Lincoln Prison

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

Lincoln Prison opened on its current site in Greetwell Road in 1872. At first it housed men and women, but at some point between 1905 and 1913 women ceased to be admitted, being sent instead to Nottingham. There are unfortunately few surviving records for the years 1872-1911. It is possible that some items are still stored in the Prison, although the Prison Governor has deposited all the records that can be found at present. There are also a few later gaps in the main series of Admission Registers and Governor’s Journals; it is hoped that the missing items may be discovered one day.

In October 2002 inmates set fire to parts of the jail and seized control of at least one section of the prison during a large riot at Lincoln. The disturbance started when a guard was attacked by an inmate. A number of prisoners then jumped on the officer, assaulted him and dragged him into a cell and took his keys. It took police eight hours to bring the riot under control.

Lincoln is a Category B prison holding adult male remand and convicted prisoners from the courts in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Humberside. Accommodation at the prison is spread across five residential wings, a segregation unit, and in-patients healthcare facility.

First broadcast : 6th March 2010

Most Haunted Live : Golden Grove Mansion

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

Gelli Aur (Golden Grove) offers 60 acres of peaceful park and woodland on the southern side of the Towy opposite Aberglasney. Originally the home of the Vaughan family, Golden Grove passed to the Cawdors in 1804 and they built the present mansion. Probably the largest house in the valley, it is closed to the public but the parkland is open (no entry charge but pay and display parking in operation).

Golden Grove mansion was rebuilt by the Earl of Cawdor between 1827 and 1832, replacing the Tudor mansion of the Vaughan family. It presented superb views over the valley.

The Vaughan family was in Welsh named Fychan. Gruffydd Fychan was married to Katherine, daughter of Maredudd ap Tudor. Their son Hugh Fychan moved to Carmarthenshire in 1485 and married Jane, daughter of Morris ab Owain, Steward of the Lordship of Kidwelly and Receiver of the Commotes of Iscennen and Carnwyllion. Hugh Fychan was appointed Forester of Kidwelly and by 1492 was Gentleman Usher at the court of Henry VII his cousin. In 1532 Hugh Fychan, or Vaughan as he was now known, was appointed Keeper and Receiver of lands in Kidwelly confiscated by Henry VIII from Rhys ap Gruffydd of Dynevor. The family home was Cwrt Bryn y Beirdd a 14th century unfortified mansion opposite Carreg Cennen Castle in the Commote of Iscennen. Hugh and Jane had one son, John Vaughan.

John Vaughan of Kidwelly moved to Gelli Aur in the 16th century. His son Walter married twice, first into the Dinevor family and then to Letitia, daughter of Sir John Perrot of Laugharne. Walter’s eldest son John (1572-1634) was twice Member of Parliament for Carmarthen Borough. He served under the Earl of Essex in Ireland and subsequently was appointed to the household of Prince Charles. He was created Baron Mulingar in 1621 and Earl of Carbery in 1628.

His son Richard succeeded him as 2nd Earl of Carbery and became Lord President of the Marches of Wales and was created Baron Vaughan of Emlyn (a British rather than an Irish peerage) A royalist in the early years of the Civil War he took no part in hostilities after 1644. A refugee at Golden Grove during that war was Jeremy Taylor whose religious writings include “Golden Grove; or a Manuall of daily prayers and letanies”. At the time of his death Richard Vaughan owned 50,000 acres as well as land in Ireland.

The 3rd and last Earl of Carbery was Richard’s son John (1640-1713). Like his father and grandfather he was Member of Parliament for Carmarthen Borough but was also appointed Governor of Jamaica 1674-78 where his deputy was the notorious Sir Henry Morgan. He returned to London and became President of the Royal Society 1686-89. He was described by Samuel Pepys as “one of the lewdest fellows of the age”. His only daughter married Lord Bolton but died without issue and the estate passed to a cousin, yet another John Vaughan (1693-1765). He built a new Golden Grove mansion alongside the original that had been destroyed by fire in 1729. His grandson, John Vaughan (1757-1804) died without issue and left the estate to his friend John Campbell, Lord Cawdor. The Campbell family already owned land in Pembrokeshire as well as Cawdor Castle in Scotland. John Campbell’s son, John Frederick Campbell, second Baron Cawdor was created Earl of Cawdor in 1827. It was he who built the present Golden Grove mansion. John Duncan Vaughan Campbell, 5th Earl of Cawdor (1900-1970) spent most of his time in Scotland and leased Golden Grove mansion and the surrounding land to Carmarthenshire County Council. The bulk of the estate is used as an agricultural college.

