Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Yesterdays World, Battle Investigation
Saturday 29th November 2008
Attending Investigators: Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Simon Steadman, Rachel Steadman & Sandy Rutter.
Host: Sonny Matthews
Introduction
This was an investigation we had been looking forward to for some time. We had a good sign up for it but for numerous reasons people dropped off the list like flies including 2 on the day of the investigation due to illness.... so, then there were 5! Its such a shame as they really did miss a good night! After reading the report I think you will agree, we have every reason for wanting to re investigate this fantastic museum.
Located in the historic market town of Battle, near Hastings in East Sussex, Yesterday’s World houses over 100,000 genuine historical artefacts. These are all on display in a charming 15th century medieval house and a new state of the art exhibition centre, the past is recaptured and brought to life in a vivid recreation of days gone by.
You can wander through the intriguing backstreets of Victorian England, go back to the year of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation and rediscover the psychedelic seventies all in 2 buildings!
Our sincere thanks go to Sonny Matthews, our host for the night. He was great to have with us and made us feel very welcome.
A little history of the buildings that house Yesterday’s World
Known history of the building
Yesterday’s World occupies numbers 89 and 90 High Street, Battle. The original building is over 600 years old. It was built in 1410 for the accountant of Battle Abbey. Over time it was converted into 2 separate dwellings (numbers 89 and 90), which have been home to a long list of occupants over the years, including a boarding school and dentist’s surgery, as well as private dwellings.
In 1986, 90 High Street was bought by Mr and Mrs Buckley and converted into a museum and gift shop. In 1992 they acquired number 89 and knocked it through to expand the museum that we see today.
Past occupants
Here is a list of occupants as obtained from Battle and District Historical Society Museum Trust in 1992. The information below is derived from street directories of Battle.
It is a record of who was there at a particular time, not a record of when they arrived or when they left. There are no street directories of Battle after 1974, when they were replaced by Yellow Pages.
89 High Street:
1862-1870: William Lamborn Grammar and Commercial Academy
1886-1887: Mrs Eldridge and Rev EFB Monck
1910-1911: William Phillips
1911: Herbert Newbery
1913-1915: Frank Percival Chinery
1919-1920: EJB Higerty
1922-1926: Mrs Higerty
1927-1934: Miss FR Slater
1931: RHC Baker (Dentist)
1932-1933: Dr L Shillito (Surgery)
1933: WH Horne M.R.C.V.S
1933-1935: Simon P Hendry M.R.C.V.S
1940: Miss Riley
1948-1974: Harry Judd
1992: Buckleys Museum of Shops
2004: Yesterday’s World
90 High Street:
1886-1911: John George Steel
1886-194: H Judd (Judds of Battle – Complete House Furnisher) *photo attached
1940-1948: Also British Legion Headquarters
1958-1986: Gray and Sons Ltd House Furnishers
1986: Buckleys Museum of Shops
2004: Yesterday’s World
Structure of the building (89-90 High Street, Battle, East Sussex)
The main structure of the building dates back to 1406. The house that was constructed was a “wealden” hall house with an open hall and a two storied bay at either end, which housed the parlour and the services for the chambers above.
The date of the stone walled cellar is not certain although such cellars would usually be located beneath the parlour. Each of the two rear ranges housed a single room on each storey. Both doorways giving access between the front and rear first floor chambers survive though are now blocked. The chambers throughout were originally open to the roof.
First floor doorways survive in the north wall of the main range between the front and rear chambers, that within the eastern bay being located so as to suit the position of the former stairs. Both openings are now blocked but retain their plain elliptically-arched heads. A heavy mortice in the side of one of the exposed joists marks the former position of the stairs within the eastern bay. No details are know regarding the position of the stairs within the western bay.
The hall was floored over and a chimney inserted in the late 18th century. It is though that at this time the house was converted into two dwellings though it remained in single ownership. New dog-leg staircases were now inserted into the end bays.
Both stairs rise to attic level and the eastern one still retains its shaped slat banisters at first floor level. Partitions were inserted into the eastern chamber in order to form a landing area, as well as dividing the original chamber into two. Internally the structure is now much sub-divided, whilst externally a projecting shop was added to the front in the early 19th century.
History & Sightings (below) taken from the Yesterdays World site - www.yesterdaysworld.co.uk.
Suspected / Possible Hauntings at the Museum
- People feel very apprehensive in the Royalty Room and some staff now tend to avoid going in that area on their own.
