Southern Paranormal - Investigations
The Wardrobe Museum Investigation
Saturday 28th March 2009
Attending Investigators – Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Simon Steadman, Rachel Steadman, Marion McCaffery, Di Moore, Sarah Couper, Mark Pettet, Marie Holder, Maureen Taylor, Amanda Horley, Mark Wright, Eileen Rutter, Alison Crocker, Kieran Gillingham, Jane Gillingham, Rich Smith.
Host – Alistair Riggs
Time of Investigation – 6.30pm – 5.30am
The Building – The History
Although its present appearance owes much to 19th century alterations, the origins of 58 The Close lie in the 13th century and the overall shape of a central hall (originally open to the roof) with two service wings still remains.
At first the residence of one of the canons [clergymen] who served the Cathedral it later passed into the hands of the Bishop of Salisbury. It is probable that use as a storehouse and administrative base for the Bishop’s household led to its name of The Wardrobe, a title first recorded in 1543.
In 1568 the Bishop exchanged it with the Dean and Chapter for a more convenient building and it was then let to a series of non-clerical tenants. During their occupation it underwent many alterations. In the 18th century members of the Coles family divided the upper and lower halls, forming on the ground floor an entrance hall, staircase hall and dining room, the arrangement which survives today. A central entrance replaced the large window on the courtyard side of the original lower hall.
Further building work in the 1830s gave the east front its gables, barge boards and gothic portico. The first tenant following these renovations was Dr John Grove. His daughter Henrietta married James Hussey, a local JP. The house remained in the Hussey family until James and Henrietta’s daughter Margaret (who was born in the house) died at The Wardrobe in January 1941 at the age of 90. It then ceased to be a private residence.
After use in the Second World War as a hostel of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) it was rented in 1945 by the Diocesan Training College for Schoolmistresses (based at The King’s House) to provide accommodation for 25 students and 2 members of staff. This use continued until 1969. The building then remained empty for some years, with its future in doubt.
In 1959 an amalgamation took place between The Royal Berkshire Regiment (with a headquarters and museum in Reading) and The Wiltshire Regiment (with a headquarters and museum in Devizes) to form The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire). For a time the new Regiment had its depot and HQ divided between Reading and Devizes but then a new location for a united HQ and museum was sought in Salisbury.
The Wardrobe was suggested in 1973 but the cost of repairs and alterations was thought to be too high. Some years were spent in considering other possible sites, but all in vain. In 1976 a chance meeting with John Smith of the Landmark Trust offered a new way forward. The Trust would contribute to the cost of alterations in return for a flat in The Wardrobe. A 99 year lease was purchased from the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral and building work finally started on 2 July 1979, with an estimate of completion in just under a year. As with most old buildings there were hidden problems, including structural problems upstairs where a steel framework had to be installed, so the work took longer than expected, not being finished until October 1980.
Alterations included re-instating the large window instead of a central doorway in the porch and adding a new door at each side. An internal doorway with its elaborate door casing was moved to permit a more logical route round the Museum. Almost all the ground floor became the Museum with the upper storeys providing offices, Library, storage space and other facilities. Partitions were removed to create what is known as the Regimental Room on the first floor and to reveal once again its 17th century fireplace. A large dormer window was inserted to provide light to the Landmark Trust flat’s living room. This has now weathered so well it is hard to believe it has not been there for centuries.
Info courtesy of www.thewardobe.org.uk
The Museum – The History
The Rifles (Berkshire and Wiltshire) Museum, was created from the museums of the two forming Regiments, The Royal Berkshire Regiment and The Wiltshire Regiment. The Royal Berkshire Regiment had its museum in Brock Barracks, on the Oxford Road in Reading, Berkshire. The Wiltshire Regiment had its museum in Le Marchant Barracks, on the London Road in Devizes, Wiltshire. Because a single site was neither available nor suitable, the museums remained in those locations after the amalgamation of the Regiments to form the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment in 1959.
Towards the end of the 1970s, the Wardrobe, situated in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close was identified as a suitable site for both the Regimental Headquarters of the new Regiment and a single museum to house both collections.
A 99 year lease was purchased from the Dean & Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral and, on 29th July 1982, the museum was officially opened by the Regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief, HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
In 1994 The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment amalgamated with the Gloucestershire Regiment to form The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the museum started to acquire artefacts relating to this new Regiment. The collection and archives of the Gloucestershire Regiment remained in the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, located at Custom House, Gloucester GL1 2HE. Today’s Regiment – The Rifles – was formed on 1st February 2007 and its 1st Battalion is the successor to the RGBW.
From its opening until 1st February 2007, when the name was changed to reflect the formation of The Rifles, the museum was called “Redcoats in the Wardrobe”.
Info courtesy of www.thewardobe.org.uk
The Investigation
Vigil Teams
Team 1
Julie (Team Leader)
Marion
Di
Rich
Team 2
Simon (Team Leader)
Mark W
Mark P
Marie
Amanda
Team 3
Maria (Team Leader)
Alison
Kieran
Jane
Team 4
Rachel (Team Leader)
Sarah
Maureen
Eileen
Vigil Area’s
Upstairs – Attic spaces, Library and all rooms from top of the main staircase.
Downstairs – Silver room, Main entrance, Exhibition Hall
Itinerary
6.30pm Arrive at location
6.45pm Unpack equipment
7.15pm Tour of the building
8pm Begin technical, equipment & experiment set up
8.30pm Break prior to starting vigils
9.00pm Vigil 1
Teams 1 & 2 Downstairs
Teams 3 & 4 Upstairs
10.00pm Break
10.30pm Vigil 2
Teams 1 & 2 Upstairs
Teams 3 & 4 Downstairs
11.30pm Break
12.00am Vigil 3
Teams 1 & 2 Downstairs
Teams 3 & 4 Upstairs
1.00am Long rest break
2.00am Vigil 4
Teams 1 & 2 Upstairs
Teams 3 & 4 Downstairs
3.00am Break
3.30am Vigil 5
Free Vigils – Members can form their own vigil teams and either
Revisit area’s or go to area’s you have not had a chance to
Investigate.
4.30am Shut down all experiments & equipment
5.30am Depart
Locked off Experiments & Camcorders – Technical team led by Simon Steadman, Mark Pettet & mark Wright.
LOCK OFF CAMERAS/EXPERIMENT POSITIONING.
