East Sussex Paranormal Investigators

Why not check out the very first group's report who went into Yesterday's World and compare with ours, you can view theirs at :-

Ghost Connections

Brief History of Battle and Yesterdays World

 Senlac Hill, which is located in Battle was the site of the "Battle of Hastings" where in 1066, Norman invaders defeated the Saxon army and slain their King, Harold on the exact spot where the altar for a commemorative abbey was situated. The Abbey was completed in 1095 and the Gatehouse which stands imposing at the top of the High Street was built in 1338. The town gradually developed around the Abbey and became famous for its gunpowder and timber mills which supplied the military between 1676 and 1847.But overall, Battle exudes a Georgian flavor, although some structures date back as far as 1090 (town hall.)

   Yesterday's World is located adjacent to the Abbey gate house and is the venue for a "Museum of Shops" - a tourist attraction that is filled with winding passageways of old shops and street facades filled with relics and memories from ages past. The history of the building is a little unclear, though this is from the Yesterday's World website.....

   http://www.yesterdaysworld.co.uk/battle/battleparanormal.asp

    "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 parlor and the services for the chambers above. 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."

"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 Paranormal Events.

 For this again, we refer back to the Yesterday's World web-site, there is not a great deal of other information available on the internet. East Sussex Paranormal are only the second group to have investigated the premises, so there is also a void of information from past investigative groups, but more are investigations are booked for the future so we may see a growing catalogue of phenomenon reported from the site.

  http://www.yesterdaysworld.co.uk/battle/battleparanormal.asp

  "Nov 2006: a visitor sent us a picture she had taken of the grocer's display of what appears to be two ghostly figures of a man in a cap and a maid in the glass.

   Oct 2006: 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. "

 

The Investigation - Saturday 13^th Oct 2007

There were ten investigators involved on this occasion, split into three groups as follows:

Group 1 - Jan (Group Leader), Nina, Dave.

Group 2 - Michelle (Group Leader), Will (Guest), Alex (Guest).

Group 3 - Jackie (Group Leader), Victoria, Emily, Martin (Guest).

Structure of the Evening

First Hour (9pm -> 10pm)

Group1 - Ground Floor Grocers Display area, quiet period between 9.35pm and 10pm,

Group2 - First Floor Chemist Display & Corridor area,

Group 3 - Top Floor, Landing by Children's Bedrooms & Corridors.

Second Hour (10.15pm to 11.15pm)

Group1 - First Floor

Group2 - Top Floor

Group3 - Ground Floor

(11.15pm till midnight) Break; back to main area all groups

Third Hour - (Midnight to 1am)

Group 1 - Top Floor, Quiet time please 12.30am till 1am

Group 2 - Ground Floor,

Group 3 - First Floor,

Forth Hour (1.15am till 2am) ALL GROUPS this time will be used for table work (tipping/glass moving)

Findings by Area

 For the purpose of this report, areas will be focused on individually and group findings amalgamated to create an overall picture of any one given area. All vigils were recorded by audio devices, which make for an accurate record of events as they unfold.

  Unfortunately, Group 3's audio was of such poor quality it was deemed unusable, and also worth noting is their recorder suffered power drain and was rendered useless after the first or second vigil.

 Group 2's audio was of very low quality but still very useful. (My fault - Dave!!:-D)

  Video surveillance was installed on the top floor to record throughout the evening, but again, unfortunately, this was rendered useless as, when the power was cut to the lighting it also cut the power to the plug sockets, unorthodox electrical wiring is not uncommon in buildings that are a little "long in the tooth."   

Ground Floor

 The ground floor area comprised of a largish museum souvenir shop, exhibitions and a reproduction of an old cobbled street, complete with shop fronts.

(Time code in brackets represents the amount of time passed during the particular vigil.)

  Group 1 were in the ground floor area between 9 and 10 pm.

   Nina sets up her crystal grid in the cobbled street section.  At 10-00 Nina begins pendulum work. 'Yes' is given as a clockwise movement. 'No' is given as a backwards and forwards motion.

   11-09 Nina calls out for contact."I believe we have a middle aged woman here, dressed in black with a white apron."

   12-15 Jan asks for communication via our audio recorders.