Source: http://www.enchantedtowy.co.uk/

First broadcast : 27th February 2010

Most Haunted Rufford Old Hall

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

Rufford Old Hall, the home of the Hesketh family, grew over three separate periods.

In 1420 Sir Thomas Hesketh built a half-timbered manor house and established the family seat for the next 350 years. Like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, Sir Thomas married an heiress.

No expense was spared on the new house and, although only the great hall, with its upright timber studding, quartrefoil decoration and mullioned windows, survives from the original building, it clearly indicates the family’s wealth and position.

The manor house, according to the medieval pattern, would originally have had a cross wing at each end of the great hall.

The west wing, which housed the family apartments, has completed disappeared and the east wing, which contained the domestic offices, has been extensively rebuilt.

The magnificent great hall was built to be admired. It is 46 feet long and 22 feet wide and crowned by a splendid hammer-beam roof with quatrefoil motifs. Each massive beam is fretted with carved battlements and at the end of the supporting timbers angels (all but one now wingless) gaze down on the hall.

The Hall is reputedly haunted by three ghosts; a “Gray Lady”, a man dressed in Elizabethan clothes and Queen Elizabeth I. The “Gray Lady” has been seen many times, usually by the main entrance or on the drive leading up to the house. She is thought to be the ghost of Elizabeth Hesketh, a young woman who became seriously ill while her husband was at war overseas. She vowed that she would not die before saying goodbye to him, but he never returned so she never got the chance.

The ghost of the man in Elizabethan costume has sometimes been seen near the huge fireplace in the Great Hall. This is the spot where a secret chamber was later discovered – which it is thought was used to hide catholic priests from sight.

Queen Elizabeth I has been seen in the dining room, where she vanishes if anyone tries to approach her.

First broadcast : 20th February 2010

Most Haunted Live : Gawthorpe Hall

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

Gawthorpe Hall was built between 1600 and 1605, and has original architecture, fabulous plasterwork and oak panelling from that period; Robert Smythson is thought to have designed it; it has a fabulous minstrel’s gallery where an extraordinary number of travelling players and performers came to perform in the 1600s; it has the largest aisled threshing barn in Europe; Sir Charles Barry architect of the Houses of Parliament was responsible for redesigning the interior and grounds in the 1850s; Pugin designed furniture and wallpaper specifically for the Hall; it has the largest loan of portraits from the National Portrait Gallery in the North West; Charlotte Brontë came and stayed at the Hall twice at the invitation of the family; it has the most important textile collection outside of London and the list goes on and on!

Why is it not more well-known?  Well it is hidden away on the edge of industrial Lancashire, a place more well-known for its mills and factories than historic houses.

The Hall was built on the site of a pele tower by the Shuttleworth family who have lived on this spot since the 1400s.  When it was built it was a definite sign that the Shuttleworth’s had arrived in the world, as it contained the most modern luxuries and tastes of the time – lots of windows showing that they could afford to buy glass which was extremely expensive and elaborately decorated plaster ceilings, including the one that still survives today in the Drawing Room.  The frieze is made up of fantastical creatures, mermaids and animals, along with images of the family members from the 1400s who started the family’s fortunes.

Colonel Richard Shuttleworth fought in the English Civil War and rallied troops at Gawthorpe Hall in 1642 for the parliamentary cause.  In 1643 the Earl of Derby attempted to capture Gawthorpe but his troops were waylaid at the Battle of Read Bridge.  Colonel Richard was also involved in sending some of the Lancashire witches to trail at Lancaster in the same era. 

From the 1700s to early 1800s the family lived away from Gawthorpe; due to the deaths of various family members the Hall was thought to be a bad omen.  However the Hall took on a new lease of life when James Kay married Janet Shuttleworth the heiress to Gawthorpe in 1842.

James Kay was from a manufacturing family from Rochdale, he trained to be a medical man but his real passion was education and this was what brought him to Janet’s attention, she too had a passion for helping those around her and saw education as the means for doing this.  James Kay founded the first teacher training college in Battersea London and as well as being involved in many other areas is known as one of the founders of the modern education system that we have today.

After marrying Janet he changed his surname to James Kay-Shuttleworth and they set about on a programme of improvements at Janet’s beloved Gawthorpe, which included commissioning Sir Charles Barry (whom James Kay had known for several years) to redesign the interior and grounds.  Some of the many alterations that Barry made include heightening the tower on the roof of Gawthorpe, putting in the grand oak staircase we see today, refurbishing the Dining Room and replacing the original plasterwork ceiling with a design featuring the entwined KS initials and installing the parterres in the grounds.

