Southern Paranormal - Investigations
The Upton Court Investigation Report
Saturday 9th May 2009
Attending Investigators – Maria Street (Senior Co-ordinator), Marie Holder, Mark Boulton, Gillian O’Farrell, Amanda Horley, Rob Butler & Elias Kupfermann
Guests - Dom Oliver and Andrew Unsworth.
Host - Mike Greenshield (from Slough Observer
Time of Investigation – 9.45pm – 2.45am
Please note all information on this report and our website (including all reports, accounts, writing, footage clips and images - other than the ones marked) are copyright Southern Paranormal UK 2009 – they can not be copied or used without express permission of Southern Paranormal UK and when used with this permission must be fully credited to the team (using the full team name Southern Paranormal UK).
Introduction
Upton Court is home to the Slough Observer. Staff have recently been feeling pretty spooked by strange goings on in the building so decided to call in two teams (one being Southern Paranormal UK) and a Medium, to investigate over three consecutive weeks. Was this house haunted? There were certainly some unexplained happenings on the night we were there and the building itself was steeped in history.
UPTON COURT HISTORY
Please note as always this research was done by a member of the team (Marion McCaffery) who did not attend the investigation. The following information was not supplied to any of the members attending, prior to the investigation.
HISTORY OF THE BUILDING
Upton Court is a fourteenth century open hall house.
It is the oldest building in Slough, apart from St Lawrence’s Church besides which it stands, and the present owners have restored it to its medieval form. The Manor of Upton was owned by King Harold prior to the conquest and it is not known whether there was an earlier building on that site. Tree ring dating of the present building provides an estimated construction date of 1325 but it is possible that some parts of the house may be older still.
Lords of the Manor were Merton Priory, but after the dissolution of the monasteries moved from owner to owner. Upton Court was the manor of Upton in the 1600’s. Few if any Lords of the Manor lived in it. It was leased to tenants.
These owners included Benjamin Lane who gave generously to the parish and the Lascelles Family. In 1711 Benjamin Lane conveyed to Edward Lascelles and his heirs 'all that capital messuage or mansion house called Upton Court'. As with most of the residents of Upton Court, not many members of the Lascelles family lived in the Slough manor house. There were, however, members of the family who were buried at St. Laurence’s Church. One mural monument on the north side records 'near this place lie the remains of William Lascelles, Esq. of Upton Court, in this Parish'.
The Court's Lascelles connection was highlighted in the 1920s when King George V and Queen Mary visited Upton Court on 4 June 1922. They were viewing the house to decide whether it was a suitable country home for their daughter, Princess Mary, when she married Viscount Lascelles, later 6th Earl of Harewood. However, Upton Court did not get the Royal seal of approval and the Lascelles family sold the house in 1929 and privately owned until 1952 when it was bought by Mr Francis Groves of Groves Brodie and Co.Ltd. Following the death of Francis Groves in 1986, Upton Court was purchased by the Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Observer.
The house is now used as offices for the Slough local newspaper, the Slough Observer. Upton Court is also rumoured to be haunted.
GHOST SIGHTINGS
For many years, domestic servants reported seeing the ghost of a woman in a bloodstained nightdress walking in the grounds, always on Friday nights. However, it has not been seen for many years now. A three bay aisled hall with service passage dated to about 1325; probably built by the monks of Merton Priory as a manor house. A central brick hearth has been uncovered in the hall but there was apparently no smoke hole through the roof. Smoke appears to have escaped through large gabled louvres in the roof slope. The north end was much altered in the seventeenth century. A thorough restoration took place in 1986-90 when the oak framed south wing and its glazed link were built. It is rumoured that there is a secret passage between Upton Court and the nearby Red Cow Pub, but this has never been substantiated.
PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUILDING AND LAND
King Harold |
George Sala |
The Investigation
Vigil Areas
On the night we were lucky to have access to the whole building including:
Ground Floor
Great Hall
Great Hall back room
Amanda's Office
Editorial Offices
Possibly cellars (which have not been opened for several years)
1st Floor
Great Hall Gallery (Far end)
Great Hall Gallery Backroom (Far end)
Upper Roof Room (Above Great Hall - Far end)
Solar Room - decorated room with wall paintings (above great hall - Near end)
staircase room (very small)
Advertising Offices
Teams
Team 1
Maria
Marie
Mark
David
Rob
Team 2
Amanda
Gill
Elias
Dom
Andrew
Itinerary
8.30pm Meet at Upton Court Manor House
8.45pm Meet hosts & have tour around house
9.30pm Pre vigil break
9.45pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – Ground Floor
Team 2 – 1st Floor
10.45pm Break
11.00pm Vigil 2
Team 1 – 1st Floor
Team 2 – Ground Floor
12.00am Break
12.30am Vigil 3
Team 1 – Ground Floor
Team 2 – 1st Floor
1.30am Break
1.45am Vigil 4
Team 1 – 1st Floor
Team 2 – Ground Floor
2.45am Pack up
3.00am Depart
Technical Set Up (including Trigger objects)
Solar Room 2
1 x locked off hi8 camcorder to record trigger object
Equipment used
1 x hi8 camcorder
2 x mini dv camcorders
I x hdd camcorder
I x thermal imaging camera
2 x KII EMF Meters
2 x EMF Gauss Meters
7 x digital stills cameras
I set of walkie talkies
2 x notebook and pens to record time of activity
2 x laser thermometers.
Investigators Personal Accounts
Team 1
Maria Street – Senior Co-ordinator & Training Supervisor
After seeing the photos of this wonderful building, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in, as it were. The building was even more impressive seen from the naked eye, particularly with the late afternoon sun settling on it, emphasising its hues of pink and pale terracotta.
I drove down with Amanda and Rob and we arrived early enough to take in the beautiful sight whilst we munched on our sandwiches and enjoyed a cold drink. We were met by the others within the hour and went inside to meet our host Mike, and our guests, Dom and Andrew. I had only discovered on this day that the building was owned by the local newspaper and we were to be joined by a reporter. (Mike) We were also due to have our photo taken for an article at 9pm.
After a tour of the building we had a quick break. Gill and I, being typical girls, needed the loo so we made our way through the great hall towards the back of the building where the toilets were situated. Whilst we were in there, we heard somebody else come in, so imagine my surprise when I came out to wash my hands and there was nobody there. I checked with Gill and she had heard somebody also. Mark was in the gents so we asked him to open and close the door to the gents again to see how it sounded whilst Gill was in the ladies. She reported that it was not the same sound. We checked with the others when we got back to the kit room but nobody had left.
Our photographer soon arrived and we set off for the solar room for our photocall. Everybody was so friendly and we were all put at ease. After our moment of fun we set off for the night ahead.
I was in Team 1 with Rob, our new member, Amanda, Mark and our host, Mike. We started in the great hall. I explained to Mike how we work and how our instruments worked. I had a particular feeling about the great hall and asked Mike if this building had once been a monastery. He confirmed that it had. Mike stayed with us for a while then set off for his desk as he was writing throughout the night. The first thing we noticed was the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor and our first thought was Mike. The only thing that made this impossible was the fact that the sensor lights in the corridor did not come on and Mike was still sat at his desk! The footsteps continued throughout our vigil. Rob had the name of Arthur, and Marie had the name of Robert. We had no EMF readings on this vigil and nothing showed on the thermal imaging camera although a few light anomalies showed on stills cameras.
Our next vigil was the solar room which was the scene of much frivolity earlier on in the evening. It was quite different now. We tried a glass divination. The glass did move, but very reluctantly so we changed to table tipping but with no success. There was a lot of taps and clicks however and Mark’s chair inexplicably lowered whilst he was sat in it. I also had the name of Peter Clarke in here. Once again there were no readings from the EMF and nothing showed on the thermal imaging camera.