   12-26 Nina "was your name Maud? Is it an M-sounding name? (A very feint whispered "yes, yes" is recorded via audio) Is that the young girl that's with you that has the M sounding name? That's a 'yes' (answered via pendulum) is her name Maud? Pendulum indicates 'Yes'. Is her name Maud? But she's called by another name? (Pendulum indicates 'yes') Is she known by the name of Molly? Or Moll? (14-37 Again, a whispered 'yes' is recorded.) Thank you. Would you like to communicate through me rather than the crystal? O.k. thank you. The little girl is saying that she plays all the time, running up and down the corridors." At this point (15-54) a voice is recorded that says - 'Hello')"The lady says that she often chastises her for moving the toys (the 'hello' is recorded again") although they like to stay here, they don't want to aggravate anybody or be a nuisance."

   16-25 Nina picks up another link. "Who's the gentleman that's with you? It's her husband. (16-31 whispered EVP recorded, that says "Several .....here") I see a tall, dark man. Very much in the shadows. Doesn't want to step forward, he's worried about the way we're dressed; to him women shouldn't be in trousers. Is the little girl you're daughter? No. (An EVP recorded (17-06) appears to say 'Kill', different voice to the ones previous) they just stay together as a family cause it's company to one another sort of thing."

   It is also determined that the lady worked at the Abbey, and that it was very nice in those days, "not so nice now." Dave asks for any indication of date, and 1860 is given for when the lady died and that she was 56 when she passed. Her job was something higher in rank than a chamber maid, bit like a house keeper; she had her own section in the Abbey, worked in the kitchens.... all over.

   19-38 Nina continues. "She's giving me the picture of a man, with a purple gown, (not a religious person) he's got this purple gown on that ... (A very loud and scary sounding 'YES' is recorded on audio!) ... and sort of like a grey yoke here ...long sleeves and sort of just drops straight down. There's no gathering or anything, just lots and lots of material. He was the master. You didn't dare cross the master."

   20-16 it is really interesting to note that group 2 were above us at this time (first floor), and their investigation has begun to bleed into group one's audio recording. They are also picking up on a middle aged woman, a little girl and accompanying man. Through group one's recording Alex's experience of seeing something can be heard , which Will says is the woman they were picking up from upstairs. (At 14-18 on group 2's investigation notes.)  I shall comment more on this in the conclusion section.

   20-44 Nina, "The man's coming in a bit closer now, he's got a big moustache, very slim." More is picked up at 24-45 "This man, he's got a very gruff voice, he's got one hand in his pocket at is very curious about what Dave is doing (Dave was doing EMF readings at the time) I'd say it was a bit of a northern accent, I'd say his hair was not very short. sort of like ... just below his ears, almost very rugged looking. heavy eye-brows... big moustache, probably about the same height and build as Dave (he must've been a babe magnet!! hehe - Dave:-D)

   25-33 Jan asks for any indication of era. Nina answers "yes, they're husband and wife; it's actually the little girl that isn't a member of their family. He was a gardener at the Abbey and around the area. The lady says, it used to be very pretty here, but things have changed very much, had flower beds, greenery and you could see for a long way. She's showing me this man in purple again and keeps saying ... he's the man." (Jan and Dave hear what sounds like a flick upon the bread basket that hangs from the front of the bicycle that's located there. This was recorded.)

   Nina picks up the name of Mildred, "she's saying her name is Mildred." Jan asks for any indication of a second name. Nina "She's giving me the letter 'P' ... is that Parker? (A very clear EVP recorded that says "YES, YES" 28-06) she's moved back now."

   At 28-39 another clear EVP is recorded that says "In Here" and again six seconds later with "here." Nina says "apparently there was a big festival here, a big religious festival that ran from the Abbey."

   At 21-14 Jan asks "Were you alive, living in a body in 1860?" A clear whispered EVP is recorded that says "No, scared though."

