which had no source. We all sensed the heat but were completely puzzled as to where it came from.
The room itself was not an ideal location for a vigil as it was packed with engineering equipment and the floor was hazardous due to things being stored.
We then had a quick look at the fire escape staircase next to the engineers room and it was even warmer in there than the engineers room. One team member, I think it was Gill, took the temperature and it was the same in the stairway as outside which is incredible because it was remarkably warmer by the stairs. Again, we could find no heat source. This remains a total mystery.
Downstairs in the main Museum
Amanda, Mark and myself sat quietly in the main downstairs area of the museum where the caveman display sits. I picked up on a older man who said he walked a lot, never sitting still. He was a very portly chap but his legs were very strong. He was connected with the dairy and I got two dates of 1913 and 1930 so I'm assuming that he was at the dairy during those times. He seemed to have a link with Yorkshire. I was also shown clairvoyantly the images of a storm that ripped off part of the buildings roof. I feel this may have been around the time the man was at the dairy. The energy of the gentleman was never still and Amanda and myself felt the temperature change to cold then warm up again as if he came and went. I felt he was walking the route he would have always took as it was the same every day.
Downstairs in the Car and Motorbike Displays
Walking through I heard the name Bill. I walked towards the large black car and managed to pick up more about the persona of the gentleman who had owned it. I sense that he passed because of a heart/chest condition. He was a workaholic and was saddened towards the end of his life as he was unable to drive his car. He was a larger than life character and for some reason wore unusual clothes that weren't associated with his line of work. I also felt that he may have been quite wealthy but didn't squander his money and probably saved the majority of it. He was a very warm character and very charming. Strangely, I picked up that he might have promised to leave his car to someone but they didn't receive it. I feel this person has also passed now also so there's probably no way of knowing who that was. I sense this second person was female.
Tea Room
Amanda myself and Jeff sat quietly in the tearooms. We were quite evenly spaced out. Amanda by the entrance, myself at the far end and Jeff in the middle. Amanda immediately felt a certain area under one of the ceiling beams felt very oppressive and not pleasant. It was so uncomfortable she had to move away. I was sat at the far end and felt the urge to move away quickly from where I was sitting. I was immediately drawn to the roof and I feel that the area in which I was sitting may have been where the roof was blown off (see second paragraph). I also feel that when the building was used as a dairy that the far end of the tea room may have been where workers sat and had breaks.
I decided to go and stand where Amanda had felt uncomfortable. I stood under the beam and felt the energy of a man who had been shot. I saw two dogs running around frantically barking. The dogs belonged to him and I feel he was an estate worker (Somerly). I described what he was wearing and Mark and Amanda suggested he was from the 17th century from my description. He was about 5 foot 6 inches tall, light auburn hair wearing breeches tucked into boots that were up to his calf’s. His coat went to his knees. I was clairvoyantly shown a gun with an unusual top and Amanda knew it was called a Flintlock. I didn't sense murder or foul play but some kind of accident. Perhaps he was shot by mistake by another estate worker??
After this had come to light the oppression Amanda and myself had felt seemed to lift and we were no longer uncomfortable.
Upstairs Office
Amanda, Mark and Myself sat very briefly upstairs in the office. I sat at the desk that is the first one as you walk in. I felt as if whoever sat there would feel as if someone was behind them, but when turning to look, would see nothing. I can only describe it has an unsettling prickly feeling like you're being watched but there's no-one there. I picked up on a Sergeant Major type character, who seems to be looking for something that’s being kept in the office. It's as if he somehow feels lost without this item. We spend no more than 10 minutes in this location as time was against us so we were unable to pick up anything else. That area would benefit from further investigations.
WW2 Displays and Upstairs Area
Sadly we didn't get time to cover all the upstairs area due to the intensity of the encounters in the WW2 area. Amanda was drawn to a flying jacket from our walkabout tour earlier in the evening. She held the jacket and was visibly comforted by it. She felt it belonged to a blonde young man aged 22 who was totally at peace and who had passed because of some kind of back/kidney area injury. She was given the name Michael. She asked me to hold the jacket. None of what I've described above was given to me until after both Amanda and myself had held the jacket so she couldn’t have influenced me in any way. I said I picked up on a blonde man who was aged between 17-21 years. He was a quiet young man who was very close to his mum. I sensed he'd been killed in a plane crash and died as a result to injuries to his chest. He had a connection with London (place of birth??) and the name Prince was given to me, also, Harry and Charles.