We moved on into the Advertising Offices and settled down in different spots. Marie was close to the window looking over the front of the property. Rob was over to the right, I was nearer the back to the left and Mark was sat close to the door. We called out and although there were lots of creaks and bangs, we cannot be sure they weren’t the sound of an old building settling. The lights were also only just turned off and some of the noises could definitely by attributed to them cooling down.
I asked if there was somebody there and if they didn’t want us there if they could scare us away. Immediately we heard a ‘Hrmph’ noise. I thought it was Rob clearing his throat and it was only when he asked what the noise was that I realised it was something different entirely. It was most definitely a man’s voice but we have no idea where it came from and it was impressive that it seemed to come in answer to my request. I was also getting the ditty, ‘When the boat comes in’ in my head. I don’t have a clue what this means but it is interesting that I also heard it in the Editorial Offices a little later. These are situated directly below the Advertising Offices.
After a quick welcome break, we continued down in the cellars. These have not been opened for several years, so it was a real privilege to be allowed down there. We entered via some cupboard doors which was a real ‘Anne Frank’ moment! We descended down some very steep wooden steps and found ourselves in a vast space beneath. The cellar was split into three sections. Mark and Marie settled themselves into the far end, I was in the middle and Rob stood in the near end. We called out and I had the name Norman in my head but I felt it was not pertaining to a name, but rather, the people. I had no idea what this could mean but I have spoken to Julie since and the Manor was owned by King Harold until the Norman conquest, so this was very interesting for me. I heard Rob sigh heavily and was going to ask what was bothering him when he asked who made that noise. I told him I’d thought it was him but he was as surprised by it as I was. Mark and Marie had also not made the sound and I can only liken it to ‘Hoh’ or even a whisper of ‘Rob’. It was very strange, but not ones to jump to conclusion we also asked Mike if he had come anywhere near the cellars and had called out for Rob. He hadn’t and the other team were all on the upper floors.
The cellar led to the Editorial Offices, where we sat for our next vigil. We sat at the far end to start with and called out. We were treated to three loud thuds on this vigil, all coming from above. We checked with the other team but they were still. It sounded like a door was slamming from above us and Mike confirmed that this is a regular occurrence in these offices and the noises come from the Advertising Offices above. They are particularly more noticeable at night or on Bank Holidays when there are no staff working above. This was very intriguing. I also picked up on the plague here and felt there may be a plague pit close by. Elias confirmed in the next break that there were several nearby. We moved to the near end and were treated to another thud. This sounded like a thump on the wall. A quick check with Mike and the other team discounted any movement from either of them.
Our night was nearing its end and our final vigil saw us on the upper floors. We made our way to the gallery overlooking the Great Hall. All was very quiet up here so we carried on to the back gallery room where Marie heard a voice come through the walkie talkie. A quick call to Amanda confirmed it was not her but it could have come from outside interference, although that was the first time that night. We called out, but with no response and with time running out we made our way up the stairs to the Upper Room. Mark, Marie and I sat round the table whilst Rob sat by the stairs. We called out but had no response. A little later, Rob noticed a black shadow cross just to the left of me. Marie saw it also. Rob came over very carefully to investigate and as he did so, the table beneath me moved. Marie heard the loud creak of the table and felt the tap, but just to be sure that the vibration from Rob did not move the table I asked him to repeat walking to us, three times, each time with heavier footsteps than the last. Although the table did vibrate, it did not move as violently as it had the first time. Mark thought Rob had kicked the table the first time but Rob said he had not. He was being very careful in his movements as there was debris across the floor. This ended a very intriguing night for me and I would like to thank our guests and our host for their interest and for making us feel so welcome. We would love to return at a later date as there is so much still to be uncovered. We hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did. We envy you your place of work!