The Kay-Shuttleworths also came to hear about Charlotte Brontë who was becoming a well known author by this time and lived only 12 miles away in Haworth.  They invited her to come and stay, which she eventually did in 1850 and then again in 1855.  She also stayed with the Kay-Shuttleworths at their home in Windermere where she met Mrs Gaskell who became her great friend and wrote the first biography of Charlotte after her death.  During Charlotte’s second visit to Gawthorpe in January 1855 it is said that she insisted walking out in the grounds and caught a chill from which she never managed to recover, she died two months later on 31st March the same year.

There has almost always been someone from the family living in the Hall right up until the 1960s.  Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth the last family resident died in 1967. The hall was given the National trust in the 1970′s.

Article from Lancashire Telegraph

GAWTHORPE Hall became a centre of paranormal activity as hit TV show Most Haunted Live attempted to contact spirits haunting the building.

Chandeliers swung and crayons flew at crew members as the team, including TV favourite Yvette Fielding, held a seance at the Padiham building for a live show aired on the Living channel.

Manus Wynne, producer of Most Haunted Live, said that the hall was chosen as it was known as a paranormal hotspot.

The Elizabethan hall, which once belonged to the Shuttleworth family, is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Rachel K Shuttleworth, the last family member to live in the hall.

Colonel Richard Shuttleworth, who lived at the hall and was involved in the Pendle Witch trial of 1612, may also haunt the building.

It is also believed that a young woman was once murdered at Gawthorpe with some visitors describing being gripped by a sudden chest pain.

Manus said: “Our researchers spotted Gawthorpe Hall in their searches and saw it had an interesting history with links to the Pendle witches and that it was regarded as being haunted.

“During the day crew members said they felt like they were being followed and heard bangs and knocks that they couldn’t explain.

“When we were filming the chandelier in the grand staircase started swinging furiously as Yvette and the team tried to make contact with the spirits.

“We also spotted what seemed to be a group of people on our thermal imaging camera stood looking down on the crew from the landing but only our crew were in the body of the hall.”

According to Mr Wynne even more scary things then began to happen.

“In the former nursery we left crayons out and when we came back later the paper had been drawn on,” he said. “The crew also said they felt crayons flying past them.

“Yvette also said she heard her name being called at her and when she was in the female servants quarters she heard someone moan in her right ear.

“Gawthorpe Hall definitely has a lot of activity and we would like to carry out further investigations there.”

Rachel Pollitt, manager at the National Tust hall, said: “It was a fantastic experience having Most Haunted Live here.

“Staff here have seen people in the hall when no one else should have been here and also felt like they were being followed.

“It has never scared us though as we don’t think they are evil.”

First broadcast : 13th February 2010

Most Haunted Capesthorne Hall

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

Capesthorne has been touched by nearly 1,000 years of English History.

Roman Legions passed across it. Titled Norman families hunted on it. In the Civil War the family was Royalist and an ancestress helped Charles II to escape after the Battle of Worcester.

The Hall itself was built between 1719 and 1732. Extensive changes over a hundred years later, included the distinctive turrets and pinnacles. But in 1861 a disasterous fire threatened to destroy the Hall completely. It was only saved by a change of the direction of the wind, which left just two wings remaining. The entire central section was gutted and had to be completely rebuilt. During the Second World War, Capesthorne was used as a Red Cross Hospital and its cellars became an effective bomb shelter for nurses and soldiers.

The historic collection displays a family’s taste collected over three centuries and include fine art, marble sculptures, tapestries, Regency, Jacobean and Rococo antiques from throughout Europe and America and the Far East.

The present Squire, Sir William Bromley-Davenport, former  Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and his American wife Elizabeth (E.B Watts), a professional artist, are the latest of eight generations to live there.
 
Capesthorne Hall is haunted by a number of ghostly figures, including that of a ‘Gray Lady’. She has been seen by many witnesses, particularly in the west wing.

Perhaps more frightening than the phantom female in gray is the appearance of a group of ghostly shapes walking down the stairs into the chapel vault. No explanation has been found for either of these manifestations.

The sinister spirit of a disembodied arm appeared to a young member of the family while he was sleeping in his bed. He was disturbed from his sleep by the sound of someone knocking on his window and as he looked up, all he could see was an arm trying to open it. As soon as the boy reached the window, the arm disappeared without a trace.
First broadcast : 6th February 2010

Most Haunted Tatton Old Hall

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

At first glance Tatton Old Hall is an undistinguished red brick farm house with a stone slab roof set within plain grounds except for a reconstructed crook-timber hay barn and a small visitor centre.

There has come to light, however, sufficient architectural and structural evidence to show that it was once probably completely a timber framed manor house of some significant substance.

This almost certainly represents the manorial seat of Richard De Massey who was Lord of the Manor of Tatton in the late thirteenth century (about 1250 AD to 1300 AD) and owner of the huge game hunting park which surrounded it. He also had a knight stationed at Dunham Castle at this time on his behalf.