There is confusion now as to whether the lady is referring to the Abbey or Herstmonceux Castle, which is just up the road. Though, it would've been impossible for her to be working at the castle in 1860 as it was a ruin between 1777 and 1913. (As was Pevensey Castle and Bodium Castle, which was ruinous from 1664.) It is more likely we are referring to the Abbey, this is from Wikipedia,

  

    "Following the dissolution, parts of Battle Abbey became a private home, and other parts of the monastic buildings were ravaged for building materials. Sir Thomas Webster, MP and baronet (1677-1751, created a baronet 1703, baronetcy extinct 1923) married the heiress Jane Cheek (granddaughter of a wealthy merchant, Henry Whistler, to whose vast inheritance she succeeded in 1719). He bought Battle Abbey in 1719 and was succeeded by his son, Sir Whistler Webster 2nd baronet (died 1779 leaving a widow but no children; succeeded by his brother). Battle Abbey remained in the Webster family until 1858, when it was sold to Lord Harry Vane, later Duke of Cleveland. On the death of the Duchess of Cleveland in 1901 it was bought back by Sir Augustus Webster, 7th baronet."

     So in 1860, the Abbey would've been in the ownership of Lord Harry Vane.

    At 33-43 the name "Sarah" is heard via EVP once quietly then repeated loudly a couple of seconds later. Nina asks what the little girl died of and the answer comes back of Typhoid. She was ten. At 35-18 Nina picks up the name of George ("I always seem to pick up a George!! - Nina) at 35-48 Jan receives a text message regarding an important England rugby game, "we won, oh excellent, we won the rugby!" A voice is picked up on audio that says "here here" or "hehe" that is not from a member of the group, sounds like the "Sarah" voice.

    36-23 Nina, "she's now showing me a river, it's got grass on both sides, and there's a bridge going over this river, that's where they used to do their courting, he's definitely got a northern accent, think he might be Scottish, now I've got the name Arthur or Albert. The little girl has gone now anyway, I think she's gone upstairs. Be interesting to see if they pick her up, up there."

 

    The group moves to the back of the room, the corridor towards the door. The Grocer's display. Nina picks up "an old man with glasses on his nose, light brown coat, oh (laughs) telling us to GET OUT! Right miserable so and so. I'm getting (sings) -'A ring, a ring of roses a pocket full of poses' - I've got about four kids out there, three of the children are all right, but the other one is all black, I think it's been burnt, and they are just going round singing a ring a ring a roses, just keep going around, around, got lot's coming in now. They all came here for a picnic, there was a fire, there's some sort of accident where... people burned, oh horrible, I gotta get out of here."

    At 45-45 the group moves off through to the shop area at the front. Nina picks up the image of a man, top hat and trousers, a bit like a penguin suit, very dapper sort of gentleman. "And he's just standing there (EVP recorded that says -Who is he?) I've asked him if he wants to say anything, but he's just leaning on something, just smiling."  Group 1's Investigation of Ground floor finishes.

 Group 2 were in this area from midnight to 1 a.m.

  The group started their investigation near to the Post Office exhibit. At 4-09, EVP recorded "I've got a trade too." After eight minutes Will catches a link.

 Will - "A little boy about 11 years old in grey shorts. Buckled shoes, socks, long type waste coat ... socks half way up his shins, a lot of dark hair. He's giving me the image of ... like a load of men stood behind stalls cutting fish. He used to pick up scraps ... collect them or take them. He's quite cheeky, you know cheeky laugh."

 At 15-09 Michelle feels like her hair is caught on something - but there was nothing for it to get caught on. This occurs twice.

 At 17-17 Will adds further details. "Not sure if his hair is dark brown, or black, he's got a lot of it though, you know ... like a bowl cut. He's just really playful." After a while he adds "It'd definitely the era of the horse and cart, he's showing me a t-junction" Will comments that the impression he's getting is in black and white. Michelle is getting a sense of soldiers, hundreds of them.

 Contact with the small boy continues. At 24-40 EVP recorded. "Look, she moves." Michelle is trying to coax the contact into coming closer and providing the group with physical evidence.  At 27-70 a strange cough like noise is heard by the group - and is also captured on tape. At 28-56 Will relates, "I keep getting the image of children sitting at a school desk, an old Victorian photo from the front, and they're all just sat looking at the camera."

At 31-45 more is picked up about the boy.   Michelle is calling for further contact, a very probable EVP is recorded that says, in a whispered voice ... "hold that" -Will adds "He's asking, he's trying to ask you something." Meaning Michelle "Are you holding my hand? That's nice."