Regimental room -
Web cam over main entrance
Hi 8 lock off cam facing fireplace
Barrier beams covering hallway door
Trigger object (bell on stand) in front of fireplace
Regimental room corridor -
Mini dv lock off cam facing mirror
Digital voice recorder
Library -
3 x web cams centering on the table
Remote temperature logger
Analogue voice recorder
Slate board and pencil on table
Attic rooms 1 - 3
Mini dv lock off cam facing the only entrance
Hi 8 lock off cam facing attic room 2
Barrier beams in Attic room 2 doorway
Remote temperature logger
Exhibition room -
Mini dv lock off cam facing coin trigger object
4 x trigger objects (coins, rosary, ball)
Hi 8 lock off cam facing ‘Bobby’ display
Personal Reports
Julie Harwood
Every investigation with the team is a privilege and this was no less apparent when we arrived at the Wardrobe museum. A beautiful stone building in close proximity to Salisbury Cathedral, it was a splendid building to be able to investigate. As a group we need to be constantly aware of how very lucky we are to be able to have access to some of our countries most historic buildings in the middle of the night when the doors are shut to other members of the public. Whether we catch paranormal activity or not, how lucky we are should remain fore front in our minds!
On arrival we met Alistair our host and were immediately made to feel very welcome as we settled in to our team room (our most magnificent one to date by my reckoning!). It was a long night of investigating ahead so we staggered the night and gave ourselves good breaks to recharge.
Our tech team went to work on setting up numerous static camcorders and camera’s which they linked to laptops and a plethora of trigger objects all around the building. This was the first time that we had a dedicated technical team as such and I would like to thank Simon, Mark P & Mark W for their professional and hard work that night. I know our host was impressed with the way in which our equipment was set up covering as much of the museum as possible.
In regards to historical knowledge of the building, I know I did not read up on it as the location was booked and visited by Marion. This was a bit of a treat for me as I could go in completely “unknowing”. The thing is, even if you do not intend to retain information, if you read about the location etc beforehand there will be aspects of the information you brain keeps even if you think you have forgotten it all.
I was in a team with Marion, Di and our guest Rich. Our first vigil was in the silver & medal room. I did not like this room one bit and felt very claustrophobic in here even though it is not something I suffer with. It smelt funny, a bit like a hospital but I put this down maybe to cleaning products that had been used in here. The museum was immaculate so I am presuming it may have been cleaned after the public had left that day (before we arrived). The smell was making me feel a bit sick and when I said this to Rich he mentioned that Simon & Mark W had experienced something like this earlier in the evening while setting up in this room. I decided to sit outside the room on the little staircase while the others called out in the room. I know Di and Marion both said they picked up things in this room. While sitting on the staircase I could hear noises from the hall next to me. I knew the other team on this floor were at the other end of the display room and no where near the hall. It sounded like someone walking and every time I went out and checked it stopped and there was no one there. At one time, whilst I sat on the stairs I heard a tapping from behind me. I stood up but the door behind me was still shut. The tapping’s were loud enough for the people in the medal/silver room to hear. We then decided to further investigate the sounds in the hall and I believe some quite impressive light anomalies were caught on camcorder down the hall way from the main entrance to the exhibition area. We considered these may be due to dust or particles in the air (even though the museum was spotless and previously mentioned) so we conducted a brief experiment of trying to stir up dust by walking and scuffing our feet on the carpet however no light anomalies were noticed on the camcorder. We then spent a short while in the exhibition area (swapping with Simon’s team who went to the silver room). This area was very quiet for me apart from feeling a little drunk and swaying a lot. I literally had to lean up against a wall to stop myself falling over. The only thing I can put this down to is being a bit disorientated in a room in the dark but with lots of glass around which would have reflected torch light and infra red glare.
After a break our next vigil was on the 1st floor. We headed to the library and settled down making sure we made as little noise as possible as we knew there were teams below us. If I remember rightly Di picked up a lot in this room and was drawn to the book case full of books from the 18 & 1900’s. At one point we heard a very audible whistling noise and there was a definite cold spot between Marion and I on the far side of the room. At one point the table seemed to move (and it was a very large set of tables) however I can not be sure one of us did not lean on it by mistake. We then moved on to hold the remainder of our vigil in the kit room. Kits rooms are often forgotten on investigations and as this was a wonderful room it seemed a shame not to spend at least a little time in there. At first it was very quiet but then towards the end of our time in there we heard movement from upstairs and then a creaking on the floor in the centre of the room. Di felt very emotional like she was waiting in front of the fire for someone to return however after this she felt a sense of elation and wanted to dance around the room. I must admit while I was sat looking into the room from the edge I could imagine lots of people in very large ball dresses spinning around the room dancing as it was definitely that kind of room.
After another break we decided to team up with Simon’s team and hold a joint silent vigil in the exhibition area. We spread ourselves out along the corridors and made sure we all had a pen and a notebook each. We also decided that the only time we would talk was if we wanted to check the time with Simon so we could note something down. I noted immediately that there was a mixed reaction to the suggestion of a silent vigil. By undertaking this I wanted investigators to realise that we do not necessarily have to be calling out all the time, if things are going to happen they may very well happen when there is no noise and we are not trying to get things to react or occur. Marie, Simon and I know from another location that results were quite startling and very interesting after a silent vigil and it is something we should consider doing on more investigations. We do not always need top be calling out all through out our vigils. I found this very interesting. I did not get loads but what I did get, seemed to (when we discussed it afterwards) coincide with experiences or feelings the colleagues I was sat near / next to had.
The next vigil for our team was in the attic spaces. We went straight into attic 2 and settled down immediately. It was a very quiet vigil however towards the end we all heard the sound of people walking around to our side (behind a wall). We radioed Alistair who was with Maria’s team and he said that there were just rafters where we could hear the noise. This confused us and even more so when Simon’s team down below us, radioed us to confirm they could hear the footsteps clearly too. When we finished the vigil we talked for a while with the other teams about the footsteps and ascertained that on the top floor adjacent to the attics there was actually a holiday let property in the building and so even though it was 3am we could not rule out that it was the people in the holiday let moving about. I believe this has been heard before which in my opinion gives even more credence to it being a non paranormal event. I think in this case, rationally thinking, there is too much “possible” human intervention for it to be classed as a possible paranormal occurrence.
For the last vigil of the night I decided to join Rachel in the silver room as I was keen to see if I felt the same in there as I had at the beginning of the evening. I must admit the smell had changed in there but it was still not normal. I can not say it was unpleasant, just not right. Even for a smoker, I have a pretty good sense of smell but just could not decide what it smelt like this time. Rachel’s team had had a very interesting vigil in the silver room earlier on in the night and I was keen to see if the activity would repeat. The room was fairly quiet to begin with but there were definite cold spots and neither Rachel or I liked the chair in the room. It had been a long night and our feet were tired but we still did not want to stand near it let alone sit in it. Suddenly even though I was only carrying a torch, something clattered on the stone floor near my feet. I turned the torch on immediately and looked down but there was nothing near my feet and nothing on the floor anywhere in the room. Apparently this had happened when Rachel’s team were in this room earlier. Simon & Eileen then joined us and we called out but nothing else was noted.