Probably the most significant surviving feature is the ornate roof structure over what is now a reconstructed late Medieval Lord’s Hall complete with central hearth, tapestries, top table, straw beds and straw floor covering.

The estate passed to the Egerton family in 1598 AD (and remained in their care until it was given to the National Trust in 1958 AD). The main hall, ornate roof and other features located and perceived by archaeologists suggest that the building was once a house of considerable importance, having an ‘E’ shape with two wings and an entrance porch (similar to Lymm Hall) or a ‘U’ shape, and facing the green of ‘Tatton Green’ village.

An inventory of 1614 AD held at Cheshire County Records Office lists Tatton Old Hall as follows: “Parlour, Greate Parlour, Greate Chamber, Brewhouse (for pickles and preserves), Buttery and House” with a “Work House (workshop ?), Pottery Kiln and Mill”. There would also have been barns, out-buildings, possibly a yard and stables.

Strangely, it is not known when the Lords of Tatton (the Breretons or Egertons) moved to the site of the new Tatton Hall but it was probably in the late seventeenth century (1650 AD to 1700 AD). Right: inside Tatton Old Hall

The cellar under the library has a date stone of 1718 AD and the dining room is in a style of about 1750 AD. The new house was finally begun in about 1788 AD to 1791 AD.

Tatton Green’ was demolished during the landscaping of the park in 1791 AD under William Egerton and the hall was completed in 1807 AD under Wilbraham Egerton.

The Old Hall was then used to house the Game Keeper who tended the deer in Tatton Park which are said to be descended from the original forest stock of the area and an interesting tale persists of 18th century deer stealing (1700 AD to 1800 AD).

It is said that the foresters of Tatton once chased a poacher to his cottage near Swanbrook Hollow but, though they searched the house throughout from top to bottom, they could not find a trace of the dead deer.

Much disgruntled they rode off and, when they were well and truly out of sight, the poacher removed the dead deer from the cradle which his wife had been gently rocking as though to lull their child to sleep!
First broadcast : 30th January 2010

Most Haunted Bodelwyddan Castle

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series

The history of the house and estate extends to before 1460 though the association with the Williams family dates from around 1690. The Castle as seen today is a creation of Sir John Hay Williams dating from between 1830 and 1852. Architects Hansom and Welch were employed by Sir John to refurbish and extend the house while further works at this time also resulted in a magnificent estate wall and formal garden.

The loss of the main income source for the estate – lead mining – in the 1850s resulted in the decline of the Williams family fortunes, though further building refurbishment took place in the 1880s. By the First World War, the estate had been reduced in size and the house used as a recuperation hospital.

The grounds to the east of the main house were also used by nearby Kinmel Camp as an area for trench warfare training. In 1920 the house and estate were finally sold by the Williams family to Lowther College, a girls private school. The College was based at the Castle until 1982 when it finally closed due to financial problems.

In the 1980s the Castle was purchased by the then Clwyd County Council and developed as a museum, gallery and visitor attraction.

Parts of the Castle date from the 15th century when it was a large manor house, although there was probably a house on the site long before this. There have been many ghostly happenings reported over the past few years. They include:

A lady in the Sculpture Gallery

A soldier in one of the galleries (Bodelwyddan Castle was used as an officers mess and a recuperation centre during the First World War)

Shadowy figures drifting down the corridors

A blue lady in the Terrace Tea Room

Unexplained noises and lights

First broadcast : 23rd January 2010

Most Haunted Live Series

Posted by webmasterPLG as Live Series, Most Haunted News

Most Haunted: The Live Series is the not-to-be-missed ghost hunting event, where steely-nerved host Yvette Fielding and her team will visit a selection of old and new locations each week to peek into every dark and dusty corner looking for evidence of supernatural activity – all in front of a live television audience.

With the cameras rolling, there’s nowhere for Yvette and her ghost hunting team to hide if they’re confronted with visitations, friendly or hostile, from the other side. Starting with a new site that the Most Haunted crew have never before visited, the ground-breaking eight-part investigation will see Yvette and her crew of experienced experts, including parapsychologist Dr Ciaran O’Keefe and gifted medium Chris Conway, visit locations that would have most people quaking in their boots. Will viewers have the courage to follow them into the hidden recesses of some of Britain’s most blood-chilling sites?

From a disappeared village to a castle where human remains were discovered bricked up in the walls, there’s nowhere the team won’t go to explore the mystery of what lies beyond the grave. Aiming to top themselves on the scale of spookiness, where will they visit this Saturday?

Starts On Living TV Saturday 23rd January 2010