- A visitor sent the museum a picture she had taken of the grocers display of what appears to be two ghostly figures of a man in a cap and a maid in the glass.
- In 2006 and the morning after a paranormal investigation, a previously unopened jar of malt extract kept on the top shelf of the grocers was found smashed to pieces on the floor, having exploded everywhere. The investigators recorded a crashing noise from that area but were unable to locate where it came from.
- Several staff claim to have heard footsteps on the floorboards overhead when the museum has been empty.
- A lady in a long dress has been sited by a visitor on the stairs.
- A cowled monk was sited upstairs in what used to be the main bedroom of number 89 (now the Chemist Shop). Apparently the old lady who lived there used to keep it locked up after being awoken one night by a presence in the room and seeing the figure of a monk trying to pull her husband out of bed by his legs.
- The builders working on the Chemist Shop reported feeling uneasy as if they were being watched.
- The sound of a baby crying (part of the push button commentary in the Nanny’s Room on the attic floor) has been heard going off when there’s been no-one upstairs.
Itinerary
8.00pm - Meet at Location
8.15pm - Start setting up locked off camera’s, trigger objects etc in medieval house
10.00pm Vigil 1
Team – Exhibition Centre
Locked off area + 1 member of the team (rotating between Simon & Sandy) – Medieval House
12.00am Break
12.30am Vigil 2
All Team – Medieval House
Locked off area – Exhibition Centre
2.30am Pack up
3.00am Depart
Vigil Area’s
Vigil Area One – Medieval House which includes :
The Grocer
Post Office
Allwork’s Store
Jeweller
Chocolate Shop
1930's Wireless Shop
The Chemist Shop
Doll & Toy Shop
Cobblers
Lace maker
Pawnbroker
Ironmongers
Victorian Kitchen
Laundry
Nanny’s Room
Children's Playroom
Vigil Area Two – Exhibition Centre which includes :
Bull Tea & Coffee Purveyors
Edwardian Drapers
Domestic Bazaar
Judges Camera Shop
Laird's Electrical Shop
1941 Wartime Kitchen
G Granvilles General Store
Peppers Boutique
Royalty Exhibition
Teams
As we have access to both buildings and there were only 5 of us attending, we stayed mainly as one team. This gave us the opportunity to conduct smaller vigils if we want to split up at any point. It also meant we were able to lock off and monitor one building with camcorders and experiments while the rest of the team were in another area.
Locked off experiments & Camcorders
Attic 2nd floor -
Mini DV lock off in corridor. Digital E.V.P recorder in attic playroom. Trigger object coins on corridor shelf.
1st floor -
Hi 8 lock off facing chemist steps. I.R barrier beams across back staircase. Trigger object cross on scales.
War room 1st floor -
Hi 8 lock off facing trigger object. Tape E.V.P recorder on shelf. Trigger object coins on shelf
Sweet shop display 1st floor -
Mini dv lock off facing corridor to war room. I.R barrier beams across corridor.
Ground floor -
Digital 8 lock off facing into courtyard display. Trigger object tennis ball on floor in courtyard display.
Investigator Personal Reports
Julie Harwood
I was excited about this investigation partly because it had been booked so far in advance but also because our numbers were getting smaller and smaller. Don’t get me wrong, I did not want people to drop out especially when it is due to illness, so I hope you get better soon Wayne, but the prospect of just 5 of us wandering round these mock up Victorian streets in the dark was every paranormal investigators dream, or at least mine.
We arrived in plenty of time and met with our host for the evening Sonny. Sorry to Sonny who for most of the evening we called Simon as we obviously lost our hearing momentarily when we met! The first thing the girls wanted to do after a long trip was to find the toilets so with a point in the right direction the 3 of us headed over to the next building to find them. When we returned the excited and slightly nervous faces of Simon, Sandy and Sonny greeted us. While we had been away in the other building they had all been chatting and had heard some unexpected noises. I will let them explain as obviously they were the ones that heard it but we all hoped (possibly with the exception of Sonny!) that this was the start of things to come.