I also had the impression that throughout all this we were being watched by an Officer wearing a cap (American?) He had passed from an injury to his forehead. He made me feel a little uncomfortable and I picket up on angry feelings from him. I feel he could have lost his sight as he was giving me the impression of being blind and feeling panicky because he could no longer see. He didn't die immediately from his injury so would have lived as a blind man, sadly it appears that it would have been his anger and frustration that prevented him from ever making a full recovery. The man has a link with the area too and in my opinion this would be a classic haunting rather than the many residual cases that are at the museum that seem to come and go connected with the artefacts. This gentleman would be responsible for making sensitive visitors feel uncomfortable. He's terribly angry and wants to be heard. I feel more work with this character would be helpful, perhaps to help him fully cross over into the light. I kept hearing the surname Baker.
Mark Boulton
Introduction.
The Ringwood Town & Country Experience Museum is one of those places that you’ve probably driven by loads of times without knowing it was there. We arrived just before 19:00 and met Jeff our keen and enthusiastic host. After establishing our base etc, Jeff gave us a guided tour of the premises. The museum extends over a moderately large area and has two floors. It consists of themed display areas containing lots of genuine artefacts associated with those themes. The displays contain plenty of interesting information and photographs; the museum also seems to have a strong affinity with the old Ibsley air force base (approx 2 miles north).
During the tour Jeff passed on some comments about previous ‘happenings’ at the location, two that were particularly of interest to me were reports of the dishwasher being ‘on’ in the morning and a ceiling fan being ‘on’ one morning even though all power had been turned off, the inference being poltergeist activity. It has to be mentioned at this point that the electrical installation in the museum and associated building leave a lot to be desired.
I was in group 2 with Amanda and Alison.
Vigil 1.
This was held in the downstairs area of the museum. We first stopped in the Victorian area and tried some calling out, with no discernable response. Alison said she had felt the presence of a stout, barrel shaped man and had the impression of him continually walking. The impression being that he was ‘passing’ through and just continually walking.
We then moved on to the old vehicle display area. We stood near the fairly rare Rolls Royce car with a ‘kneeling spirit of ecstasy’. Here Alison was getting the impression of a previous owner and generalities about the car, being ‘laid up’ and restored I believe. Unfortunately there was a photo’ of a previous owner and some history on the front of the car that was clearly visible during our previous ‘walk through’. This area also contains the ceiling fans that Jeff had mentioned. I managed to locate the controllers and successfully managed to operate the fans. It should be noted that the controls are a 4 position rotary type with the ‘off’ position next to ‘full’ position. As the fans take a long time to wind down when off, it is not too unlikely that they can be ‘left’ on.
We moved through to the railway station display. Here Alison had the impression of the dairy (the museum had at one time been a dairy) having a roof lifting during a storm and the people wanting to leave. After this we then went up to Jeff’s office. Here again we had not responses.
After returning to the restaurant for a refreshment break, I took the opportunity to look at the dishwasher. This is of a small commercial type complete with an isolating switch. Using the emf meter (detects mains electricity pretty well) I found that I could not convince myself that the isolation switch actually did anything, showing Jeff that the washer was in effective live with the switch in the off position.
Vigil 2.
This was held in the restaurant area.
Both Amanda and Alison felt differences between the front and back of the restaurant area. Alison again had the feeling of people want to leave again associated with a roof-lifting event. At the front area of the restaurant Alison had the impression of a ‘shot gun’ death pre dating the dairy buildings. It concerned a man (neither poor or wealthy) who had association with the nearby Normington estate, maybe worked there. He had a long dark coat on with his trousers tucked into his boots. He also had a couple of dogs with him. She felt that the shooting was accidental and was an old blunderbuss type weapon (after a prompt re flintlock type hammer from Amanda).
Vigil 3.
This was held in the upstairs RAF display area.
On taking a seat we heard a noise behind us, this was most probably a photo falling over, this had been balanced on a display cabinet (behind us) and would not take much for it to fall over.
Amanda held a sheepskin-flying jacket and was comforted by it, whilst Alison had the impression of three men in this area one in particular associated with a peaked cap. I believe the names Barker or Baker were mentioned. Alison sensed and was then distracted by Amanda’s spirit guide, who appeared to be quite forceful.
Conclusion.
The Museum it certainly an interesting place and worth a daytime visit. However I don’t think that the place is haunted, as we had absolutely no phenomena except Alison and Amanda’s sensing experiences. If there were to be any paranormal phenomenon it would have to be associated with the artefacts that the museum contains. As the museum contains lots of photos and printed information it could provide plenty of keys or triggers (during the walk-through) for subliminal messages, surfacing during the vigils.
The electrical experiences mentioned by Jeff, I believe can be explained in a perfectly normal way especially seeing the poor state of the electrical installation.
