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HISTORY Bisham Abbey was once owned by perhaps the Knights Templar who owned the building in the 13th century. The Abbey is actually based around an ancient preceptory built by the Templars. In the early 1300's the Manor House was used as gaol (from where we get the word 'jail' from today) and housed all kinds of dignitaries during its lifetime. In the 16th century, the Hoby family we’re in residence and in 1577 the building was added to once more. During Bloody Mary's reign, Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned at the Manor. The location now is primarily used as a Conference Centre.
HAUNTINGS One resident of the Abbey was Elizabeth Cooke, better known as Lady Hoby (1528 - 1609). Lady Hoby is seen with remarkable regularity and sometimes, it appears she is not in the best of moods. There have been reported cases of her form appearing to guests and tearing curtains from beds, throwing objects around the rooms, and even threatening to 'strike them bald'! Although she does also appear in more tranquil moods too, Lady Hoby has been described as looking like a negative photo when she is seen. It is believed that the sounds of sobbing which are heard throughout Bisham Abbey are the result of Lady Hoby, as is the mysterious light, which is often seen in the empty Tower Room. Other phenomena reported include Light Anomalies, eerie footsteps, cold spots and objects that move by themselves.
ELIZABETHAN ROOM / HENRY VIII ROOM After a walk round and filming an introduction with Phil Whyman, we started off the investigation in these two adjoining rooms with team leader Tim. Like a lot of the rooms in the building, they have lost a lot of their original look due to the property’s new life as a Conference Centre. We settled in to connect with the atmosphere of the area. It was here that Marq and Charles started to get a heavy head as various photos were taken. Some of the team attempted some glass divination experiments but this provided no results. Although the room felt very flat, Marq took some pictures by the doorway and a dark streak was caught on one image covering the bottom half of the picture. Marq’s finger was nowhere near the flash or lens and further images taken revealed nothing (taken a few seconds apart). He tried to recreate the shadow by putting his finger across the lens and flash as did Phil later on in the break but the results proved unsatisfactory. We moved through to the Henry VIII room but this did not produce any results.
MARGARET DICKINSON ROOM / STAIRCASE / GRAND HALL After a break, we joined Phil and Sara in the Margaret Dickinson Room. Like other rooms, it was very empty apart from a few chairs and a sofa. More glass divination was attempted with limited results whilst Jude tried some scrying. Generally this room felt very flat and nothing much of note occurred. Later on, we sat on the staircase for a while but seemed very quiet. Harry and Marq went off for a walk round and entered the Grand Hall. We encountered another team who were engaged in some glass divination as the vigils came to an end on this session.
VANSITAR ROOM On the last vigil of the night, Marq joined another team who had been producing some good results with glass divination with team leader Tim. They had already allegedly established contact with a spirit gentleman called William and his Mother Elizabeth. Various team members called out and after a short while, there was gradual movement of the glass. Questions were continually asked and there seemed to be positive response but with the glass moving very slowly, it is impossible to say if this was accurate communication.
CONCLUSION Bisham Abbey was a slightly misconceiving location due to the interior changes made for its new life as a Conference Centre but it was still a beautiful building. Generally, it was a very quiet night with only the glass divination and the shadow on the photo producing any topic for discussion. We left the Priory tired and in need for a good nights sleep. |
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MEV Productions / Spiral © 2008 |