  Will supplies more information. "He's showing me a road, and there's a lot of children playing in that part of the street. And he'd run through" "Not a bully,"  "he'd knick a hula-hoop off of someone or kick a ball, something like that." "I think you're right Michelle, I think his mum must've died while he was young - 'cause he's showing me his dad sat on the bed with him. He's got like a fever."

 By this time, the vigil is 42 minutes in, Will and Michelle continue to pick up on this small boy and Will senses further on the school impressions.

 42-12 Will - "I'd be interested to know if there was a school nearby here; cause I feel ... that way ... towards the back was like a concrete area that was like a play area. It was like there was a road or something that came down the side ... there was a road here." (At 45-55 Alex hears a tap or a kicking - that occurs twice - also heard by Will - but not caught on tape.)

 At 47-10 in response to the tapping noises, Michelle asks, "can you say hello?" An EVP is recorded that says, "It's me." It's an odd sounding voice, strangely enough sounding similar to the voice of the child in the movie Poltergeist, that is calling out and being heard through the television. 

At 47-20 Michelle asks the child's age, and begins calling out ascending numbers. "Are you one? Two? Three, four, five? ....six?" The same voice is recorded on tape that could be interpreted as saying "ten." Michelle continues ... "seven ..... Eight, nine, ten?" The voice is recorded saying "ten." Michelle continues "...... eleven?" A different voice is recorded at this point, it is hard to hear for the most part what is saying, but it says a sentence, of which the last phrase is, "I was there." Michelle continues, "Are you twelve?" The child like voice is recorded to say "I like you." The other voice is also recorded here and says, "Scuse us."Followed by a "no" from the child voice .Unfortunately there is interference from a passing car. Michelle continues, "Are you playing?" The child voice again, which is hard to determine, but it sound like the word "fear."                       Michelle - "You ever play anymore?" Child EVP replies "No." The other voice is recorded again. "Leave us here."

 The Group's vigil ends a few minutes later.

First Floor

 The first floor of Yesterdays World is a veritable warren of old shop fronts and displays enclosed in narrow corridors.

 

Group 2 were investigating the area between 9pm and 10pm.

At 2-38 into the vigil, Will picks up a lady in her early 40's. At 2-48, an EVP is recorded a feint whisper that says, "He likes me." The group asks any spirits present to tap on one of the glass fronts of the displays, but no response and by 5-39 they are at the chemist's shop. Will senses and empathizes a feeling of hunger and a few seconds' later Michelle senses a little girl wearing a frilly dress that's big on her, wide. She also feels she is wearing a bonnet and is aged somewhere between six to eight.  At 7-17 Will says he sees a flash, and Michelle is getting hot.                 Michelle gets the name Amelia for her contact, and she likes to play on her rocking horse. The impression is given of the girl being scalded on the hand by a governess type figure, all in dark clothing. Amelia being made to do school work, Michelle is not sure whether the girl is there in spirit or whether she's just getting the memory of her. Will says it feels like it could be residual energy. 

    At 10-24 Michelle and Will say they have strange feelings on the back of their heads and Will says, "That lady, she's still around, she's pacing up and down this corridor - she's got a goldy, sandy tint to her hair, tied back into a bun, blue cloth top with short sleeves and a piny, she's out there now. She's pretty much just looking at us." (Michelle feels her arm is numb) Will - "She seems very shy and withdrawn. She's happy for us to be here."

  At 14-18 Alex states, "I just thought I saw something out the right hand corner."  Will asks, "Alex, was it by the door? Behind you?" Alex confirms. Will says, "There's a lady standing there." Alex adds more detail, "My head just shot round, whatever it was, it was a movement, I couldn't even say if it was a human."

   At 28-21 the little girl is picked up again. And Will can add more about the Lady, saying that she is 48 and lived in Victorian times. At 29-10 EVP recorded "I'm vain like you." And at 28-28 another recorded that says "leave us alone."

    At 46-30. Will picks up a big man, broad shoulders, grey hair, and glasses. Claiming that he's potentially an aggressive type of character.  

   At 50-33 the group calls out one last time, asking for signs. No reply, but a strange humanesque noise recorded on tape that appears to be saying a sentence, but lack of clarity prevents further analysis.

