TIVOLI THEATRE

Tivoli Theatre
Buckley
Flintshire

4th July 2010

PRUK



Buckley (in Welsh its Bwcle) is the second largest town in Flintshire.

This town goes back as far as the Anglo Saxons. But it was first recorded in 1294 as in the Manor of Ewloe, as Bakkeley. In 1420, Henry V presented Ewloe to his new wife, Catherine of Valois, as a wedding present. During the 17th and 19th centuries, the town became a hive for pottery and coal mining (the first mine had opened in 1737).


TIVOLI THEATRE


This building was built in 1925. It was formerly a cinema and Music Hall. It was built on the site of the former Central Hall which was demolished in 1920.







In 1932, a tradition started of running an annual pantomime. Dennis Griffiths produced a version of Dick Whittington in 1933 and a pantomime ran for 27 years. The last performance finished on March 14th 1959. It was Puss in Boots.




PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

--- a man has been seen on the stairs. This man died as a result of a fire in the projection room.



INVESTIGATION.


We arrived at 8pm and we had a walk around the building. There was 10 of us in total, myself, Phil, Nicola, Caraline (medium), Geoff (medium) and the rest were from the theatre.


As we walked around upstairs, Phil was standing in the doorway of the office. He felt his head had been touched with a bit of a thud. We headed back downstairs and at 8.30pm Nicola heard glasses clanging together. This went louder and stopped by the ladies toilets behind the dancefloor. A circle of protection was given by Geoff and Caroline but Phil and I didnt join in.





At just after 8.30pm, we started in the cellar. This is not a true cellar, just a room behind a bar. Geoff and Caroline picked up on a fire and hanging. Geoff also picked up on a man who didnt like women. He wasnt evil but he did like to push people and move things. The lady from the nightclub did confirm that things did move around and go mising in here.




As the group moved on, I stayed here on my own and I did hear something like a man's voice. Nothing else happened and as the cellar is quite noisey, I put this voice down to some background noise. So after a short while, I joined the rest of the group behind the dancefloor.


Geoff and Caroline were picking up on a few spirits in this area. They picked up on a nasty man named Henry Davies. He was a murderer but instead of being punished, he became an executioner. A tall, thin woman with dark hair. She was involved in witchcraft (what we would call a white witch today) and she had been executed on or near this site. The man (from the cellar) walked here as well.


Just after 9.30pm, we moved upstairs to the first floor. In this room, Goeff and Caroline were picking up on a young boy aged between 9-12 years old. A woman with blonde greyish hair, in her mid 50's named Sarah. A male with either his legs chopped off or sharpe pains in his legs. And a young girl named Louisa, she was 8-9 years old, wearing a white dress with dark shoulder length hair in rinkles. Voices were also heard by a few other people.


After spending a short while in the first floor office, we moved up to the second floor onto the balconey. Geoff and Caroline picked up on a nasty male. There was no connection to the building, so he must have been associated with the local land or the land that this building had been built on. A couple of people, including Nicola, felt uneasy and unsteady standing in a certain place. This (to me) was understandable due to the fall next to you but it was claimed that the feeling came and went. Geoff picked up on someone falling over the balcolny, jumped or pushed. A few of the group heard noices. I too heard something but I couldnt tell what it was.




We moved into a side room on top of the stairs. This had been the projection room. Geoff picked up on a fire starting in this room. Two men were picked up in this room, possibly a third. He also picked up on three names -- HAROLD, JOSEPH and HARRY. One man died in this fire, one person escaped but one more person was possibly involved.
The story that Geoff told us was that one man was possibly asleep when the fire started and this is why he didnt get out. The fire started with a lit cigarette but this man didnt smoke, so there must have been another person in this room smoking. This other man had left the room and perhapes not knowing that his cigarette was not put out properly caused the fire as an accident. This fire swept through the 2nd floor and down the stairs. The damaged can clearly be seen today.

After soon research, I found out that there had been a fire where one man had died. I will find out more info. But Geoff also said that the year 1920 was important but I no that the fire was in 1946.





Just after 11pm, we went back to the room above the dancefloor. We started with some glass work as when Phil had entered the room, he felt his throat tighten. We picked up on an 8 year old girl and after a short time and some questions from our mediums, I asked if she would like to draw a picture. She said "YES". I left these out of our way, on the other side of the room, as a trigger object.