While Simon and Sandy rigged the oldest building with camcorders, mp3 recorders, trigger objects etc Maria, Rachel and I decided to take a walk around the newer exhibition centre and take a few preliminary readings and photographs so we did not get in the men’s way. The lights were on for this but we all agreed that it had an atmosphere and was quite creepy in places. Unfortunately 3 girls wandering around a museum was probably not the best idea as we soon got carried away and realised that we were just looking at everything. After a while we decided to head up to the Royalty suite however when we got up there we found that it was locked so we headed back down and over to the old part of the building to find Sonny. When we did we explained that it was locked and looking a bit puzzled (apparently this room is rarely locked) he agreed to go and un lock it for us. While he was doing this we went to see how Simon and Sandy were getting on. They were on the upper floors, we could clearly hear them so we started by the grocers and had a look around. While we were looking we heard a thump and I heard a loud jingle of keys. We all stopped and looked around as it had come from close by to us. We could find no explanation. We then headed up to Simon and Sandy and as they had nearly finished setting up we decided to go no further in case of setting of any of the barrier beam motion sensors they had put around the place. We mentioned to them that the Royalty room had been locked and Simon begged to differ. Apparently not long beforehand both him and Sandy had been in there. We doubled checked with them that they were talking about the same room and they were. Rachel even asked if they found the door stiff to open and they said quite the opposite and that it opened easily. This we found very odd as we had all been right in front of the door when Rachel tried to open it and it was definitely locked as you could heard the catch stop as you tried to push it. We went to find Sonny and he confirmed it was actually locked and he had to unlock it again. We obviously have no explanation for this. Sonny had the only set of keys and he was in the office in a different building. Now logic tells me doors do not lock themselves (not the kind here anyway, that need a key to lock and un lock them).
Lastly we encountered some very strange EMF readings while we were in the shop. In the archway we had readings fluctuating up to 6 or 7 and when we called out the readings seemed to move. With the readings was a chest height cold spot which moved about, we could all feel it. We shut the door and were amazed that we could still feel this cold. The more exciting thing was that the EMF meter seemed to buzz frantically when where the cold air was and every time it moved it registered a reading in the same place. It so rare that anything like that happens so we wondered if there would be any activity in the shop during the night.
We were soon, after a short break ready to start our vigils and Simon took the first stint with Sonny in the old building with all the locked off equipment. We arranged that Sandy would swap with him after about half an hour. As we all left the cafe area that ve was our base for the night we heard an almighty thud/bang. We all looked behind us and down the stairs into the cafe but nothing was out of place. We do not know where the bang came from. The lights stayed on in the cafe and so we were able to see things and like I said nothing was out of place or disturbed in any wary. It almost felt like something was trying to get our attention so we all said that we ought to come back to the cafe for a vigil later in the night.
As we wandered around the display I was very aware that Rachel and I were getting increasingly nervous and a little jumpy which is not like us at all. I have worked with Rachel many times on investigations and usually we give each other a bit of confidence and from that comes bravery but it did not seem like this tonight. As we wandered round we stayed very close together. When we got to the horse and carriage display we all heard a thump from the corner of the room, directly in front of the horses. When we called out we also heard a whimper.
After our failed attempt at seeing the Royalty room earlier we decided to go up. As we went in the reaction of the 3 females was apparent as we all stuck very close together and Rachel and I clung on to each others jackets for a while. It was horrible and one of the most oppressive feelings I have felt in a room for a long time. I just wanted to turn round and walk out. We moved in to the centre of the room and then all sat on the benches at the far end. It took a while for us to notice but once away from the area immediately by the door we felt fine and a lot more relaxed. Simon then called us on the walkie talkie but every time we tried to reply the battery died and we could not contact him. Sandy went over in the end to check everything was ok (as it was nearly time for them to change anyway) and that left the 3 of us in the room.
Even though we sat facing a queen on her throne, this room felt male to me, I could not feel anything female about it.
We called out and after a while we heard probably the clearest footsteps I have ever heard on an investigation. I say footsteps but they were stomps really, like someone marching or at least trying to make themselves heard. They were coming from directly below us so that tells you straight away how loud they must have been. We did just presume this was Sandy or Simon but noted the time anyway so we could double check with them later. Not long after this we heard 2 men’s voices coming from downstairs. We could not make out what they were saying but it was definitely males. Again this gave us more ideas that it was Simon and Sandy and I think we even said it sounded like Simon. We noted this down but had pretty much decided it must be them. When our time was up in here we started to make our way out and as we got near the door we all rushed forward and could not get out quick enough. We all decided that it was definitely the door end of this long room that we did not like. It felt like someone was watching us the whole time and did not want us in there. Its also important to note that while in this room Rachel and I got the strong sense that it used to be where a lot of people worked. Not necessarily the building that was there now but definitely what was there before was a busy workplace with lots of people. We went to find Simon and Sandy and they informed us that they had been with Sonny the whole time and he confirmed this. They had moved around very little and had been in the old building only, no where near where we were in the Royalty room. This astounded us as what we had heard was so clear.