This was the end of a long, quiet but very interesting night for me. I just loved this building and felt so at ease here. I could have lived here quite happily!
Thank you to the museum and Alistair for facilitating our visit and thank you to Marion for booking it for the group.
Marie Holder
Introduction
I arrived at the location at around 6.15 and was very impressed with the building from the outside and couldn’t wait to get inside to have a look around. I did not know quite what to expect as the name ‘Wardrobe Museum’ threw me a little as it did other members of the team but I was very excited to be in such a wonderful old building. Maria, Marion, Alison and I conducted baseline tests after the initial tour by our host, Alistair and then we got into our teams ready to start the vigils.
Team: Simon (Team Leader), Mark W, Mark P, Amanda and Marie
Vigil 1 – Downstairs
Amanda and I took one part of the exhibition room and the boys took another part. We settled down to see if we could pick anything up and while in this area I heard a lot of taps and creaks which I thought may have been the lights settling but the noises seem to be coming from the corner of the room where there were no lights. I also heard a thud on the floor which sounded like somebody stamping their foot on the floor. We then joined the rest of the team. Nothing else unusual was experienced by me in this area.
Medal Room
We then moved on to the Medal Room, I sat on the stairs for a while and then joined the rest of the team in the room itself but I did not experience anything in this area.
Vigil 2 – Upstairs
After a break, our team made our way to the attics which I was particularly looking forward to as during the baselines the atmosphere in the last room was a bit menacing. When I reached the top of the stairs I made a bee-line for the last room (attic 3) with Amanda who felt quite uncomfortable in this area as she was picking up on an intimidating male presence who did not like females. We stood in this area for a few minutes and I thought I heard rustling coming from the end of one of the rows of costumes. The rest of the team joined us and as it was only a small room I came out and Simon decided to call out but he got no response.
Library
We moved down to the library and Simon and Mark P decided to go up into the other attic and conducted a vigil up there while Amanda, Mark W and I stayed in the library. I decided to try some automatic writing as I had never attempted this experiment before but unfortunately I got no response, however, both Amanda and I felt the table we were sitting at vibrate and although my hand wasn’t moving, I felt the pencil I was holding move downwards. Towards the end of the vigil I felt the atmosphere in the room get heavier and I got a headache and began to feel nauseous so I was glad when that vigil ended and I did not want to go back into that room.
Vigil 3 – Downstairs
Exhibition room
Teams 1 & 2 decided to join forces for this hour and conduct a silent vigil where you just sat quietly with a pen, paper and torch and wrote down your experiences without telling anybody else. I sat by the grave marker exhibit and this is what I recorded:-
12.40am Click heard above and to the right of me 12.44am Thud heard to the left of me 12.45am Two taps heard 12.52am Tingling sensation all over my body and my breathing got faster also had a feeling somebody was watching me 12.59am Flash of light seen above me thought it might have been other teams taking pictures but they were upstairs.
Conclusion
Unfortunately that was it for me as I had to leave the vigil at this point, which was disappointing (but necessary!) My favourite area had to be attic 3, I would have liked to have stayed up there a bit longer or maybe gone back up there with less people as I definitely felt something was up there that didn’t want us there! I would like to thank Alister, our host, for showing us round and not telling us anything!
Marion McCaffery
I arrived with Sarah Couper and Mark Pettit. Whilst getting the kit out of the car I could hear monks chanting and asking other members who were stood around at that time a couple of them could also hear the sound.
From the outside I imagined it being a large store area in earlier times with the monks looking after the grain etc here.
After touring the building with our guide for the night Alistair, we started our separate vigils.
The building consisted of a cellar, two separate floors, and 4 attics or top rooms.
I was in Julie’s group along with Di Moore and Rich.
Medal Room
We carried out temp reading and took photos. Di called out first. I got the name Arthur and also for some reason the Bishop of Salisbury. There was tapping noises behind where Julie was sat outside. I got the name Margaret.
Exhibition Room.
This was a large area of coverage as it went round in a semi circle. There are many different wars covered in this exhibition. I found this area very quite although there were a few noises but it could have been things cooling down etc.
Library
I got the name Henrietta. Margaret, Dr Grove. We also heard tapping noises, whistling and it was cold in certain areas of the library.
Regimental Room
Again I got the name Margaret who I feel lived and died in this house. She would have lived to about late 80’s early 90s and she was the last person to have had this house as it was then. I also got the name James Hussey and for some reason King Charles connected with this property. Although we went in all the attics, I found these areas very quite and there was not a lot of activity. Although other members of my group may have a different take on things. It was the usual clicking or tapping noises but when asked to respond there were no answers to our questions.
Overall this is a beautiful building with a lot of history behind it. I got a lot of names for this vigil for some reason. Names are impressed upon me either as a whispering in the ear or an impression in my memory. Although I get this sort of information I would also like to get a bit more like everyone else e.g. sightings, noises etc. I wish I had had a bit more happening but I found this whole evening very quite.
Simon Steadman
Team 2 leader
During set up the lock off cameras in the Regimental room (the rest of the team and the host Alistair were downstairs) Mark W and I heard footsteps from the attic room, on investigation we found nothing out of place and as we made our way down the stairs we heard them again along with a shuffle noise. We discovered that the people in the holiday let were just leaving so we put the noise down to them but we are both still unsure if it was these people or something else. On checking the footage from the lock off mini dv there is no discernable noise either in the room or on the stairs.
Vigil 1 team 2
Team members - Simon, Mark P, Mark W, Amanda, Marie.
Exhibition room.
E.M.F - none
Temp - 26
During this vigil everything was quiet, so after 30 mins we moved to the silverware room.
Silverware room
E.M.F - none
Temp - 24-27
As soon as we walked in the room seemed to have a medical smell that the whole team picked up on. We assumed that this was from the silver polish so thought nothing more about it until Alistair confirmed that nothing other than regular cleaning products are used.
We seemed to have problems with the walkie-talkies as they kept picking up static. The team was split up into smaller groups, Amanda and Marie were in the room, Mark and Mark were in the shop area and I was in the cellar. At 9.47 we all heard a loud metallic clatter that came from the room. We all checked the floor and found nothing out of place and this remains unexplained. Shortly after this the light in the locked toilets went off, we were told that these lights are on a sensor that makes them turn on when someone enters and switches off approximately 10 mins after exiting, although this light was on for at least 45 minutes during our vigil and we can confirm that no-one entered the toilet so this also remains unexplained.
Vigil 2 Team 2
Attic rooms
E.M.F - none
Temp - 17.6
After exploring the weaponry stored in these rooms we sat down to call out. There was an odd feeling of being watched in these rooms but nothing else was captured.