TEAM 3
Maureen Taylor
After a lightning tour of the museum the planned vigil groups for the evening were re-arranged into three groups rather than the originally planned two so we could cover more areas – which left us in groups of three or four investigators. I was with Jeff and Gill.
Vigil 1
After walking very quickly through the upstairs area we decided to split the vigil and spend the first half in the ‘shop’ area and the second in the military area. A considerable amount of traffic noise and reflections form vehicle headlights were something of a problem and it was often difficult to decide whether lights we were seeing or noises we were hearing were from outside or from within the building, however, after a few minutes it was possible to recognise most of the traffic noise and mentally eliminate it. Much of the rest of the noise, we felt, was from fixtures and fittings reacting to overnight temperature changes in and around the buildings. At the beginning of the vigil though, as I stood by one of the ‘shop’ windows, I heard a loud click/crack/creak, that seemed to come from the space between my right hand and the window, and which I couldn’t attribute directly either to that window or to anything near it, it sounded to have come out of thin air, though it may well have been something caused by the decreasing ambient temperature.
We could all feel a fairly strong cold draught, but we traced it, and found that it was cold air coming up the stairs, so nothing unusual there.
None of us were sensing anything in that area so we moved on to the next room, which houses displays of RAF and other military material. As we walked round on the earlier tour I was aware of someone standing close to the gun turret. There was still a male presence in the area during our vigil, but he didn’t seem to want to respond to our questioning, we tired using the rods, but he was reluctant to communicate with us. We didn’t feel that he was antagonistic, in fact the atmosphere was quite light and we felt that we weren’t unwelcome, it was just that he was happy, but wasn’t particularly in the mood to chat with us. At the end of our vigil we spent a few minutes looking around to see if there was any mention of anyone by name of Arthur – and we found two of them. One was a London policeman, and we got the feeling that this was the man we had been trying to communicate with.
Vigil 2
This time we stayed downstairs and selected two areas of the ground floor for our vigil. First of all we settled down in the area where all the excavated items are displayed. Having sat for about fifteen minutes in this area none of us were sensing anything at all so a decision was made to move into another area where there are various cars, bicycles, sewing machines and so on, on display. Here we became aware of a gentleman, possibly connected with the Rolls Royce Wraith. He came across as someone who liked to tinker with cars, not a trained mechanic, but someone passionate about cars and engines.
The only other happening here was of a more amusing nature – we were all startled by movement on the floor near us – it turned out to be a large spider, apparently attracted by the light of my small fluorescent torch (we had it on to give us just enough light to see if the dowsing rods moved at all) – during the rest of the vigil the spider sat with it’s front legs on the torch and had to be persuaded to move when we left...
Vigil 3
Our final vigil of the night was spent in the office and the restaurant areas. As the restaurant was our base for the night we stayed here first before moving up to the office. Just before the vigil Amanda had asked if I would get my group to walk up and down the restaurant and see if they felt anything as they walked under the roof beams – which we did. As we had walked back into the restaurant from our previous vigil I was aware of a presence near the middle of the room – oddly enough it was under one of the beams, but I think that was pure coincidence. The first thing we did was to do as Amanda had requested (we didn’t know why she wanted us to do it at the time), and we all felt that we were being laughed at as we did it, and Jeff felt that there were several females, possibly three, with us, and that they were land girls. Earlier, at the beginning I’d had the feeling that there was a young girl sitting up on one of the beams swinging her legs. Unfortunately we didn’t get much information from them other than their laughter – another time maybe.
We then moved up to the office. During the tour I’d been aware of a strong presence fairly close to the window, but it had gone by the time of our investigation. Jeff had told us that things get moved around and one particular desk tidied up on a quite regular basis – and that he had a feeling that it was something connected with him rather than with the building. We got out the dowsing rods to see if we could contact whoever it was, and got some reasonable results – we suggested to Jeff (that’s curator Jeff) that he ask some questions, and if necessary he could ask them silently – Amanda and I have often had good results that way), and he seems to have got the answers he expected to his questions. We then talked Jeff into holding the rods himself to see if the answers came through any more clearly, unfortunately they didn’t.
Conclusion
There certainly seem to be various spirit presences around the museum, but for my group they weren’t particularly interested in chatting to us – not that they didn’t like us being there, but that they just didn’t feel like talking on that particular evening. At times, on various investigations, where we’ve felt that there are spirit entities around us, but they’ve not wanted to communicate, it’s that the spirits of the place, having in effect been caught unawares, just don’t know how to react to our presence, so don’t come through with as much information as they might if they have forewarning of our visit. Perhaps, if we get to go there again maybe we’ll get more information – I certainly hope so, and of course, hope that we do get invited back again - in the meantime I think I shall have to make a daylight visit to this fascinating museum and get to know it a little better.