Our next vigil was all of us together in the old building. We all wandered around together and settled on the floor with the chemists. Rachel and Maria had hated this shop when we had walked round earlier and so it was interesting to see that they still hated it now and could not spend long in there. Both said it was not the smell but more the feeling of being watched and that it felt oppressive. They could not wait to get out of there so we all relocated to the floor with the aeroplane hanging over head. We called out and started to get thumps in response to our questions though it was very hard to get specifics. Simon called out several times asking for 2 thumps and we were getting two thumps in response. I got the image of a little boy in my head about 7 years old, but stupidly decided (god knows why) to keep quiet about this, however I did get the name Tobias or Toby and did voice this. As soon as I said this Simon asked if it had any connection to shoes or cobblers as he had had that come into his head. For most of this vigil I thought Sandy was stood behind me in a smaller area but then I saw Sandy over to my right. This shook me up a bit as the person stood behind me was actually a dummy so I was a bit of a girl at this point and asked Sandy to come and stand by me.
We decided after a while to have another small break to warm up (as we were freezing cold by now) and then to hold a glass divination in the cafe.
The glass divination did seem to be successful. Rachel called out and the glass did appear to move in circles with mine, Sandy’s, Maria’s and Rachel’s fingers on it however for most of the time I could not see the glass and my finger kept slipping off. Rachel asked for it to stop when it got to a number that indicated how many spirits were with us and it stopped at 5, however from then on it seemed to move erratically and did not really answer any questions so this is where we decided to close the evening.
I am not sure what I can same in summary to this investigation. I had an great evening in a wonderful location with some excellent team mates. The suspected activity we witnessed was impressive to say the least and has left me wanting to return to Yesterdays World for another investigation. I hope they will be happy to have us back. Many thanks go to Sonny who really was the perfect host and made us all feel very welcome. We hope if we return we will be lucky enough to have you host the night again for us.
Maria Street
We were very lucky to secure an investigation in this wonderful building, set over five floors, especially as we had access to both buildings and only five of us would be attending.
We set off at 3.30pm and arrived around 6pm. Sandy and I were in one car and Julie, Rachel and Simon, in the other. Sandy and I arrived first and were lucky enough to find a parking space right outside the museum. It was a cold night so we were glad of our hat, scarf and gloves! We tried to phone the museum a few times just to check if our host had already arrived but were met with the engaged tone which was very strange, as normally there would be a pre-recorded message.
We were met by our host, Sonny, at 8pm and asked him about the phone but he could not explain it. The phone was firmly on the hook and there seemed to be no reason for this. Simon, Sandy and Sonny then all reported hearing the door knocker of the grocer’s shop rattling and the evening hadn’t even started yet. This was really exciting, because it is very rare for phenomena to occur at the start of the evening, contrary to what a certain TV programme would have us all believe. Julie, Rachel and I set up a team room in the café, which was in the building at the back, whilst Simon and Sandy started to set up the locked off experiments.
Julie, Rachel and I finished our setting up and went off to conduct Baseline tests and even this proved eventful. The EMF meter went off and measured 6 just as we were passing into the shop. This was accompanied by a very impressive cold spot which moved towards Julie. What was more impressive, was, as the cold spot moved, the EMF meter readings kept in line with it. We discovered an open door, but nothing changed even once we had closed it. We carried on into the grocer’s area, where the door had rattled before. Julie heard a distinct rattle of keys and we then heard the sound of a door slamming shut. We went upstairs to investigate but there was no reason for the sound and the others were in the other building by then. We did a quick walk round and both Rachel and I felt very unnerved by the chemist shop, but have no idea why.
We made our way back to the back building and went upstairs to the Royalty Room. Unfortunately the door was locked but there was a definite atmosphere in the general area.
We made our way back downstairs to hear a loud band coming from the café area. All doors were left closed so we could not determine where the sound had come from. It was interesting to note, however, that doors that were left open occasionally during the investigation, did not slam shut, as the wind was just not strong enough.