Library/ Attic room 4
While the team settled and called out in the library Mark P and I decided to explore the attic. After debunking the light anomalies caught (by photographing some deliberate dust) we called out and on doing so Mark P’s torch went out. We tried this numerous times and had the same effect in the same place. This was caught on mini dv. The rest of the vigil was quiet.
Vigil 3 Team 2
Exhibition rooms - silent vigil with team 1
We all settled down and all wrote our own personal experiences here is mine.
12.21 - click to the left 12.23 - warm breeze (debunked due to two radiators behind me) 12.25 - muffled voice (could have been other team noise) 12.30 - low scraping noise 12.31 - 2 x taps heard from left 12.35 - tap to the left 12.37 -musty smell that lasted aprox 20 seconds 12.39 - 2 x taps from left 12.41 - tap from above 12.42 - flower like smell that lasted aprox 30 seconds and a very odd noise that I cannot really describe to me it sounded like an animal 12.43 - 2 x taps quite loud 12.53 - cold breeze from left 12.54 - low whistle 12.58 - shuffling noise (could have been other team)
Vigil 4 Team 2
Archive room and Regimental room
The team split into 2 groups myself and Amanda in the Archive room and Mark P, Marie and Mark W in the regimental room
After aprox 15 mins we both noticed that the room appeared darker as if someone was about to enter, then a succession of taps and clicks from around the room. We asked for the ’spirits’ to affect the other team members. After 30 mins we joined the rest of our team in the regimental room. Whilst in there the barrier beams by the door went off as the door opened, the door was wedged shut with a pen on checking in the corridor we noticed that two of the pictures on the wall were slightly angled the pictures were of ’Hogg’ and ’Roden’ unfortunately we had no prior photographic evidence to clarify that these pictures were straight so this cannot be classed as convincing evidence.
- during the break the barrier beams went off again as the door opened, this happened quite a few times during the night and as the door was tightly wedged shut it is quite compelling but inconclusive.
Vigil 5 Attic rooms
Simon and Eileen
A few clicks were heard on this vigil but were later debunked as the timer for the heater in this room.
After 30 mins we joined Julie and Rachel in the silverware room asking for the same noise that multiple teams heard on previous vigils, no noise was heard but the toilet light went off again without anyone entering or exiting.
On this vigil we also tried to get a response from ’Bobby’ this is a pet of a regiment that is displayed but no evidence was captured.
Conclusion
On the whole this location is very impressive and due to the evidence captured by all teams on this investigation I would say that it definitely deserves further study and possibly a longer investigation. My thanks go out to Alistair for being a great and very helpful host who is very knowledgeable on both the location and the alleged phenomena that has occurred on previous investigations. The wardrobe rifles museum is one of my new favourite locations and personally I can’t wait to go back and re-investigate this fantastic and interesting place.
Rachel Steadman
Team leader - team 4
I was looking forward to this investigation as it seemed I hadn’t done one for so long, I have to admit I had never heard of the place but was expecting it to be a lot smaller, so was impressed to start with.
To start the night, myself, Sarah, Eileen and Maureen set up trigger objects in the exhibition room, we placed two coins on the George and Victoria display, and two coins on the WW2 display from the correct time period, a small ball was placed in front of Bobby the dog, and a rosary was placed on a drum in front of the WW1 display. A cross was put on the table in the silver room and 3 marbles in the library.
Team 4 - Rachel, Maureen, Sarah and Eileen
Vigil 1 - Library
Temp - 19-21
After settling down and sitting quietly for 10 minutes Sarah started to call out, within a few minutes the walkie-talkie started to play up, with static. We later found out all teams had the same problem. Eileen felt as if some one was stood on the other side of the door (9.20) Maureen tried calling out and said she felt apprehensive for no reason. I did an E.M.F sweep at 9.25 but got no readings. Shortly after this as I was writing notes, Sarah thought she saw a light near my hand on the monitor (9.28). This room was quiet for us although Eileen thought she saw the lights from one of the infra red cameras go out for a brief second. I nipped off to the kit room to swap the walkie-talkie and when I got back it picked up a static crackle again. Sarah asked if a spirit could affect the walkie-talkie and it did crackle again, although with the problems we had with them I can not put this down to paranormal activity. Maureen and Eileen both reported random drafts and hot and cold flushes. 9.50 Eileen and Maureen moved to the regimental room while Sarah and I stayed in the library, but we detected nothing unusual.
Vigil 2 - Exhibition room
Temp - 18 - 19
We quietly walked around and then settled near to the WW2 collection, Sarah had the impression of dancing in this area, and Eileen mentioned she could smell sweat, Maureen had a shiver and felt as though she was being watched from within the room. Eileen heard a noise right next to her which we tried to recreate but couldn’t, so this is at the moment unexplained. At 11.20 Maureen, Sarah and I all heard a short sharp distant whistle. I radioed the other teams but none had whistled, so this is also still unexplained.
Vigil 3 Attics 1&2
Temp 16 - 17
This was the quietest vigil of the night, to be honest nothing happened in these rooms, we tried a glass divination with no luck, so Sarah and I moved to attic 4 while Maureen and Eileen stayed in attic 2, while we were in attic 4 nothing really happened, although both Sarah and I got a little giggly. After reviewing the video there does appear to be a tiny bright light that flashes on the back wall, although this needs to be looked at further before any judgment can be made.
Vigil 4 - Silver room
Temp 19 - 20
Not long after we settled in here we heard the sound of footsteps above us. Other teams confirmed the room above was empty (2.25) and shortly after this (2.27) a dull thud was heard from the same area. At 2.28 all team members thought Eileen had dropped a Pen or something similar, as a loud clatter was heard right by her feet. Eileen exclaimed s**t and jumped out of the chair. We all put torches on and scoured the area but found nothing. We asked Alistair to come and put the lights on and again scoured the floor of the entire room but found nothing at all. (I have watched the video, it was not pointed at Eileen at this time but the noise can be heard very clearly).
Maureen tried dowsing rods while I asked questions
Did you work here - yes
Are you male - no
Were you female staff - yes
Did you enjoy working here - yes
Did you die here - no
19th century (1800’s) - yes
Can you do something else for us - yes
Can you tell a team member your name - yes Maureen then suggested the name Sarah
Will you come to the cellar with us - yes
Can you drop the temperature near to Sarah - yes
Can you touch Sarah - yes, shortly after this Sarah said she felt as if some one had walked past her.
At 2.41 the motion activated light in the toilet went out, no one had been in that room all night.
Cellar
Temp 13
After a short while in the cellar, Eileen felt something very gently brush her arm, she was convinced I had touched her by accident (2.51). A couple of minutes later Sarah thought something and brushed her ear/hair (2.56).
