Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Days out - Jervaulx Abbey
I found a magical quality to these largely untouched ruins in the Ure Valley. We went on a lovely summer's day in August. You can admire its picturesque setting amongst the grazing sheep and the grasses and flowers which still grow high up on the walls. An artist sits and sketches the view of this romantic English ruin. Jervaulx is privately owned, but always open to the public, there is an 'honesty box' in which to pay for entry.
For the paranormal investigator, the remains are not without interest, especially at night, the grounds are so very quiet, you would certainly hear ghostly goings on easily here, not that there are any, there are no reported ghost sightings that I know of, apart from my own ;-) The abbey is slowly disappearing through weathering, but there are some interesting monuments left which are dotted around the main entrance. As I try to photograph the abbey, I see little children play, it’s a perfect place for hide and seek games. Spirit the only manifestation of that name here (our dog hehe) loved it, I could have stayed the whole day , either sketching painting or writing.
You can find Jervaulx Abbey Four miles northwest of Masham in North Yorkshire.
For the paranormal investigator, the remains are not without interest, especially at night, the grounds are so very quiet, you would certainly hear ghostly goings on easily here, not that there are any, there are no reported ghost sightings that I know of, apart from my own ;-) The abbey is slowly disappearing through weathering, but there are some interesting monuments left which are dotted around the main entrance. As I try to photograph the abbey, I see little children play, it’s a perfect place for hide and seek games. Spirit the only manifestation of that name here (our dog hehe) loved it, I could have stayed the whole day , either sketching painting or writing.
You can find Jervaulx Abbey Four miles northwest of Masham in North Yorkshire.
Jules field trips - Byland Abbey
BYLAND ABBEY
Location: Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England.
Built: 1190 AD
Ghostly manifestations: 13th century UFO sighting, a monk.
Ghostly Anomalies: Being touched.
History:
In the 13th century a large silver disc was seen in the sky above the abbey. It is chronicled in the William of Newburgh reports that the abbot was about to say grace when one of the monks ran in announcing 'there is a great portent outside'. According to manuscripts it was frightening and the greatest terror.
East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire
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EAST RIDDLESDEN HALL
Location: Keighley, West Yorkshire, England.
Built: 1640
History: East Riddlesden Hall is one of West Yorkshire’s many historical sites. East Riddlesden Hall itself was built in the 1640s by the local Murgatroyd family. The family had made their fortune through milling and weaving and the building was designed and built as a symbol of the power of the family. Unfortunately the family's star was short-lived and the house passed into the hands of the Starkie family through intermarriages later that same century. The Hall was extended during the 1690s but has changed very little since that time and still contains many items originating for the century it was built including furniture and embroideries. The Hall has been a gentleman's residence and also a tenanted farm. It came under threat of demolition in 1934 but was purchased by the Keighley brothers who presented the house to the National Trust who now have the care and running of the property.
Ghostly manifestations: The grey lady, the white lady, phantom coach man.
Ghostly anomalies: Ghostly footsteps, wooden cradle rocks by itself.
Report by Matt who is an employee at the hall.
The most well-known spirit is of that of the "Grey Lady". Legend has it that the Lady was the wife to a lord of the manor. One day he returned home to find his wife in bed with another man. Fit with rage, he through her into a small room (believed to be the "Red Bedroom" where she starved to death, whilst he locked her lover in another room and bricked up both the doors and windows. In the Grey Lady's Chamber, apparitions of a lady have been seen both by the window and in the rocking chair. The chair also rocks on its own with no breeze in the room.
Another legend is that of the "White Lady". It is said that she was hunting one day where she fell from her horse into the duck pond and drowned. Her body was never discovered. An apparition believed to be her has been seen both in and out of the pond, presumably looking for her body.
In the "Old Barn", resides the spirit of a female known as "Alice" and the spirit of her cat. She was believed to be a witch and one day, two men draggd her to the pond, and drowned her until the verge of death, dragged her back to the barn, malested her, then burnt her and the cat. A strange feeling occupies this barn.
*** I have heard something that sounds like a scream twice; once as I walked past the Old Barn and the second time when I was cleaning in the Airedale Barn (used for functions).***
In both the Shop and Tearooms, there is an appresive atmosphere. This is due to the so-called "Assassin-Dishwasher" spirit. Believed to be a man who worked as a Dishwasher at one time in the Hall, who then led a second life as an Assassin by night. Usually he is kept at bay, but if there is a depressing atmosphere (in the mood of a person) then he strikes. If fresh flowers are left on Table 3 one evening, sometimes the next morning they have completely wilted where the rest are fine. *** I can actually vouch for this. I have seen the fresh flowers one evening, then the wilted ones the next...***. Also, chairs have been reported to move.