Geoff and Caroline now told us that a man now joined us and also a boy. The man was called THOMAS DAVIES, aged 42 years and he had killed himself after killing his brother, DAVID, aged 38 years, his wife, KATHERINE, aged 39 years and his children, FREDRICK, aged 12 years and LOUISA, aged 8 years.




It had all started with a fierce drunken row with his brother. I have kept the details out of this report, as it will be interesting to see if anyone else comes up with the same details. But I am researching this information at the moment and I look forward to anyone else getting in touch with me and sharing our results.



While I was recording this information, my torch turned itself off.







Phil had now taken a small group to a different area and they had had stones thrown at them.



By 12.30am, we all met up again and went into the small room at the back of the dance floor and we conducted more glass work. We picked up on HENRY DAVIES (not related to the family upstairs). A nasty man, murderer turned executioner. He was English and had a hatred of women and the Welsh. But in 1822, at the age of 57, he was murdered. While this was being told, Phil's torch switched on by itself.



We finished about 2am and I went back to my trigger object but nothing had happened.





What a great building. I need to research the information given to us by our mediums.
A few things had happened to us ......... both my and Phil's torch
Phil's throat
Phil's head touched
stones thrown
glass noise
voices heard
funny feeling in the balconly

HOLT CASTLE AND BRIDGE
HOLT, NR WREXHAM
WALES


GROUP ..... SA



Holt is a medieval market town in Wrexham, just on the Welsh/English border. The River Dee is the natural border with Holt on the Welsh side and Fardon (its neighbour) being on the English side on the opposite side of the river. A medieval bridge joins the two.

This area has been occupied since the Roman times. A brickworks (possibly called Bovium) supplied clay tiles and pottery to the Roman Fort of Deva Victrix (Chester). The works was located just outside the town, as it stands today. Six kilns, a bath house, sheds and barracks were found by the River Dee.

Three Bronze Age butial urns have also been found in Holt.

Holt and Farndon had at times uneasy neighbours. Holt was accused of giving shelter to felons who ambushed Cheshire folk living and working in Fardon. Also during the English Civil War, Holt was Royalist where as the Parliamentarins set up camp in Fardon.



HOLT BRIDGE



This 14th century sandstone bridge was built during 1338 by John, Earl of Warenne. It links the villages of Holt and Fardon. The bridge contains ten arches, a Tower or Gatehouse (which contained the Lady's Chapel) and a drawbridge. The third arch, viewed on Holt's side, shows the strengthened arch where the drawbeidge was.

When the bridge was first built, people had to pay a toll to cross it.

During the English Civil War in 1643, William Brereton and his force of Parliamentarians lead by Thomas Myddelton attacked the bridge. They took the bridge on the 9th November 1643 and then won the town but never took the castle.


PARANORMAL ACTIVITY AT THE BRIDGE

There are two ghost tales from the bridge.

The first is that of a Civil War solider. This solider was killed nearby and his role was to guard the bridge. I beleive he could be a Parliamentarian guarding the bridge after they attacked and won the bridge. Has he come back to carry on with his job.


The second story is about two little boys who were murdered on this bridge. This sad tale takes place soon after the bridge was built. Their names were Madoc and Llewellyn ap Gruffydd. Their parents were Davydd (brother to Llewellyn, the last Prince of Wales) and his wife Emma.

After the death of Llewellyn (Davydd's brother), Davydd held a meeting of the Welsh Chieftains at Denbigh and they decieded to carry on with the war against the English. But soon after this meeting, Davydd was attacked near Holt and taken prisoner. He was put to death as a traitor to Edward 1st. Emma (who died in 1270) for reasons known only to herself, handed her two eldest children as wards to Edward 1st. Why hand your children over to the enermy?

The children came with thier own land that had been left for them by thier father. Madoc inherited Broomfield and Yale. Llewellyn inherited Chirk and Nanheudwy.

Edward 1st gave the children a guardian each. Madoc had John, Earl Warren as his guardian and Llewelyn had Roger Mortimer as his guardian.

One night, both guardians on horseback took the boys from Chester to Dinas. John and Roger plotted against the two boys and as they crossed Holt Bridge, they threw the boys into the river. Madoc and Llewelyn screamed for help but their heavy clothes pulled them under. The two men watched as the poor boys drowned.