Mark Boulton – Media Analysis (audio)
On the outside Upton Court Manor House looks the part of an old building steeped in history. On the inside however it was a disappointment (at least as far as I was concerned), having said that it must still be a very nice place to work. The clues to its real history can be seen from outside, a couple of blocked up doorways in the middle of the outside walls (one on the first floor), different colourations and an obviously new entrance area. The building must have undergone a great deal of work over the years.
We carried out the walk round to familiarise ourselves with the layout and to carry out some baseline tests. After this I was walking around with Gill and Marie and entered ‘Amanda’s’ office (on the ground floor) and moved to the fire place to try to read the plaques over the lintel. I just assumed that Marie had followed us in (one can sense when someone else is in the room), however when Gill turned round she said she saw the figure of a man standing in a corner. Marie had not entered the room at all.
I was in team 1 with Maria, Marie and Rob. Our first vigil was held in the Great Hall. Other than the fact I felt that the whole room wasn’t right, we did not experience any particular phenomena. Rob thought of the name Arthur and wanted to say it out loud (which he did) and Maria had the name Peter. We did have one moment when we thought someone was coming down a corridor (creaks sounding like footsteps) but there was no one there.
Our second vigil was held on the 1st floor, and we started in the ‘Solar’ rooms. Here we tried some glass divination and then some table tipping. Again nothing much to report other than some knocks, creaks and bangs (pretty random). Rob said that he just had the feeling that after some of the noises a voice saying “it’s me”. One incident of personal note just before we tried the table tipping I felt that the chair I was in was twisting to one side, conscious of this I was deliberately keeping it still when suddenly it lowered about 2”! It was a ‘computer’ type chair that can do this sort of thing, though I am fairly sure it wasn’t me.
We then moved to the Advertising Office, again there were plenty of noises reported but all of a random nature.
Our third vigil was again downstairs, this time the cellar and also the Editorial office. We started down in the cellar. This was entered in the corner of the office behind the reception area and stretches for quite a length beneath the main building. Once the lights were turned off, we were in pitch black, but again nothing particular happened. I believe Rob and Maria heard a sort of sigh but, from my perspective all was very calm and quiet even though we were in complete darkness.
After the cellar we went to the Editorial office. Again we called out with little or no response. There was a reported thud from above (Advertising Office). Whilst sitting down, this time in light, I could see more clearly that this part of the building was relatively new, with some of the wooden beams still having pencil markings showing points to chamfer edges to.
Our last vigil was held upstairs at the far end of the Great Hall including the gallery or balcony. On the balcony looking back into the Great Hall, you can see more clearly that the Hall was a mixture of very old and some very new. The balcony itself is a ‘newer’ addition. After a short time we moved to another room before finishing in the upper floor rooms. All was quiet until about 10 minutes before the end. Rob thought he saw a shadow move across a wall behind Maria, I was also looking in the same direction but did not see anything or missed it. After Rob had finished investigating this and was moving back to his original position (passing the table), the table that Maria and I were sitting at definitely moved violently, Rob was adamant that he had not touched it. However when the lights were turned on I could see a box on the floor next to the table legs with cables hanging out, it would be very easy to bump into these.
Overall whilst Upton Court Hall is an interesting place I feel that over many years of rectification, additions and restorations there is very little ‘soul’ left in the buildings. It was fairly obvious that it had relatively recently been turned into office units as most, if not all the rooms were well equipped with the computer infrastructure to enable modern offices to operate. The Cellar too had presumably been created/restored intended for storage but due to the laying water had probably been abandoned. Throughout the investigation I used a thermal imaging camera. Despite operating this equipment during each vigil, I discovered no unusual or unexplainable phenomena.
Marie Holder – Training Officer
Introduction
I arrived at the property at around 7.50pm and met with Maria, Amanda and our new member, Rob. Amanda and I took the opportunity to have a look round the beautiful old church that was right next door to the location. The house itself looked full of character, previously a private residence it was now home to the Slough & Langley Observer. We made our way inside and were met by Elias and members of the newspaper staff. Once the walk around and baselines were completed we all made our way to our first vigil.