Staying in the tearooms, There are also the friendlier spirits of a Mother and two young boys. Legend says that one of the boys drowned in the pond. Some mornings, books and toys (usually stuffed toys) have moved from the toy-box to places in the Tearooms where its impossible for them to land if they simply fall out. ***I went up to the Tearooms one morning before the Catering staff got in and a large grey stuffed bear from the toy-box had moved from his usual place (sat proud on top of the toy-box) and he was sat on the table opposite and the catering staff swear that he was on the toy-box when they left the night before.***
There is sometimes a strange feeling in the shop. A few visitors have felt to be being watched from someone or something.
I was in the shop on the morning that the Most Haunted team were in filming, and I was dusting a clock original to the house which has been broken and not working for about 7 years started chiming. Also, at the beginning of this season (March 2006), the same clock one morning started up and continued all the way through until the end of the day when it suddenly stopped.
Also on the property are two spirit dogs. One is said to be the spirit of the Gardeners dog who sadly passed away just before Christmas 2005. The other is rumoured to be a "Devil-Hound", a large balck dog with red eyes. Legend says if you see these dogs, it means that someone will die soon. ***I was getting the hoover out one morning and felt a dog jumping up at me on my right side. I jumped back and surprised to see no dog. I was later told that the Gardener (who now has a puppy who comes on site) hadn't been on the property for about three days.***
Its talked about that there are several ghosts that haunt the seventeenth century manor house, the ghost of the 'Grey Lady'. The Grey lady is allegedly is thought to be the wife of a subsequent Lord of the Manor. She has been seen wandering along the corridors of the hall, going from room to room , searching for something or someone.
The story goes that the lady's husband came home one day to find her cradled in the arms of another man. It was said that he locked his wife in a room and walled up her lover also. They starved to death and it is thought that when the Grey Lady appears she seems to be looking for her lost lover. The unfortunate young man is said to appear as a ghostly apparition at the window of the bricked-up room where he died.
Another ghost, known as the 'White Lady', has been seen walking around the lake in the grounds of the house. She too once lived at the Hall and supposedly was thrown from her horse whilst hunting. Her body was never found and it is believed that she drowned in the lake where she is now frequently seen.
Another ghost is a phantom coachman who was believed to have been dragged into the lake by his horses. He has been seen wandering around the water, presumably looking for his lost coach and horses.
There is a 300 year-old wooden cradle in one of the bedrooms of East Riddleston Hall that is said to rock of its own accord each New Year's Eve. It is rumored that the 'Gray Lady' herself is rocking the cradle.
Jules Report
It was a great privilege to walk through this fantastic building. The place was so old you could eat the atmosphere. As expected, the dark oak floorboards creaked under my light frame; the fine panelled walls were in abundance. I wandered from room to room each had an exciting selection of 17th century furniture. Fine but faded embroideries hung from the high walls. The rooms were interspersed with dark corridors, Richard the II stared at me with his linseed oiled eyes as I wandered through in excitement. In one of the rooms in the first floor is a cupboard, it looks to be leaning, the lady volunteer explained that it was built like this for another house and is famous, it gets an mention in one of the Bronte sisters books.
As the lady volunteer walked away so I could get a better view of this room I noticed a slight cold spot right where she had been stood, so I did my rounds in the room, all the other parts felt quite warm except for that particular spot that felt completely different. I asked the volunteer Is there a cellar or something below this room just here? because it feels completely different here to the rest of the room She said, Oh yes there is, right there’. I really felt there was a cold room beneath, call it psychic, call it me just been sensitive to a slight temperature change, whatever it was I thought it was a good guess, as I have never been here.
I eventually reach the famous Grey Ladys room four poster bed, spinning wheels and cradle which has been seen to move. Anyway, nothing did. As we made our way out to the Tea Room I thought what a wonderful place….wonder if they allow an inquisitive ghost hunter to stay the night.
Jules field trips - Howarth village
HOWARTH
Location: West Yorkshire, England.
The Black Bull Pub
Ghostly manifestations:
The pub has been both a pub and a b & b. The attic was used as a dormitory. The most well known spirit in the pub is that of Branwell Bronte, brother of the Bronte sisters. He regularly visited the Apothecary where he got his supplies of opium. He drank himself to death here but passed away in the parsonage of chronic bronchitis and consumption on 24th September 1849 behind the church of which his father was the vicar. He is laid in the family vault at Howarth Church. He was known as a freemason and became secretary of the lodge. Many meetings were held at the black bull pub, Branwells chair is at the top of the stairs in the hallway of the pub, his spirit has been sensed sitting in this chair by mediums.