Group 1 were in the first floor are between 10-15 and 11-15

Group One report from Jan.

10.22pm Second Floor Group 1 Jan, Dave, Nina

Jan feels wobbly as they enter the Second Floor, Jan sees the model in the display and says he looks like Dr Crippen, Nina says it's the same man she had a vision of Downstairs. A whistle is heard on the tape, no-one comments on it? The floors and doors are very creaky on this floor, Jan and Nina comment that it again feels wobbly like being on a ride.

 Nina and Jan sit on the floor, and go into fits of giggles outside the? Shop.  Nina comments that the energies are making us laugh, Nina starts talking in Latin!! Jan shivers as Nina recites the Latin, this is what she say's

" translated, says "I am (as in not an individual, a representation of "many") a sacred spirit"

Nina recites the same thing over again, then gets someone chanting wedding vows or similar.' We are gathered here today'?

 

 Suddenly Nina and Jan go into fits of laughter again. Unstoppable laughter. Very strange and for no reason. At this point Dave does a runner from the area thinking we have gone mad!!  Both Nina and Jan get the feeling of being tickled. Nina asks if Dave is shining a light for her?? Someone is making us laugh?? We ask out for Spirit to Move the bicycle above Nina.  Nina starts singing the Wheels go round and round??  Jan says she feels the energy of Children, and light energy's, Nina says she senses Children skipping and starts singing 'Here we go round the Mulberry Bush'  Nina says she is losing concentration and just wants to laugh in this area.  Jan asks out for a sign, Nina says she gets 'Liquorice' Jan asks if they can communicate with the EVP recorder.  We get lots of energy, party atmosphere, Clowns etc.  Dave comes back and show's us a picture he has taken of himself in the window, it looks very strange almost like he has been taken over by something and the face does not look like him at all, its almost Clown like, we all look at the pictures, Dave had taken three in succession and the middle one was weird!

   

                          

 Dave had heard a noise and went to investigate the passageway when he took the pictures.  Nina says she picks up on a cat in the room.  Nina shivers.  The energy gets Dark and we feel cold, the Children have gone.  Nina tells the Sprit to leave if they don't come with Love and Light.  We can hear the other group talking; footsteps can be heard we feel this may be the other group.  We move down the corridor.

10.56pm back near the staircase.  Nina sits down and shivers. Nina picks up on the spirit of a small cockney chap, this is what he says:-

'err what you doing ere, what u want' you shouldn't be ere you now, this place was supposed to be cleared out hours ago.'  Nina replies we have got permission to be here, ' who gave you that permission' Nina says the people that own it gave permission, reply says' They think they own it but they done, its us that walk the halls that own it, we was ere first'.  Nina asks what do you do here? Reply says' I make sures everything's ok' sweep the floors tidy up.  Nina asks how long you been here. Reply "gald blimey can't remember that far, I've always been here."  Wants to know what Dave's looking at?  Finger prints replies Dave, there shouldn't be any he replies.  He asks if we paid to get in, we reply yes and that we want him to communicate with us.  He says we can talk to him any time. Jan explains that Nina can talk to him and hear him but Jan and Dave can't, Jan says Nina has a gift, he replies what sort of gift have you got?  Nina says she is a Medium, a channel between those passed over and those here, he replies that he's not dead!  He can see us we can't see him.  He makes us go cold.  Nina says he looks at Jan and say's 'Pretty lady' (must be mad!!)  Nina says he looks like Norman Wisdom, the spirit reply's his name is Norman, he was the one making us laugh, he says he like's making people laugh.  He also says there is a dark energy in the building; we say thanks but stay away we only want light energies.  We all comment on the cold.

  Nina's breathing gets deeper.  She starts talking, 'a large entity, the keeper of the gate, there is a gate here!   One in the Abbey, one in the house.  The forth one to link the four has been closed and there will be a time when it will need to be opened, he's here to protect the gate from being opened. Many people come here to seek the hidden gate but they will never find it, there is only one who knows where it is and they will find out when they are drawn here in 2012 when the gates are aligned and the energy's released, time as we know it will completely change, the spirits will be here to help.  Those already here will be here in readiness to help those in need, this land will be laid open to those who need it, to those who need to seek the light, the beam will be so bright everyone who need to see it will, I am the gate keeper, the keep of the gate, and I will be here ready when you seek the gate.  The seeker of the gate is here and they don't know who they are yet, the time is not right.  Time will come soon.  The spirit left!  Jan comments on how deep and meaningful the conversation had been.