Maureen used dowsing rods again while I asked questions
Are you still here - yes
Were you younger than 40 - yes
Can you do something for another team - yes
Vigil 5 - The Silver room
On this vigil just Julie and I returned to the Silver room, as we had both had interesting experiences in there. As soon as we walked through the door we both heard a shuffle in the corner, and shortly after this we heard a loud clatter on the floor near to Julie’s feet, very similar to the one I heard previously with my team, then another quieter noise was heard. We took it in turns to call out but got no definite responses, Both Julie and I felt uncomfortable near to the chair. I did see a possible light anomaly near to the chair which made us both feel a little nervous. Simon and Eileen joined us so we all took a final walk around the exhibition room but we caught no evidence.
Conclusion
I would really like to return to this location as it definitely needs more investigation. All teams seemed to experience something, and a lot seemed to happen in the Silver room especially noises. A lot of various sounds were heard by all teams, all night. Thank you to our host for the evening Alistair, who had a fantastic knowledge of the building, the artifacts in it and the paranormal activities previously reported.
Maureen Taylor
As we approached it was clear to see that this was not only a beautiful building, but an ancient one as well, I was looking forward to spending the night within its walls…and wasn’t disappointed.
Before the vigils
We went around the building setting up a number of trigger objects, and as we were setting some up in the library, I was standing with both my hands on the edge of the central table, and was quite sure that I felt something behind me - is there a phantom bottom-pincher around the place?????
Vigil 1 - the library
I decided to take a seat close to where I had stood when we set up the trigger objects, curious to see if anything more happened here. Our radio was warbling away at regular intervals, definitely something it shouldn’t be doing, and every time Rachel tried to use it, it turned itself off, but we later decided that perhaps it was a faulty one, so we used a different one for the rest of the night as there were several spares available.
9.14 Sarah and I both commented that we are aware of someone walking behind us, I felt that it – sorry, he or she – was pacing up and down the room. 9.17 Eileen and I (on opposite sides of the table) got a feeling of someone about to walk in through the door. Sarah was sitting at the laptop near the window and just a second or so before she called out I sensed someone standing behind me. Sarah felt chilly. 9.29 A draught across the back of my right leg just above the ankle – it may have been a draught up the stairs and through the door, but no-one else was aware of any draughts. 9.45 Every team’s radio goes off, but it seemed that nobody had called anyone on any of them. 9.50 Radio warbled for several seconds. Eileen and I decided to leave the library and spend our last few minutes in the Regiment room. 9.53 I was taking a photo looking out through the door and felt something behind me. When I turned to walk back into the room it felt as if it was following me.
During our first break a pair of motion sensors positioned across one of the doors leading out of the Regiment Room was set off for no apparent reason, and at the same time several radios also went off.
Vigil 2 – Exhibition Rooms
All quiet and very dark.
9.53 I have a feeling that I am being watched, but it’s someone who doesn’t want to come forward and talk to us.
9.57 I hear a thump on the floor close to my right hand side, a bit like a single, heavy footstep, not sure if the others heard it though.
In the space between Bobby the dog and the nearby door both Sarah and I feel a cold spot, and feel that someone has followed us as we walked back through the door. Although they didn’t follow us very far.
10.10 I have a sharp pain in my index finger near the knuckle. A few minutes later it changes to my left index finger. I have an urge to swap my pen from my left hand to my right, feeling that there is someone with us who objects to me writing left-handed. As soon as I start trying to write with my right hand the pain stops. Normally when I write with my right hand it’s near illegible, but this time I can actually read my notes quite clearly and the writing is reasonably neat. The mental image I’m getting is of a child of maybe seven or eight years of age being punished for using the ‘wrong’ hand to write with. She has been made to sit bolt upright on a chair, her arms round a backboard. I am also getting another image of her with her hands restrained in a pair of ‘finger-stocks (see http://www.tts-group.co.uk/Product.aspx?cref=TTSPR594796&rid=54&cid=6 for picture of finger-stocks, and http://www.tts-group.co.uk/Product.aspx?cref=TTSPR594798&rid=54&cid=6 for one of a backboard). She is not however, in the room in which we are sitting; at least, I don’t think so. I’m also getting some words in my head. I think I asked a question, though hadn’t actually put it in words, either out loud or in my head, so I can’t quite remember the precise question I asked, but the part of the answer came back to me as ‘if it was necessary’, which I took to mean that the person in question, I think a governess, was telling me that she used both backboard and finger-stocks on her pupils if she felt that their misdemeanours required such punishment.
We all hear a whistling, we call other teams on the radio to find out if it’s any of them – it isn’t.
Nearing the end of the vigil several of us hear a thump on the floor, it’s near enough identical to the one I’d heard earlier.
Vigil 3 – the attics
Attic 1 – very quiet in here, for me nothing happened.
Attic 2 – nothing but a smell of dust and old sawdust
While the others went up the ladder to attic 4 Eileen and I sat in attic 1, but still felt nothing, very quiet here.
Vigil 4 – the Silver Room
2.15 am We hear noises coming form somewhere above us, we think it’s from the library, archives and kitchen, but when we call up the other teams on the radio it seems that no-one is moving about up there. More thuds after Rachel called out.
2.25 Something was heard to drop on the floor somewhere near where Eileen was sitting. At first we thought it was her pen or pencil. She was quite startled by it, then realised that she had nothing either in her hands or in her pockets that would make such a noise when it was dropped. We asked for the lights to be turned on so that we could have a look around the floor to see what it was – having searched just about the entire floor (a stone floor with no coverings) we found nothing there.
I got out my dowsing rods, we seemed to be picking up on someone who worked in the building in the 1800s, her name was Sarah, but we didn’t get much more information from her than that.
We then moved down to the cellar, we are fairly sure that Sarah followed us down there – but unfortunately I didn’t make any notes at this point as I had my hands full, and I’m unable to remember much about this part of the vigil .
Vigil 5
Some of us headed back up to the Regiment Room (our base room for the night). We had little activity here but in all a very quiet vigil.
A great night in a wonderful building (really must go back and see it in daylight sometime), and thanks to Alistair for his assistance throughout the night, I’d love to be able to go back there sometime for another investigation.
Amanda Horley
Despite having visited many of the museums in Salisbury, this was one that I didn’t know and I was looking forward to seeing what the building held. It was nice to arrive when it was still daylight, and the building had some lovely features from the outside.
During the initial walk around I felt uncomfortable up in the attic area, particularly in attic 3 and was again not comfortable in the exhibition hall where the stuffed dog (bobby) was. It felt as if there was energy present there related to the dog, and it was quite un-nerving encountering an energy actually attached to its former body.