This was a very promising start to our night and after a break for a very welcome cup of coffee, we started our vigils. Simon went back to the grocer’s area by himself, and Julie, Rachel, Sandy and I stayed in the area of the James Bond display and settled down for our investigation. We took photos but my camera was displaying ‘Change the batteries’ This was strange because these were new batteries. It worked intermittently after that, but not all the time. It was quiet but very atmospheric and we moved round to the display by the horses. We called out but had little response in this area, so we moved out to the foyer where we heard a loud noise come from the Royalty Room upstairs. We quickly moved up there and we were glad to see the door was, once more, unlocked. We walked in and immediately sensed a shift in atmosphere. It was more oppressive here, especially by the door and we quickly moved to the top of the room by the royal display. We sat down for a while and heard a noise behind a door just in front of us. I opened it and called out but there was nobody there. Sandy went down to have a look but it was definitely empty out there. We all jumped a little when the walkie talkie went off. We tried to answer Simon, who was calling us, but every time Rachel tried, the walkie talkie turned itself off, even though it had a full battery. (We were later to discover that Simon had had the same problem. He also reported that the camcorder batteries were wearing down very quickly and he had had to plug them in.) We asked Sandy if he could accompany Simon in case he was in trouble of some sort and he set off. This was at 9.25pm. We heard him leave the building less than a minute later. Five minutes later we all distinctly heard purposeful footsteps coming from downstairs and the sound of a door slamming. This happened again exactly five minutes later. We checked with the boys later and they were definitely in the other building when this happened, as was Sonny, our host. We called out for a while and heard a few taps and loud clicks which we couldn’t attribute to anything. It was soon time for a break, so we started to leave the room. It was only as we got closer to the door that we noticed the shift in atmosphere again. It was definitely more oppressive, the closer to the door you got. We made our way back downstairs for another welcome coffee.
For our next vigil we went to the other building and the area of the grocer’s which Simon had reported being quiet on his previous vigil. It was this time also, so we made our way upstairs. Rachel, Julie and I made a very hesitant beeline for the chemist shop where Rachel and I had felt unnerved earlier. We still felt the same and were glad to get out of there when the time came. We made our way further along, settled down here with the boys, and started to call out. We were treated to some knocks and when Julie asked for two knocks to confirm they were male, two definite knocks were heard. I also thought I saw Sandy stood next to Simon, but when I checked, Sandy was over the other side of the room. We made our way up to the attic, but all was quiet up here and we went on to our last break. We made our way through the shop to notice that there were lots of items out of place and on the floor. It was not like this previously as we had had a good look around the shop earlier in the evening. We made our way back to the café for our break and settled down for another drink. I was facing the stairway and I thought I saw a black pair of legs stride across the landing at the top. After a quick check, I noticed that everybody was accounted for, so who, or what this was, I have no idea.
We ended the evening with a glass divination in the café. We called out for the glass to move and, after a little while, it did. Rachel asked for more definite movement and the glass moved very quickly. She asked how many spirits were in the area and the answer came back as 5. Julie then asked if one of these was responsible for the movement of items in the shop and the glass moved in response. This was the perfect end to the perfect evening. We had activity before the vigil had even started and activity all through the night. This was accompanied by a very friendly and helpful host for which we were very very grateful. Thank you Sonny!
Sandy Rutter
Maria and I were the first to arrive in Battle and Rachel, Simon and Julie arrived shortly after. When we were let into the Museum we discovered it was a nice place. The girls decided to go to the toilet and Simon and I were talking to Sonny who worked there and all of a sudden we all heard a letter box knocking. It came from the grocers section of the museum. We looked everywhere in the section to see where the noise could have come from. I found a letter box so Simon went back to the shop area and I knocked it again and that was the noise. We had a quick break before we started and then Simon and I went around setting up the camcorders and trigger objects.