  A dong noise we heard by us but not on tape. (Seemed to originate from the hanging saucepans just outside in the hall, three feet from us at the time, shame we didn't capture it -Dave)

 Nina comments how the energy's are gone and the Crystal is hot in her hand.

 We move to the Winston Churchill Manikin. Its cold in this room, noise from the road is loud. Nina feels wobbly and shattered. Jan asks out for a sign.  Nothing was photographed in this area.  We discuss what Nina had just said about the Gatekeeper.  We all feel zapped of energy.  A donk noise is heard, not sure where from?  All goes quiet; we take some photos of the manikins.  We return downstairs to have a tea break.

 

 Top Floor

 The top floor of Yesterdays World comprises of a narrow corridor that runs the length of the building, again there are displays and at one end a child's bedroom scene is replicated, complete with Rocking horse.

 

 Group 2 investigated this area between 10-15 and 11-15.

 After about 5 minutes into the group's vigil, Will picks up on a male presence in the area. But little in the way of activity is reported other than physical sensations to do with temperature changes and potential cold spots. The group are located in the opposite end of the house to the child's bedroom set up.   

  At 14-01 the group hears scraping on the other side of the wall to where they are sat sitting. But this is not caught on the audio recording. The noise occurs twice more when prompted.                At 18-56 the group hears a knocking or a floor-board creaking, (which is caught on tape.) At 19-45 group gets up and moves towards the noise. Will suddenly stops the group when he notices a picture move and go lopsided, a picture of Battle high street. The group finds no apparent cause for this occurrence.  At 20-35 a moan is heard and recorded, as well as a recording of a voice "to the light."

  At 22-51 Will picks up the male presence again - "that man he's got a dog with him."

  At 23-43 Group enters child's bedroom area. At 26-58 Will is experiencing a swaying sensation and Michelle is feeling compelled towards a door, almost as if something wants to drag her through it by the arm. At 28-16 EVP recorded "We hear you."

  At 30-48 the group are picking up on soldiers, World War One soldiers and are wondering why? "Were they billeted here?"

  At 32-24 Michelle breaks out the dowsing rods and by 39-00 they've got the "outwards" movement as a signal for 'yes' - and a crossed movement as a signal for "no." Will speaks towards the male contact, "I really sense in you the family man."  But alas, this is as far as the communication went as far as using the dowsing rods.

  At this point the recording was stopped briefly. The time code represents the amount of time passed since it had been restarted.

 At 5-51 Will picks up the name "slayer, a woman - she never did marry, connected to the house in the 1940's." Over the next few minutes Will says he keeps getting the same name put to him, which after a while, he realises is in fact ....Slater. 

  At 10-34 An EVP is recorded, "I got caught there."

   Will continues with the Slater contact - "She's saying there's something here she owned, not sure if she owned the house," Michelle reports the strong smell of talc, which was confirmed by Martin from group 3, who passed through the area at the same time and said that his group experienced the same phenomenon. After Martin leaves, Will says the lady's presence is still quite strong "She's wearing lace-up boots, she feels motherly. Almost as if she could gather us all up" Michelle seems to get the name Catherine, but claims that she's not usually good with names. Will continues, "She keeps showing me her signing a big book, cream pages, lots of pages.                                       Marriage seems to keep coming up, and Will voices a feeling of ambiguity, "she wasn't married, but also perhaps she was, perhaps widowed? I feel she was signing it cause she was tying herself into something, a contract or a business deal. I feel like she gained something rather than giving something away." The presence diminished soon after, as did the time allotted for this vigil.

 

 Group One investigated the top floor between 12 and 1 a.m.

    After nine minutes getting a "feel" for the area, it was felt the end opposite the child's bedroom was to be investigated first.