I was in a team with the two Marks, Simon and Marie and we started our vigils on the ground floor, initially positioning ourselves in various parts of the exhibition hall. Both Marie and I felt that the silence in that area was too “loud”. It seemed very intense. There were several knocks and clicks from the ceiling, the type that you would get from a strip light as it cools down. However, the lighting in there was not of this type, so we were unable to work out where the noises were coming from. I moved along to the area where the stuffed dog was, and again felt that there was a fuzzy energy surrounding the body. I put out my hand towards the glass cabinet, and it felt very warm in that area. The temperature gun was recording some very strange fluctuations in temperature around my hand which were quite disturbing, but during the next break we discovered that the temperature gun was also showing wide fluctuations on a table in the team room, so it looks as if it may have developed a fault.
Half way through the vigil we swapped with team 1 and moved into the silver room. The room felt very empty to me although there were several knocks and bangs that we couldn’t pin down. Part way through this vigil, the light in the toilets turned off. We know that the switch was motion sensitive, but no-one had been in there since the vigils started some 45 minutes earlier, and the light should have gone off much earlier than that.
After a break our next vigil was in the attics. I went through to attic 3 as it had several guns, swords and uniforms in it, but I wasn’t drawn to any of them in particular. There was still the feeling of an un-nerving presence here, and I felt that it was male, and taller than Simon. He didn’t like women, and was connected to the house rather than the military items there. He would have been an owner rather than a servant. The other two attic areas were quiet for me, and as before, we swapped with team 1 at the mid-point of the vigil. We decided to go into the library, but this room was very quiet for me and I didn’t pick up on anything here.
Following the next break we joined forces with team 1 and tried a silent vigil in the exhibition areas. For this we kept completely silent and if we heard, felt or saw anything, we made a note of it along with the time. I was sat in one corner of the long corridor in the room and picked up on the following:
* 12.18 The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up on the left side of my head.
* 12.23 I could hear children’s voices outside in the distance.
* 12.24 There was a flowery perfume smell in front of me.
* 12.27 I again heard the children outside. They seemed quite distant this time.
* 12.31 There was a click or tap from beyond where the stuffed dog was.
* 12.35 It sounded as if something was moving on the carpet in front of me.
* 12.36 There was a tap overhead.
* 12.39 There was a tap overhead.
* 12.42 I heard a noise like a sharp intake of breath.
* 12.43 There were two taps on the carpet in front of me.
* 12.47 My back felt warm, but the radiator next to me was cold.
* 12.50 There was a tap overhead down the corridor followed by a second one nearer to me.
* 12.55 There was a cold draft across my face and hands, and a cold spot remained in front of me about three feet off the ground for about half a minute.
This was the first time I have done this type of experiment, and I was very surprised at how fast the time went. A quick check amongst the team revealed some interesting similarities, so it will be interesting to see the final reports.
We then split back into the two separate teams, and our team decided to split up between the team room and the archive room. Simon and I sat in the archive room which felt incredibly light and airy for such a small room. We weren’t having a lot of success in asking for noises in the archive room, so Simon asked out for a noise in the library. Although we didn’t hear anything, the team downstairs immediately radioed and asked if anyone was moving around in the library as they had heard noises above them. There were then 3 or 4 loud taps in our room which seemed to move across from behind Simon towards the window. Simon then asked out for something to happen in the team room. The two Marks were in there and heard footsteps and noises from above them. Team 1 (who were in the attics) then radioed to say that they had heard footsteps and noises the other side of the wall running along the attic. Unfortunately, there was a couple staying in the holiday flat that ran alongside the attic, and whilst we did not hear any noise from the flat during the rest of the night, we cannot rule out the possibility that they were moving around at the point in time, and that it was merely co-incidence that they happened to move around just as Simon asked out for something to happen. Although nothing further happened on this vigil, the atmosphere in the room became more intense, and less light.
For the final vigil we had free choice of where to investigate and I chose to sit in the team room. The room was however very quiet and I did not pick up on anything during this vigil.
This building was a lovely location to investigate, having all the appearance of an old mansion, but on a smaller scale. I think it is definitely worth a second visit as we had a lot of trouble with equipment (radios and temperature guns) that doesn’t normally play up and I would be interested to see if it happened again on a second visit. Big thanks have to go to Alistair who looked after us so well during the night, and is so enthusiastic about the place.
Maria Street
I didn’t really know what to expect from this place. All I knew is that is was a museum based around the military. I picked Di up and we drove the short distance to Salisbury to meet with the others. Di knew less about it than I did and actually thought we were going to a museum of wardrobes. The giggles soon subsided to silent awe when we first set eyes on the building. It was stunning and really invited you in to see more.
Our team room was set in the magnificent Regimental Room and we soon got to work setting up equipment and experiments. We conducted the baselines whilst following our host, Alistair, for the tour.
I was in Team 3 with Alison, Kieran, Jane, and our host, Alistair. We started in Attic room no. 2. We sat quietly and waited for everybody else to settle into their vigils, then we just listened for a while. The name of Simon popped into my head, but Simon had not long been up here setting up motion sensors and cameras, so this could just so easily have been my subconscious at work. We carried on and started to call out. We could hear taps coming from Attic room no. 1 but further investigation showed there was nobody there. We tried some table tipping as Alistair had very kindly provided us with a small table but it stayed still. Kieran felt he had no feeling in his left eye which was very interesting and Alistair felt there was somebody stood behind him. Alison felt the room was getting slightly more malevolent, as if somebody was getting very angry. I called out once more and asked if any spirit will allow us into adjoining rooms and immediately a flash was seen above Alison’s head, just at the entrance to Attic room 3. A few more flashes were seen in this area and a quick check to ascertain if anybody was taking photographs proved negative. I would have to say anyway that it would be impossible to see camera flashes in this area, considering where the other teams were and the flashes were too localised to be cameras. If a camera flash were to be seen it would have been at the entrance to Attic room 1, not above Alison’s head or above the entrance to Attic room 2, or further on in Attic room 2 which is where they appeared and seemingly in answer to calling out. Time was of the essence so we made our way into Attic room 3 where all the military uniform was kept. I didn’t like it in here but didn’t know why. I just felt we were being watched. Alison picked up on an angry man in this area and also, very strangely, piracy and the Cutty Sark. She strongly believed there was a solid object pertaining to this ship somewhere in the museum. Alistair had no knowledge of this unfortunately but Alison was adamant. It seems this angry man had followed us from other quarters of the house and it seemed he left us when we reminded him there were others in the building. I had the name of George in this room.
After a break we made our way to the Silver Room, so called because it housed all the silverware, either belonging to or having been presented to the military. There was a real feeling of heaviness in this room and the motion sensor above us kept flashing even though we were perfectly still. Alison felt she had been punched in the mouth in here.