Vigil 1
We decided to take in turns to go over to the old building where the camcorders were and monitor the equipment so Simon went over first whilst me and the girls stayed where we were in the exhibition centre. We started in the same area where the cafe was. We walked round and Julie didn't like it in there. We all heard a bang. It wasn't a quiet bang but it was loud bang and we heard clip clop like the horses hooves which was odd as there was a horses and a carriage there. Then we all went up the stairs into the Royalty room. There was a statue of Queen Victoria there with a few other Statue's. We took a few pictures. We called out but the girls didn't like it in there. Then the walkie talkie went off, Simon was trying to make contact with us but every time Rachel tried to answer the walkie talkie it went dead so I went over to where Simon was just to see what he wanted but he didn't even press the talk button on the walkie talkie. Simon and I swapped after a few minutes so I was in the old building by myself. I called out and got a response straight away by the glass rattling. I went over to push the glass gently and it didn't move so that was good. It was nearly break time so I went round changing the tapes in the camcorders and checking the batteries. When I was in the confectionery area I was touched in the head by something. It was not a sweeping touch but a hand on my head touch, that shook me up a little. Then Simon came over and we went for a break.
Vigil 2
We all headed back to the old building. We called out and everybody heard a knock. We had a few cold spots and I mean really cold spots. Maria was stood by the little Bannister and Julie was sat on a chair near a door way. Simon and Rachel were stood in the middle of the room and I was stood at the other end of Julie but Julie thought I was stood in the little room because Julie commented how still I was but it wasn't me but a Statue. Then Julie asked me to stand beside her as she didn't like the room. After a little while we moved from there and went down to the grocery area and confectionery are. We called out again and again and we heard noises and tapping. After that we went back to the hub and that was it for me.
Thank you to Sonny for accompanying us for the night and to Julie for booking a very excellent location.
Simon Steadman
As soon as we got to the location the 3 girls went to the loo leaving myself and Sandy with Sonny the guide for the night. While discussing the reported phenomena we all heard a letterbox rattle, on investigation it was determined that the noise came from the courtyard display on the ground floor so a locked off camera and trigger object was set up.
On the lit walk around of the location myself and Sandy ventured into the royalty suite and took a small look around then joined the rest of the team in the kit room. We then discovered that Julie Rachel and Maria had tried to access this room after us and found it locked but Sonny informed us that this room is never locked. Sonny then had to unlock it for us.
Vigil 1 Old Building
Lock off monitoring
On entering the location without lights and alone the building produced some very eerie feelings, like a sense of being watched. I put this down to the displays which contained mannequins but the further up I went the more intense these feelings got. This was not made any better by the soundtrack noises that were being pumped through the speaker systems, so after radioing the rest of the team, I asked Sonny (who was in the office behind the shop) to turn them off . On my return to the courtyard scene Sandy came in asking if all was ok, he then returned to the rest of the team. 7 minutes later (at 10.30) he came to swap areas with me so I returned to the other building, I did a lap of the main display which had an odd feeling about it, I found the rest of the team in the foyer as I was about to head for the Royalty suite.
Vigil 2 the royalty suite.
The area was very quiet for me even though the rest of the team had odd feelings in this room.
During the break I went to check on the lock off cameras and found that 4 of the 6 cameras had depleted battery power which I found odd as each one had at least 100 minutes remaining on them when I left them less than 60 minutes ago.
Vigil 3 old building
On a return to the courtyard scene, the lock off again had depleted battery this went from 100 minutes to 0 in about 20 minutes
On checking the others the lock off in the war room had also done the same thing this I found very strange so to counteract this every lock off was then switched to mains power for the duration of the night.
We all stopped near to the chemist display and called out. Julie got the name ’Toby’ or ‘Tobias’ no connection was established but a few noises or responses were heard.
On the way back through the shop area we discovered that quite a few items were out of place or on the floor, unfortunately we did not document if these had been there before but a few of the items we would have noticed as they were in the middle of the floor. No explanation could be found for this and Sonny confirmed that the shop was tidy and vacuumed at the end of the working day so he could not explain as to why these things were misplaced.
Vigil 4 new building café area
The whole team set up and took part in a glass divination experiment (myself filming)
We did appear to get some response from the glass but not from direct questions, it seemed to be moving in a very ineligible way. During this myself and Julie heard what sounded like shuffling footsteps in the display area above. We continued with the experiment and I asked the team to swap hands on the glass and after this was done we had no further movement of the glass.
On review -
No photographic evidence caught.
No E.V.P evidence caught.
Possible video evidence caught.
No trigger object evidence caught.
A few personal experiences occurred.
Summary -
On the whole I have to say that this location was a pleasure to investigate, my personal opinion is that it needs more time and another night or two there before I can say whether there is any paranormal activity but it is a very atmospheric building and I cant wait to return.
My thanks go to Sonny for putting up with us for the night and making us great coffee (and not minding when we got his name wrong!!! Sorry mate!) even though he got spooked early on in the night.