     At 10-58 Nina picks up a mail contact. "He tells me he's 78, he was a farmer, had a big farm hereabouts, not as big as the toffs, but it was a big farm. Nothing looks the same anymore he reckons. He's referring to something called Toddy, he said his farm went as far as the eye could see in all directions, you could stand at his house and everywhere you looked was his land, he's worked for it and got it, not inherited. there doesn't seem to be much on the land - not like he uses it for crops, more like an animal farm. The clothes he's wearing look like 50's, baggy trousers round the legs, with braces, shirt sleeves sort of rolled up above the elbows. He's saying its nothing like it now - too many houses built up, getting the names Henry and Georg (again), and Jerome and Jeremiah, very biblical names, he said they used to work hard and give thanks for what they had. Not like now. Times are a changing. I've got the name Batilda (turns out it's a cow!!!) he talks to it like it's a pet." At 23-45 Nina picks up Norman once more, she prompts him to talk on the audio recorder, to leave a message about the dirty windows, "he said - 'clean the windows' be interesting to see if it comes out. He's moved off now."

     29-19 Jan complains of having a "dead-leg," the group urges the leg to try and make contact or leave a message on their audio device :-D The group settles back for the "quiet period." But at 38-29 it is decided to quietly move to the children's bedroom area at the other end of the house, a move that would've been successful if not for a particularly noisy door!

     44-52 Nina starts pendulum work. At 46-38 Nina begins to sense children once more, and at 46-58 a really breathy EVP is recorded that say "Give it here." At 49-52 twice is recorded a strange whistling noise, but heard only once, likened to the sound of something being released or losing gas pressure. At 52-00 Nina picks up on children singing nursery rhymes once more. The vigil comes to a close.

Table Experiments - Ground Floor - Cobbled Street Area - All Groups

1-40 a.m. A Glass Moving Experiment was undertaken in the cobbled street area of the ground floor. All were present. On the table were, Jan, Michelle, Victoria, and Dave. The table was opened by Nina at 1:58 a.m.

 There was a lack of contact right from the onset of this experiment. Nothing was detected by way of movement, but other things were experienced. At 8-07 A fairly loud clear knock is heard, Will says he can sense someone to the right and picks up more "people at 9-07"

At 12-25 for some reason, Michelle is singing, a voice is picked up on the audio recorder that says, "Nobody heard you."

 At 14-30 Will picks a man, who'd have been in his early 60's when he passed, 5'7, round face, thinning on top. Will feels he is someone that Dave knew, maybe on his mother's side, maybe his grandfather's brother. He was smartly dressed with the name of either Henry or Harry.

Conclusions

 The investigation of Yesterdays World produced some interesting results, but first we'll look at if any of our findings supported previous phenomenon that has been reported from the venue.

A lady in a long dress has been sited by a visitor on the stairs.  A similar presence was picked up by group members, but as far as physical evidence, Alex seemed to have to have the closest when she witnessed movement out of the corner of her eye confirmed to be from the same location as a woman spirit by Will, who also stated that she walked the corridors.

 There are a few similarities to what Nina (group 1), Michelle and Will (group 2) picked up regarding this Lady and her male and young girl companions. Both groups picked up on the three at the same time but on different floors and the first similarities that can be noted lies in their descriptions.

 Nina's description of the Lady - "I believe we have a middle aged woman here, dressed in black with a white apron."

 Will's description of a lady in her early 40's - "That lady, - she's got a goldy, sandy tint to her hair, tied back into a bun, blue cloth top with short sleeves and a piny, she's out there now. She's pretty much just looking at us."

 Also, interesting to note is that the photo sent into Yesterday's World featuring the figure of a maid could bear similarities to the fact that Will and Nina's description featured a lady wearing an apron.

 Both groups also picked up on a male character that was aggressive in character.

Nina - 'Nina picks up "an old man with glasses on his nose, light brown coat, oh (laughs) telling us to GET OUT! Right miserable so and so.'

Will - "At 46-30. Will picks up a big man, broad shoulders, grey hair, and glasses. Claiming that he's potentially an aggressive type of character."

 The main differences between the two groups' female contact, is in the name and era, It appears will picked up on two females, one being 48 and lived in Victorian times (As did Nina's contact) the other being middle aged and on the premises in the 1940's. Will gave the name of Slater as this lady that he was picking up and that she could've owned something here, although he was confused as to what exactly.

This is from the yesterdays World Web site.