A spirit of a child has also been seen handing sweets out to someone that can’t be seen. In the main bar area two male spirits have been seen sitting at one of the tables, one is known to be Dan Sugden he was the landlord in the Bronte era, a small man who wore a top hat, he was nicknamed Little Nosey. In room 2 someone witnessed a dark figure of a man watching them in bed and in room 3 a maid is supposed to haunt, when it used to be a bed and breakfast the owner used to re-arrange the room only to come back and find everything back in its place. Outside On the cobbled road outside flitting figures and people have seen folks walking past then they just disappear. A spirit girl has been heard crying near the allotments.
Ghostly anomalies
People have noticed been tapped on the head as they walk through the main door, someone brushing past on the main staircase, a bell rings on its own and the light above the Bronte picture moves every night, ashtrays and glasses are thrown to the floor when nobody is about, plates smash in the kitchen area, horrible smells, footsteps, utterances.
In the graveyard:
There is a large graveyard just behind the pub apparently it is supposed to contain 40.000 bodies, but it has been told that due to subsidence over many years that some of the bodies many have eerily slid down the hill and now lie right under the pubs foundations. If you visit Howarth you can go on a lantern light graveyard tour.
Related stories:
Branwell also had a fasination for ghosts especially shucks, a phantom black dog that had chains round its neck.
Parsonage: The parsonage is also known to be haunted.
The ghost of Emily Bronte has been seen walking on the moorland path near the waterfall. On 19 December 1978, the anniversary of her death, she appeared at Weaver’s restaurant, where she climbed a staircase that had been removed years before.
Location: West Yorkshire, England.
The Black Bull Pub
Ghostly manifestations:
The pub has been both a pub and a b & b. The attic was used as a dormitory. The most well known spirit in the pub is that of Branwell Bronte, brother of the Bronte sisters. He regularly visited the Apothecary where he got his supplies of opium. He drank himself to death here but passed away in the parsonage of chronic bronchitis and consumption on 24th September 1849 behind the church of which his father was the vicar. He is laid in the family vault at Howarth Church. He was known as a freemason and became secretary of the lodge. Many meetings were held at the black bull pub, Branwells chair is at the top of the stairs in the hallway of the pub, his spirit has been sensed sitting in this chair by mediums.
A spirit of a child has also been seen handing sweets out to someone that can’t be seen. In the main bar area two male spirits have been seen sitting at one of the tables, one is known to be Dan Sugden he was the landlord in the Bronte era, a small man who wore a top hat, he was nicknamed Little Nosey. In room 2 someone witnessed a dark figure of a man watching them in bed and in room 3 a maid is supposed to haunt, when it used to be a bed and breakfast the owner used to re-arrange the room only to come back and find everything back in its place. Outside On the cobbled road outside flitting figures and people have seen folks walking past then they just disappear. A spirit girl has been heard crying near the allotments.
Ghostly anomalies
People have noticed been tapped on the head as they walk through the main door, someone brushing past on the main staircase, a bell rings on its own and the light above the Bronte picture moves every night, ashtrays and glasses are thrown to the floor when nobody is about, plates smash in the kitchen area, horrible smells, footsteps, utterances.
In the graveyard:
There is a large graveyard just behind the pub apparently it is supposed to contain 40.000 bodies, but it has been told that due to subsidence over many years that some of the bodies many have eerily slid down the hill and now lie right under the pubs foundations. If you visit Howarth you can go on a lantern light graveyard tour.
Related stories:
Branwell also had a fasination for ghosts especially shucks, a phantom black dog that had chains round its neck.
Parsonage: The parsonage is also known to be haunted.
The ghost of Emily Bronte has been seen walking on the moorland path near the waterfall. On 19 December 1978, the anniversary of her death, she appeared at Weaver’s restaurant, where she climbed a staircase that had been removed years before.
Jules field trips - Pontefract Castle
Location - Pontefract, West Yorkshire
Built - 1070 AD
Ghostly manifestations -
King Richard II was murdered here, no-one has yet spotted his ghost.
Monk figures seen walking around the outskirts near the catholic chapel and 2 figures of children seen playing near the dungeons. Holding a large axe, this figure walks around the ruins of the castle. a black monk walking from the remains of the kitchen towards the steps up to the ruins of the Queen's Tower. Strangely the monk is always seen walking from west to east, never in the opposite direction. The monk has been seen by quite a lot of people over a considerable period of time and they are of all ages and different backgrounds and "when you hear it from so many people you start to believe it." Sightings are usually around 5pm". Ghostly foosteps have been heard in the magazine area.
Ghostly anomalies - No photographic evidence.
History - Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire near to the town of Pontefract, was constructed in approximately 1070 by a knight, Ilbert de Lacy (whose grandson Henry is responsible for the construction of Kirkstall Abbey), on land which had been granted to him by William the Conqueror as a reward for his support during the Norman conquests. There is, however, evidence of earlier occupation of the site and initially the castle was a wooden structure, but this was replaced with stone over time. The de Lacys lived in the castle until the start of the next century, when Robert de Lacy failed to support Henry I of England during his power struggle with his brother and confiscated the castle from the family. It was under the tenure of the de Lacys that the magnificent multilobate donjon was built.