Vigil 1 – Ground Floor
Great Hall
I took some photographs and captured a light anomaly in the gallery to the left of the door. We then settled down and called out. Some taps were heard, so we called out some more and Rob got the name Arthur. During the vigil Maria, Rob and I thought we heard footsteps in the corridor leading to the great hall and we thought it was Mike, one of the reporters who occasionally joined us on our vigils, however, we realised that anybody walking down the corridor would trigger the light to come on as it was controlled by a motion sensor and on this occasion it didn’t. I also came up with the name Robert.
Vigil 2 – 1st Floor
Solar room
We tried glass divination in this area, we got a slight movement with the glass but nothing significant, however during this experiment the table creaked quite considerably, so we decided to try some table tipping but got no responses.
Advertising offices
Heard lots of taps in this area but could have been the lights settling or the beams expanding. Maria called out for the spirit to ‘scare’ us and Maria, Rob and I heard a man groan. I thought it sounded quite muffled as if it came from downstairs.
Vigil 3 – Ground Floor
Cellar
It was very atmospheric down there and I felt very uncomfortable and that we were being watched. We also heard a voice saying what sounded like ‘Rob’ in a whispered voice. I also caught some anomalies on camera in one particular place but these could have been dust.
Editorial office
I caught a light anomaly on camera. Unfortunately nothing unusual happened.
Vigil 4 – 1st Floor
Great Hall Gallery
Nothing unusual happened in this area.
Great Hall Gallery back room
Nothing unusual happened in this area.
Attic room
During this vigil Rob said he had seen a shadow in another part of the attic I then saw something move to the right of me and immediately after I heard a loud tap coming from under the table I was sitting near.
Conclusion
This was a wonderful old building and as I mentioned previously, full of character. As for my favourite area, I am torn between the cellar and the attic as they both exhibited some kind of unusual behaviour! I would be really interested in re-visiting this location on another occasion. I would like to thank the staff of the Slough and Langley Observer for giving us the opportunity to investigate this beautiful building.
Team 2
Amanda Horley – Reports Co-ordinator
We arrived at this site quite early, and were greeted with a beautiful old house, so with plenty of daylight left we took the opportunity to take photographs of the outside of the building. We were met by Mike, a reporter from the paper and once everyone had gathered Elias gave us a walk round of the building. The main hall was very obviously old from the beams within it, but my initial thought was that the floor was far too high and should have been about 18 inches lower, although this was probably from the proportions of the room rather than because of anything paranormal. In parts of the buildings, beams had very obviously been replaced, and in the side wing, the beams were definitely not as old as the main hall. Upstairs there was a room with a very ornate moulded ceiling and painted walls. This room was split into two sections. The smaller one had rows of drawers with papers in and I felt that the staff would come up here and find drawers pulled out that should be. In the larger one there was a window looking over the rear car park and some houses. I was immediately drawn to this window and looking at the houses felt that there should have been a farm there.
Once we had finished the walk round and the photographer had taken some pictures of the group, we settled down to our first vigil. I was in a team with Gill and Elias together with our guests Dom and Andrew. We started out in the Solar room and it’s annex, and I went and stood by the window. Again I felt that I should be looking at a farmyard and got the impression that a woman would have stood here looking out. She was a governess to the family that lived here, but was also distantly related. The daughter of a cousin perhaps. The Solar room would have been the children’s school room. She enjoyed looking out of the window, and watched out in particular for a friend of the family who came to visit on horseback. His name was George. Although I couldn’t get a name for her, Elias came up with Elizabeth or Eliza. I then got the surname Brookes, and felt that it went with Eliza. The time period felt like it was the 1770’s, and she had her hair in a bun and a dress with a tight fitting top and long skirts. She wore a locket that she played with whilst she looked out of the window. I think she was in her early 20’s.