 1927-1934: Miss FR Slater - owner of 89 High Street.  89 High street was combined with 90 High Street in 1992, Will is correct that Slater may have owned something here, just a part of the present day building and he was also only ten years out on the date, saying that he felt it was the 1940's that she was present.

 Nina's contact gave 1860, and the name Mildred Parker. I did find a Mildred Parker from that era and with the same profession, but she originated from another part of Sussex, and beyond the name and occupation the similarities end.

  Mildred PARKER - Female, Birth Year <1851>, Age 30, Occupation: Cook & Housekeeper (Dom.) She worked in the household of Lord Gage in Firle Place House, West Firle, Sussex.

 Several staff claim to have heard footsteps on the floorboards overhead when the museum has been empty.

 This was apparently witnessed by the groups, when during the quiet time footsteps were heard and no one was found to be responsible. A floorboard footfall creak was also recorded on audio and heard by Group 2.

Information Individual to This Investigation

School and Children

While investigating the ground floor Will commented. "I'd be interested to know if there was a school nearby here, cause I feel ... that way ... towards the back was like a concrete area that was like a play area. It was like there was a road or something that came down the side ... there was a road here."

 This is from the Yesterdays World web site.

"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."

 So I wonder if Group 2's small boy contact was from this "boarding School" era and also Nina's nursery rhymes and groups of children.

Soldiers

At a couple of points during the Investigation, soldiers were picked up, more specifically to do with the First World War and Second World War.

This from Wikipedia -"Battle was a refuge in World War I, and tunnels still exist, leading from various fields and cellars to Battle Abbey itself. However, they are deemed unsafe and are now closed."

 I've tried to search as to whether there were any Pals regiments or recruitment depots local to Battle, but putting "Battle" and words like "soldier" in a search term is asking for trouble :-D Although, I will say that it was highly likely that there were, I know that the 19^th Batt Sussex Home Guard were located in Battle during WW2, and that Canadians were garrisoned in the abbey, as well as used as a soldier's hospital. And pre D-day, the area was awash with soldiers in preparation for their invasion of occupied France.

Fire

 Nina picked up a group of children, one of which was burnt. And commented that a fire event occurred that resulted in people getting hurt. I found reference to some of the Abbey being burnt to make way for dwelling conversion in ages past, but this was a deliberate controlled action. I also found reference to a nasty fire that occurred in the Abbey in 1931, but was unable to determine as to whether anybody was hurt or not.

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 Battle Abbey Fire 1931

  In looking for evidence of people being hurt by fire, I stumbled upon this information, relating to an alleged "Curse of battle Abbey."

 "At the Dissolution in 1539 it was found to be one of the richest of the English hoses and was granted to Sir Anthony Browne, Master of the Horse, who razed the church and cloisters and converted the abbot's lodging into a dwelling-house. It was upon him that the last monk of Battle Abbey laid a curse, saying that the family which had despoiled the abbey should end by fire and water. Although it took over two-hundred years for the curse to come true, it did so in 1793."

"While travelling in Europe with his friend Charles Sedley Burdett, the two became obstinately determined to ride a fishing boat over the Rhine Falls, despite the warnings of the local inhabitants, none of whom could be hired or persuaded to help them. They died in the attempt, and he was succeeded in the viscountcy by a distant cousin, a clergyman. In the same week that the unfortunate Viscount met his death, the family home of Cowdray House was destroyed by fire; a circumstance which provided the foundation for a factitious legend of a "curse of fire and water" upon the Browne family for having received Battle Abbey at the Dissolution of the Monasteries."    Interesting ............

Gardens and Flower-beds

 In regards to Nina's gained information regarding the flower beds and how "pretty" it all had been at the time of 1860, this was found in a book written around 1850.

 "Time was left to do the rest in part ; and as the columns and arches crumbled into ruin, the owners of the property mended their roads with the rich carvings, and turned the alter tombs into paving stones - until at last the prettiest of flower gardens was laid out upon the sacred ground, and the rose and the pansy flourished in the earth which had been first enriched by the blood of the slaughtered Saxons, and grew richer and richer with the bones of buried monks, generation after generation."

 

All Done

Thanks to everyone involved in the investigation and thanks to Corey and all at Yesterday's World.