We made our way to the stairs where Alison had seen a figure earlier on in the evening. We sat quietly and noticed the plinth at the bottom of the stair case made two loud noises. We decide to hold a séance and link hands. Jane then felt she should start singing ‘Ring o’ ring o’ roses’. We laughed because we were in a circle holding hands but Alison knew there was once a plague pit just a stone’s throw from the museum and we wonder if it was a clue. We quietly sang a couple of verses in the hope of rousing something, but nothing was really forthcoming.
The next place for us to investigate was the cellar. I stayed on the stairs as this was the only place I could stand up and the others made their way towards the back. After a few minutes I could see Alistair rummaging around but I couldn’t see why. It wasn’t long before the others called me over in a state of excitement. Alistair was holding a ship’s barometer with the inscription of Cutty Sark 1869. This was truly amazing and I felt glad for Alison who had been so adamant of this link. We have no idea why it should be in this place but the fact is, it is!
Our next vigil was to be held in the library and we all sat round the large table. After ten minutes of sitting quietly, Alison felt somebody was either stood or had been seen by the main doorway. She also felt that there were a lot of people walking from the doorway across the room and out through a door which is no longer there. Kieran got the picture of a very angry man who is drinking, possibly whisky. He felt this man was about to lose a house and he is writing furiously. He gets the name of Albert or Alfred associated with this man and Alistair gets the name of Albert Coles. We called out and I asked for this man to confirm he was with us by letting us hear him in some way, by a tap or his footsteps. Footsteps were then heard from above. After a quick check with the team upstairs they confirm they had been still and had not moved. Alison did not like the feeling in the library at all and felt we should not antagonise. I wanted to carry on so questioned in a non-threatening manner but once again, this man backed off.
After another welcome break we made our way to the Exhibition Room. It was here that I picked up on a young man named Tom with a possible surname of Fairchild. I felt he was clean shaven with sandy coloured hair and that he was Canadian and a member of the RAF. I felt he died very young, leaving behind a fiancée by the name of Millie. He was dressed in Navy with a peaked cap and had two gold stripes on his arm. Alistair confirmed this man had been picked up on before.
For our last vigil we chose where we would like to go back to. I chose the Archives room because this is where I had felt awful on the walk round and had had to get out. This time however it felt absolutely fine and after a while of calling out and sitting quietly we decided to join some of the others in the Regimental Room. I had the name of Thomas Madison in here. Bizarrely I also got ‘Brands Hatch’ and ‘St Martin’s in the Field’ I have no idea what either means, if anything. Maybe it was just an overtired brain! I also picked up on a lady in here, and, although Alistair had mentioned a lady in this room, I had completely forgotten that. I felt this lady was dressed in green, which Alistair confirmed (he hadn’t mentioned that before) and I also got the name of Isabella. I also felt she was a titled Lady. She was Lady Isabella. Could this have all been the workings of a subconscious mind? Obviously, the lady part of all this had already been mentioned, whether I had forgotten it or not. I suppose we will never know. I would like to thank Marion for arranging this after a day’s visit to the museum and for doing the pre-investigation visit. I know how hard it is to secure locations and this was a cracker. I would also like to thank Alistair for his willingness, helpfulness and for being a congenial host. You worked well in our team, as did the other three members of my team. It was a pleasure to work with you all. Lastly, I would like to thank Julie for her continued hard work on behalf of us all. Without her we could not indulge our hobby quite so frequently, professionally or so passionately.
Sarah Couper
The wardrobe museum was set in a quadrant, it was not an excessively large building, but it was large enough for the teams to investigate without disturbing each other too much. The museum held some interesting artefacts and our guide, Alistair, was very accommodating and helpful to the group.
Team 4 Rachel, myself, Maureen and Eileen
Before we began vigils, as experiment team, we had to go round and set up the experiments. We set some objects (under lock off cameras) in various locations, took photos and recorded positions.
Vigil one Library
We settled into library, we all took photos and readings. I set up my digital recorder. We began by calling out – asking for noises, touch, movement etc. I felt a tingling sensation and Maureen also felt a similar sensation. I moved over to sit in front of the camera hub. I thought I saw movement several times on the edge of camera 2. We called out, but our walkie-talkie kept playing up – Rachel had to go and change it. When she returned we called out again and the new walkie-talkie also started buzzing, I asked if this was someone else in the room and if so to make the noise again, and again it happened. We asked it to try and make the emf move but nothing happened. We checked with the other teams to see if they were having trouble with the WT, but they were not. We asked out again and again the WT responded. Despite requests to move things nothing happened.
Vigil 2 Exhibition rooms
We walked round the rooms familiarising ourselves with the lay out and taken photos. We settled in one area and called out – no responses. I got the distinct impression that this room was used for dancing at one time. At one point we heard a low whistle (which was not made by any of the other teams nor anyone in our group). We asked for it to happen again but it didn’t. Maureen felt she was being told off for being left handed and felt she was being made to write right handed. Rachel got change on EMF but we could not get it to happen again.
Vigil 3 Attics 2&3
Dusty with an odd smell. We took photos. We tried a glass divination, but had no response. Rachel and I moved to attic 4 – here we heard lots of creaks and taps but never in response to our calling out. It sounded more like normal house settling noises.
Vigil 4 Silver Room and cellar
We took photos and settled into the room. I was filming on this vigil. We asked out and we heard a couple of knocks above us, we checked that no one was above us – there was not. We the heard a clatter, like something heavy/metal hitting the floor right by Eileen. Eileen thought she had dropped something so I shone my torch on to the area whilst Eileen got up – there was nothing there. We switched all the room’s lights on and did a thorough search of the floor and found nothing that would account for the noise. We switched off lights and settled down. I thought i heard footsteps outside of the room then Rachel thought she saw someone pass the room. Again it could not be accounted for as a person from another team. Maureen started using her rods and began to get responses to questions we were asking. The ‘spirit’ responded to the name Sarah, so Rachel introduced me and asked her to affect me in some way, I got the sensation that someone had walked past me very closely.
We then moved to the cellar. We asked out again here. Eileen felt something touch her arm and then almost directly after something touched my hair and ear.
Vigil 5 Free vigil – Kit room
I was feeling the effects of tiredness especially after the last active vigil. We settled into the room and took photos. Nothing seemed to be happening and the energy seemed to have dipped, probably because the group’s energy as a whole was winding down.
We packed up our kit and dismantled experiments at the end of the investigation there appeared to have been no movement on any of the experiments.
Overview:
Overall it was an interesting location with activity seeming to peak for the majority of teams between 2 and 3 in the morning. I would definitely like to go back there and do more investigations, maybe also in the flat above the museum as well.
Mark Wright
One thing I love about doing what we do is the places we get to visit. Even if we find nothing paranormal it is a privilege to have access to places like the Wardrobe Museum long after the doors have closed to everyone else.