Thanks to Jeff for inviting us to spend a few hours there, and for his very warm welcome – I look forward to a return visit.
Jeff Aldridge
After arriving at the venue we were given a very friendly welcome by our host, curator and manager Jeff. Following the initial introductions and formalities we were taken on a tour of the property and museum, any questions or concerns raised were quickly and adequately answered. Before the investigation proper got underway I went with some of the group to the engineering room, shortly after the lights were turned off for a small experiment and I along with others felt a definite presence in this area. Also in the small passageway off of the restaurant I heard what sounded like footsteps above me.
Maureen, Gill and I were teamed together and our first vigil was upstairs in the “Tea Room” area. After a while it became apparent that we could not feel any type of energies present and it was decided that we should move to the next section. That next section was the RAF exhibit. In here was a different atmosphere altogether with cold spots being felt across my hands and back. Maureen tried her dowsing rods and some movement was noted. I personally felt that the energy encountered was more residual than active and felt that it was a male who was facially disfigured by fire and the names of “Arthur” and “Langford” came to mind.
After a short break we went to the Motorcycle area, but encountered nothing of consequence, so moved on to the car area. Gill this time took up the dowsing rods and minimal movement was noticed in response to any question asked. I personally felt in this area was the energy of a farm machinery or vehicle mechanic / blacksmith. A very happy and uplifting energy who, liked to sing enthusiastically whilst working. Unfortunately no names or other details were forthcoming.
Our next area of investigation was the restaurant and Maureen again tried the dowsing rods and again very little response was noted. This for me was the liveliest area so far and I felt that many happy times occurred here. I especially found this area uplifting with a very jovial atmosphere helped, I believe, by the energy of three “Land Army” girls who were always up for a laugh and or a practical joke. One of the girls always wore a “Tammy” hat pushed up high on the back of her head.
The fourth vigil started for us in the area adjacent to the main museum entrance and reception room. After some time it was decided that as there were no energies apparent in this area we moved upstairs to the office. Personally I felt very little here except for something touching the top of my head, which could have been a spider or cobweb, but none were found. Maureen tried the dowsing rods and certain responses were noted which were personal to the curator Jeff.
In conclusion I believe that this venue contains an enormous amount of differing energies and influences. However I think that most are residual memories due to the building’s past and the many artefacts contained there. I would really like to do a late night investigation some time in the future, which I think could prove quite fruitful.
The entire evening was an enjoyable experience. Many thanks, to Jeff for his warm hospitality during our stay.
Gill O’Farrell
When we arrived at the venue our host was in full-flow telling the team members that there was poltergeist activity and bizarre spontaneous behaviour from electrical appliances. The investigation was organised by an enthusiastic guest who was asked to investigate by her friend, the owner’s daughter.
We then had a walk-round the venue by our host who told us some of the history of the place, which used to be a farm. It was clear that our host had convinced himself that there was a large amount of paranormal phenomena present.
I was working with Jeff and Maureen who were great to work with. Our first vigil was in the upstairs part of the museum. We began by sitting in the shop area. There were several cold breezes in this area which were easily explained by a draught from the staircase and the thin “hanger” style roofing. After some calling out we gave up after 20 minutes having experienced or sensed nothing. We then moved into the RAF area. Memorabilia and bits of old plane surrounded us. Therefore, it is to be expected that if any of us were to sense anything, it would be a pilot. Jeff had the impression of a man called Arthur. Again, we did calling out and watched and listened but no phenomena occurred. Interestingly, when we looked closer, we discovered that one of the helmets we were sitting near had belonged to a man named Arthur.
Our second vigil was on the ground floor. In the section near the cars, Jeff had the impression of a man who was singing and cleaning his car. The rest of the vigil felt flat as a pancake. The final vigil was in the restaurant and the office. Again, despite use of dowsing rods, asking out and protected vigils, there was no evidence at all of haunting activity.
Some members of our group did sense things that were of interest. However, these may have occurred due to Psychometry; there were so many personal items with associated trauma that it is possible the information gained was done psychically through these articles rather than mediumistically.
It is important to note that throughout this whole investigation, no objective evidence was ascertained in our vigil team. There were no temperature fluctuations, no light anomalies, no noises etc. The only things produced were presences sensed by a couple of group members. These were given some kind of verification because sometime in the past someone else had “sensed” other presences. There was a suggestion that that the man who used to own the land was still looking after it. A nice idea.
Most of the suggested presences were RAF staff, farm workers, or owners of the cars in the museum.
There was emphasis placed on electrical appliances working without power. There are two qualified electricians in our group that could spot the dangerous nature and overloading of circuits. It is not surprising then, that appliances work intermittently!