Rachel Steadman
From outside this place looks little more than a gift shop, but it is amazingly large inside. Being typical girls, as soon as we arrived Julie, Maria and I headed straight for the ladies, leaving Simon and Sandy chatting to our host for the evening Sonny. On our return we were greeted by 3 bemused faces, as while we were in the ladies in the other building all 3 of them heard a letter box rattle in the courtyard display on the other side of the main doors to enter the exhibit.
While Simon and Sandy set up the locked off cameras and trigger objects, Julie, Maria and I sorted out the teams equipment and then went for a lit walk around of the new building, we headed upstairs to look in the royalty suite to find it locked, so we went over to the office to ask Sonny to unlock it, to be told that it was never locked, and Simon and Sandy had already been in!
Vigil 1- New building
We started by taking photo’s around the ground floor displays, all four of us found this to have a strange atmosphere as if we were not wanted there, and stayed huddled together. After about 30minutes we went up to the Royalty suite (which was unlocked this time) but for some reason none of us wanted to go through the door, but at the same time we did not want to stay on the landing, so in we went. We stood around for a while taking photo’s then made our way to the end of the room, which felt a lot less foreboding than the top of the room and landing. Not long after we had sat down Simon tried to radio us but the battery on the walkie talkie died (not paranormal just not enough charge) so Sandy went off to see if he was ok (10:20) not long after he left Maria, Julie and I heard the most convincing heavy footsteps, then the door to the downstairs exhibition swing open. We stayed in the Royalty suite calling out, both Julie and I had feelings that the building was originally some sort of work house, possibly a mill or granary, and the spirit that is said to haunt is a little upset with all the expensive, fine things connected to royalty being put in there. We did hear the sound of two or more men talking coming from downstairs on two separate brief occasions. Just before 10:45 we decided to go back to the foyer to try calling out down there, as we had only heard one or two knocks and bangs. As we entered the foyer Simon came out of the main display as Sandy had stayed with him for a while until the arranged changed over time, when he came looking for us, due to what we heard upstairs we went back with Simon for another look, but nothing happened this time around.
Vigil 2- Old Building
All present
We started at the bottom in the courtyard area, the trigger object had not moved, we called out but got no response, so moved to the next floor. We started in the sweetshop where we took photo’s and called out and after a while we moved into the corridor then along to the chemist shop. Earlier in the night during the lit walk around both Maria and I found this room uncomfortable, and neither of us found it any better in the dark, although I caught nothing in my photo’s, and had no response to calling out. Maria mentioned that the uneasy feeling could be due to the fact ill people go to the chemist and back then the treatments weren’t all that good. We moved on to the corridors and along to the following displays, although no phenomena was noted, as we sat on the landing above the bar display, Julie came up with the names Toby and Tobias. At the moment we do not know if these are relevant but we are looking into it. As we walked back to the kit room I noticed a book out of place in the gift shop ( I’d been looking in the gift shop when we first arrived) It really stood out as it was a white book amongst a display of Union Jack goods. I pointed this out to the rest of the team, we then noticed several items of stock out of place, there were two pencils and a keyring with the name Isaac on it on the floor, a large Elvis metal sign had been taken off the wall and was lying on the floor (the drawing pins were missing) and a yoyo had been completely unwound and was a shelf below where it should have been. Sonny confirmed that the shop was tidied and cleaned every night when closed. Unfortunately we did not have a lock off in there.
Vigil 3- Café
All present
We decided to end the night with some glass divination as some bangs had been heard during the night, we choose a table half way up the room, Sandy, Julie, Maria and I sat around one table while Simon sat opposite with the video camera and Sonny sat with Simon. It did not take long for the glass to start moving, although slowly, with a little more encouragement it got quicker, although would not give any answer to any questions, which was a little odd. After a while of the glass moving Simon asked us to swap hands on the glass, as a control experiment, as soon as we did this the glass stopped moving and did not move again at all. With this we decided to call it a night and pack up.
I had a really enjoyable night. Sonny was a fantastic host, who got spooked right at the start of the night, and endured us calling him Simon all night ( sorry Sonny), but still made us feel very welcome, and coffee. As to whether Yesterdays World is haunted, I’m undecided and can’t wait to return, as I don’t think we gathered enough usable evidence but I would definitely return to see if we can get any answers.