Alistair, our guide for the evening, met us and after everyone arrived and unpacked the team had a tour whilst Simon S, Mark P and I setup the camcorders, lock offs and Dictaphones. We also set up beam breakers to secure one of the lock off areas and the attic. Mark P setup a DVR system in the library to cover all angles, a trigger object was left on the table.
Downstairs we setup a camera in the Silver room, along with a trigger object strafed by beam breakers. In the military Museum we setup a camcorder on a ball that was used as a trigger object.
The first vigil saw us covering downstairs, the Silver room and the military museum. During the setup I felt very uncomfortable in the silver room, as soon as I left the room I felt fine again, but the second I walked in there to start the vigil I felt very sick, there was a strong smell of what I think was silver polish but whether this is what made me feel ill I am not sure.
Moving on into the military museum we sat silently, spread out around the two walk ways. Mark P and Simon asked out and we seemed to get a couple of responses on the K2.
After a break and a tape change we headed upstairs to the attic where Amanda got a strong link to somebody hiding in one of the back rooms where a lot of weapons and clothing were stored.
Moving to the library we all sat around the table and called out, I saw a book pull out from one of the shelves, it didn’t come off the shelf but it seemed to be pulled forward. Mark P checked this out and did say it seemed that the book was not level with the others. Hopefully it was caught on the DVR.
Later on in the evening we were back in the kit room, Mark P & I were sat in on the sofas calling out whilst Team 1 where in the attic above us. We heard definite movement in an area that was locked off to us. It sounded like footsteps and dragging. We radioed team one and they confirmed they had also heard it whilst they were sat still and in silence in the attic. After the vigil we mentioned this to Alistair who confirmed that unfortunately there was an occupied holiday flat above us so this ruled out any possibility of paranormal activity.
Back down in the military museum on a free vigil, Alison, Rich & myself stood trying to pick up on something, I got the image of someone crawling on their elbows through a door coming towards us and reaching up with his/her hand, this was extremely vivid. I didn’t actually see anything; it was more in my minds eye.
After this we went back upstairs to pack everything up and pose for a team photo.
It was a fairly quiet night all in all, a few strange events did happen that I would like to follow up on if possible and it would be a privilege to visit the Wardrobe again.
Mark Pettet
When I arrived at the museum and got inside I felt some apprehension towards the night ahead.
Vigil 1. Exhibition rooms/medal room.
The team got themselves into positions around the exhibition rooms and sat quietly for a few moments whilst other teams upstairs got themselves sorted and into positions. Simon started to call out to see if we could get any reaction. Mark W noticed that the lights flickered on the EMF reader when it was placed on the floor and not near any electrical sources. The team then gathered round around a glass cabinet containing 'Bobby' a stuffed dog. Amanda had the feeling that her hand felt hot so we put the infrared Thermometer pointing towards it. To say this was very strange it went between 25°C and the highest that we recorded was 81°C. Apart from that it was very quiet in that room. We moved over to the medal room and I did not like it. In there was an unpleasant smell and I felt sick which may be down to the unevenness of the stone floor, for some reason I could not stay in the room with all of my body so I laid down in such a way that half of my body was in the corridor and half in the room.
Vigil 2. The first floor/Attic 1&2.
The team moved up to the attic area on the left side of the building, towards the back of the room there was a smaller room in which there were hanging rails full of uniforms and also old dress swords. Amanda was picking up something in this room but I could not say for sure it was. We then moved down to the library and sat there for a little while, and then Simon and I went up into attic two. When we were up there I had trouble with my torch turning off which was strange as I had plenty of battery life left in it so I could not explain that. Apart from that, nothing out of the ordinary happened there.
Vigil 3. Silent sitting/exhibition rooms.
The team tried an experiment to sit in silence and to have one person writing down any thing that other team members heard or experienced which was Simon. Unfortunately it was very quiet and I did not experience or hear anything in this vigil.
Mark W and I sat quietly in the kit room. We heard noises from above us and also Julie who was in the Attic room also heard the same noises. Later we found out that there were living quarters above us so the noises could of been the occupants moving around. When this vigil was over and most of the teams were back in the kit room the barrier beams on one of the doors went off for no apparent reason. When we looked behind the door into the corridor at pictures on the wall we noticed the pictures were not straight but unfortunately we did not know whether these pictures were straight at the start of the night so we straightened them up and took photos but unfortunately the pictures did not move again.
Di Moore
On the way to Salisbury I was talking to Maria ( who was driving that night ) and discovered that the Wardrobe Museum was in fact a Military Museum, well there was me thinking I could walk into a Wardrobe shut the door and well who knows.
We arrived and were shown round, on the walk around we went into Attic 3. This was filled with uniforms all hanging up on rails, I walked in but soon backed out I had a feeling of someone standing there, spooked me, then I felt lightheaded.
The investigations started at about 21.00 hrs. I was in team 1 with Julie (Team Leader ) Marion and Rich.
Silver Room
We entered The Silver Room and settled in, my first thing I wanted to do was close the door which lead to some toilets this door was a heavy door and I could not keep my eyes off it. We called out to any spirits that may of been there, at first nothing but we did hear some noises and footsteps on a stairway outside the Silver Room.
Exhibition Hall
On walking into this hall I could fill cold spots, one side cold the other warm. We took our places anywhere we wanted, so I sat in a chair. I could see in my mind a man, dark hair, very long sideburns, no beard a very long slim nose, he seemed to be in pain. His legs were hurting. I sensed gout and bandages on his legs. This was now making my legs hurt. I was in so much pain. I ask him to take it off ( the pain) and it started to go.
Marion said she had see this man in a portrait and would show me, in the Regimental Room there it was the man I had seen in my mind. I also saw in my mind the announcement of an engagement being made by a man and lady sitting in a large room.
Library
As we entered the Library I was drawn to the books to the right. I had to just touch them, only bush my hands across them, these were very cold, or it was very cold around them. I could not see the titles as it was dark. We settled down, sitting round the table in the centre of the room. As we were calling out to spirit we heard tapping noises and then the table moved.
Attic 3
Not sure about this, feeling spooked. Called out to spirit and we heard noises and taps from next door to us. Cant bring myself to go into next room never felt like this. I’m sitting frozen to this chair and to be honest can't get focused, can't wait to get out.
Regimental Room
We settled in, I sat in a chair next to the fire ( left hand side). I started to get very depressed. I felt that I was a woman waiting for someone but I knew he would not arrive. Julie asked if I was alright the answer was NO. I told her I was waiting for someone and they were not going to turn up. By now I was tearful and had to get out of the chair as I would not cry, we did here noises but believe they were coming for the group upstairs in the attic or the guest in the flat above.
Thank you Alastair for giving us a great insight and showing us round this lovely Museum, with no Wardrobes!