Gill and I then went through to the smaller room and we both felt that the energy was very different in here. It was a lot “busier”. It felt like there were children around, but from a more recent time period than Eliza. The ceiling, with the moulding of the Unicorn in the centre felt wrong. It just felt like it shouldn’t have been there. We went back into the main room, and tried a glass divination, but the glass didn’t move at all.
Our second vigil was in the Great Hall. Again the floor felt too high in here, but I did feel that there would have been a raised area, roughly at the same place as it is today. I felt that there would have been a big bearded man sat up there, maybe in the 1300’s. Firm but fair, who dispensed justice on his people, but was also a family man. I felt that whilst standing the other side of the hearth I wanted to bow to him. Little else happened in here, so we moved into Amanda’s Office. This was a quiet room for me, although I felt that the panelling was out of place. Elias and I went back into the Great Hall, and as we did so, I felt that someone walked across the gallery above Hall. I think this was a feeling rather than corner of the eye shadow, but I can’t be sure.
Our third vigil was upstairs at the far end of the Great Hall. The Hall felt very different when we stood on the balcony, and actually felt a lot more modern, despite still being able to see all the beams. The room behind the gallery also felt very quiet, and when we returned downstairs into the Great Hall, I wasn’t able to pick up on what we were getting before.
Our final vigil was in the cross wing, and we started downstairs in the Editorial office. This was very quiet for me, as was the cellar. I again felt that this area was much newer than the Great Hall and far end of the building, but the building had very much been done in the style of the older area. We moved upstairs into the Advertising Office and although the lights had been off for most of the night, there were a lot of creaks and knocks in the rafters. It is likely that these were due to the wood contracting after what had been a hot day, but on a couple of occasions, they did seem to be in direct response to questions that Gill was asking, particularly when she asked if this spirit had died here, when there was immediately a very loud “crack” in the ceiling above me.
All in all this was a wonderful building to investigate, and it was interesting to find out that the cross wing had been added when the newspaper took over the building in the 1980’s. It felt newer than the rest, but not that new, and had been built in a way that was very “sympathetic” to the rest of the building. I was also delighted to find out that there had been a farm out the back, next to the church prior to the houses being built. Thanks have to go to Elias for getting us this investigation, and also to Mike for looking after us on the night. This is definitely somewhere I would like to come back to.
Gillian O’Farrell – Reports Co-ordinator
I was very excited about this location as I was recently told by my father that my great gran could still be lingering around the place as she went there every day throughout the 1940's. Upton Court Manor House is an impressive looking building that conveys a huge sense of history. The fact that it is positioned adjacent to a church and graveyard served to add to the atmosphere. Internally it is a confusing building that obviously has had parts added in recent years. On the initial walk around it was a very warm evening with few drafts from the windows. Temperatures were:
Great Hall 25.8C, Backroom 27C, Upper floor 26.6C, Editorial offices 23.3C, Solar room 24C, and the Advertising offices 26.3C. The thermal imaging camera showed many hot water pipes running underneath the Great Hall Backroom. This made the room oppressively hot and given that there was so much heat being pumped into this old wooden structure, there was likely to be a large amount of creaky settling when the external temperature dropped.
Maria and I went to the ladies room. Whist inside, I heard the door open and thought I saw the shadow of a person coming in and I was expecting Maria to speak to someone; however, no-one was there. This was a little strange but the noise might have been caused by an adjacent door being opened.
I had a short walk around the building with Mark before we formally started and had a look around “Amanda’s office” at the wood panelling. We both thought someone had followed us into the room. I turned around and thought I caught a glimpse of a man standing at the back of the room. This might have been explainable as there were a lot of photographs on the wall and as I had been expecting to see someone I might have mentally constructed someone.
Vigil One
Our group had Amanda as group leader, Elias, and two guests, Dom and Andrew. We spent most of the first vigil upstairs in the Solar Room. Amanda had a sense of a woman from the 18th century who was not related to the family and spent a lot of time looking out of the window waiting for someone. Elias picked up on a name of “Eliza”. We found out later that a medium had picked up on an “Elizabeth”. This is a common name and could not be the same person as the location, time period and character were very different. The atmosphere in the room was very pleasant and calm. I had the sense of many children and a mental image of a toddler with his arms raised asking to be picked-up.