During 1311 the castle became part of the estates of the House of Lancaster. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (1278–1322) was beheaded outside the castle walls six days after his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge, a sentence placed on him by the King himself. This resulted in the earl becoming a martyr with his tomb at Pontefract Priory becoming a shrine. Later John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, was so fond of the castle that he made it his own, spending vast amounts of money improving it. Richard II of England (1367–1399) was also reputedly murdered in Pontefract Castle, possibly in the Gascoigne Tower.
The castle has been a ruin since 1644 when it held as a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and besieged at least three times by Parliamentarian; the last of which was responsible for the castle's present dilapidated state and many of its scars. Apparently this last raid had the full support of the surrounding population, who were grateful to destroy the castle and thus stop the fighting in their area. It is still possible to visit the castle's 11th century cellars which were used to store military equipment during the civil war "the magazine", much paranormal activity happens in this area, including footfalls.
The most remarkable feature of the current site is the remains of the donjon. Very few examples of this multilobed type exist. One is Clifford's Tower in nearby York. An identical example to York can be found at Étampes, France.
Built - 1070 AD
Ghostly manifestations -
King Richard II was murdered here, no-one has yet spotted his ghost.
Monk figures seen walking around the outskirts near the catholic chapel and 2 figures of children seen playing near the dungeons. Holding a large axe, this figure walks around the ruins of the castle. a black monk walking from the remains of the kitchen towards the steps up to the ruins of the Queen's Tower. Strangely the monk is always seen walking from west to east, never in the opposite direction. The monk has been seen by quite a lot of people over a considerable period of time and they are of all ages and different backgrounds and "when you hear it from so many people you start to believe it." Sightings are usually around 5pm". Ghostly foosteps have been heard in the magazine area.
Ghostly anomalies - No photographic evidence.
History - Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire near to the town of Pontefract, was constructed in approximately 1070 by a knight, Ilbert de Lacy (whose grandson Henry is responsible for the construction of Kirkstall Abbey), on land which had been granted to him by William the Conqueror as a reward for his support during the Norman conquests. There is, however, evidence of earlier occupation of the site and initially the castle was a wooden structure, but this was replaced with stone over time. The de Lacys lived in the castle until the start of the next century, when Robert de Lacy failed to support Henry I of England during his power struggle with his brother and confiscated the castle from the family. It was under the tenure of the de Lacys that the magnificent multilobate donjon was built.
During 1311 the castle became part of the estates of the House of Lancaster. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (1278–1322) was beheaded outside the castle walls six days after his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge, a sentence placed on him by the King himself. This resulted in the earl becoming a martyr with his tomb at Pontefract Priory becoming a shrine. Later John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, was so fond of the castle that he made it his own, spending vast amounts of money improving it. Richard II of England (1367–1399) was also reputedly murdered in Pontefract Castle, possibly in the Gascoigne Tower.
The castle has been a ruin since 1644 when it held as a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and besieged at least three times by Parliamentarian; the last of which was responsible for the castle's present dilapidated state and many of its scars. Apparently this last raid had the full support of the surrounding population, who were grateful to destroy the castle and thus stop the fighting in their area. It is still possible to visit the castle's 11th century cellars which were used to store military equipment during the civil war "the magazine", much paranormal activity happens in this area, including footfalls.
The most remarkable feature of the current site is the remains of the donjon. Very few examples of this multilobed type exist. One is Clifford's Tower in nearby York. An identical example to York can be found at Étampes, France.
Jules field trips - Middleham Castle
It was not easy to get any sense of spookiness on a baking Sunday afternoon at Middleham Castle, with lots of people milling about the place on their own little adventures. The only place where I might have bumped into a ghost would be in the little dark nooks and cranny’s hidden in the walls of the building, these were the 12th century cellars, pits and chambers and I can image how gloomy these places would be at night, I was rather reluctant to enter during this bright day.. Middleham Castle is a substantial pile, it is very ruinous, we climbed the stone spiral staircase with a rather un-ruly dog in tow making the accent very tricky indeed, the dizzying ramparts begged us up. The view was incredible. It was the favoured haunt of Richard the III, although there aren’t any reports of his shade wandering the building. A visitor did once hear a ‘new born’ baby crying back in the late 90’s. Middleham Castle also known as the ‘Windsor of the north’ can be found in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire. It was built by Robert Fitz Ralph "Ralph De Glanville" 3rd Lord Of Middleham & Spennithorne in 1190, near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle. It is reputed to be the site of a buried hoard of treasure, to pin-point the treasure you must run a round the castle three times, and where you stop the treasure will be found. Unfortunately there is no indication of where you should start.
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