We moved into the other part of the Solar Room with the ceiling sculpture. This did not seem to fit; I felt this work was much more recent than it was made to look. In this part I had a great sense of an older boy with lots of energy running around. There was lots of laughter and movement. We tried a glass divination but although at one stage I felt there might be some energy building up in the glass, we failed to get any movement at all.
Vigil Two
Our second vigil took place in the Great Hall and “Amanda’s office”. This was a large open space so it was logical to think that a manor house might have been used as a courthouse several hundred years ago. Whilst I was sitting on the floor I noticed a small metal ball that looked like an old lead musket ball. Later, we noticed several more of them on a table, so it appears they may have been weights of some sort. Amanda picked up on a large man who presided over the house. When we were leaving this area Elias thought he saw a shadow move quickly in the far corridor. Apart from mental impressions, we experienced no phenomena of any description.
Vigil Three
This vigil took place in several areas; the gallery and back room, the upper roof room and back into the great hall. We experienced nothing in these areas and the atmosphere seemed to have changed and become flat.
Vigil Four
For the final vigil, we explored the cellars, advertising and editorial offices. We experienced nothing in the cellars on the editorial offices. Whilst in the upstairs advertising office we did a lot of asking out and seemed to get a number of creaks, taps and thumps in response to our requests. I started asking out in a more aggressive manner to try and provoke a response. We did seem to get some knocks in response to these questions, but, as there was so much wood in the room and walls it is most likely that the noises were as a result of settling and temperature change in the building.
Upton Court was an interesting building that seemed to promise much in the way of phenomena but for me personally, failed to deliver much clear evidence of any paranormal activity.
Elias Kupfermann – Location Researcher
Although Upton Court is only 5 minutes away from my house this was strangely only the third time I had visited the house – the two earlier occasions had been to organise the investigation. I had always admired its exterior and wondered what history lurked within its walls.
During the investigation we were divided into two teams and took turns in holding vigils both upstairs and downstairs within the building. Here is an account of what we found:
Solar Room
This was the most elaborate room in the house with plaster work on the ceiling depicting a unicorn – a similar piece of plaster work was observed over the fireplace. Running around the lintel beam through out the room was a Latin text with the remains of wall paintings below.
In this room we picked up a lady possibly dating to around 1800 who was thought to be poor relation of the owner perhaps a governess. She was looking out of a solar window as though waiting for someone – we later picked up that her name was either Elizabeth or Eliza with a possible surname as Brooks and that she was waiting for a gentleman called George. The idea that there was a farm near to the house was also picked up without prior knowledge - Upton Farm was only a little way from the house. It was thought that the woman looked after children and it was sensed that there was a rocking horse in the room. The part of the room where the unicorn plastered ceiling had a very light atmosphere as compared with the area near the Solar window. It was also thought that a lot of children had been here at one point. During the earlier part of the evening the room was very hot and cooled right down to a colder temperature and later the temperature got hotter again. A glass divination was tried but produced no results.
Great Hall
The Great Hall is a patchwork of modern and ancient timbers with a modern ‘minstrel’s gallery above’. The rear of the hall was a modern extension with a toilet block. On four separate occasions activity was observed of either footsteps or a flash of someone going into what is now the Ladies toilets. In every case it was very quick.
The Great Hall itself was interesting - a big hairy man was picked up who was of some importance who sat on a raised dias – it was felt that people had to bow to him. He was however dressed in a rough clothing with no finery. The name Egbert or something similar was picked up. It was felt that he was of 14th century date.
Amanda’s Office
Nothing was picked up here – the room felt quiet and peaceful.
Editorial Offices
Nothing was picked up here
Adverting Offices
There were several unexplained bangs and creaks but nothing more.