John and Roger reported the matter to Edward 1st. Did they say it had been an accident or did the King know the truth? Either way, the king granted the boys estates to the men, apart from Holt Castle which the King retained.

The boys cries are said to still be heard at night.





HOLT CASTLE

The castle was built between 1277 and 1311. It was built from sandstone on top of a 39feet (12 meter) sandstone foundation. It was a five towered fortress with a lion motif carved into the stonework above the main gate. This gave the castle its nickname CASTRUM LEONIS (CASTLE LYONS). The castle had a stepped ramp leading to the main gate.

Holt castle was another castle built by Edward 1st soon after the invasion of North Wales in 1277.




In 1282, Edward presented this land to John de Warrene (the same man from the story about the two welsh princes's). By 1311, the castle was finished and a planned town had been laid out just for English settlers.








During 1400, the Welsh upraising lead by Owain Glyndwr, destroyed the town but the castle was not taken.

By the 16th century, the castle was not used.

In 1643, during the English Civil War, it was used to garrison Royalist troops. Three years later, after a long seige, Holt was captured by Parliamentarian forces. By 1650, everything had been stripped from the castle so it could not be used as a fortification by Royalists.

Between 1675 and 1683 much of the castle's sandstone had been shipped in barges to rebuild Eaton Hall. This had been organised by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet of Eaton.

All that remains today is the sandstone base and a little bit of the castle.




PARANOTMAL ACTIVITY AT THE CASTLE


... figures have been seen around the castle





Kath and I went to explore this poor remain of a castle and to see if we could find out who haunts the ruin.

The castle has been fenced off because it is crumbling away. Armed with our cameras and recorder, we asked questions.

Nothing was caught on either.

We moved to the bridge and spent some time walking across it and under the bridge on its banks. We conducted an EVP test and took photo's but we were unlucky again.

Beaumaris Town, Goal and Castle

Beaumaris
Anglesey
Wales


GROUP ... MYSELF


Beaumaris was orignally a Viking settlement known as PORTH Y WYGYR (Port of the Vikings).
The town itself began to develop in 1295, when Edward 1st of England (after he conquered Wales) built Beaumaris Castle as part of his chain of fortifications around the North Wales coast.




Shipbuilding was a major industry in Beaumaris and during the Saxon times, Beaumaris was one of the three important Saxon ports in the UK.

Extending into the Menai Strait, is a piece of land nicknamed GALLOWS POINT. This is because the town's gallows ere erected there, originally named Osmund's Eyre.

RED HILL is so named because during the second Civil War in 1648, the hill leading north from the town was said to have been covered in blood from The Siege of Beaumaris.



Notable buildings in the town include the castle, a courthouse (built in 1614), St Mary's Church (14th century), town goal, timber framed Tudor Rose (14th century) and The Bulls Head Inn (built in 1472). Beaumaris Pier was opened in 1846, rebuilt in 1872 after a storm. There was also the site of an old Franciscan friary just to the east.











Beaumaris was also famous for pirates, many lived in the town. It was a great place to land their smuggled goods either near the town or along the coast.




BEAUMARIS CASTLE



Beaumaris Castle was the last of the castle's that Edward 1st ordered to be built during his campaign to conquer North Wales (others included Denbigh, Conway, Caernarfon and Harlech). He commissioned the building in 1295. The castle was designed by Master James of St George but it was never completed.


This site was choosen because it ensured control of the Menai Strait and it stood looking down on GARTH CELYN, the headquarters of The Prince of Wales prior to the Edwardian conquest of 1283 on the opposite shore.





Beaumaris was awarded a Royal Charter by Edward 1st (which was similar to what he had done in his other towns). This meant that the native Welsh residents of Beaumaris were not allowed to carry weapons, buy houses or land, hold meetings and hold any civil office.

Work began on the castle in 1295 and continued for 35years. Over 3,500 workmen were employed but finances and materials ran out when King Edward turned his attentions towards Scotland, as his Welsh Conquest was nearly over and he needed his money for The Scottish campaigns.

Such work as the towers of the inner ward or the great gatehouse were built to their full height. Many other buildings were left unfinished but smaller jobs were still carried out into the early part of the 14th century.

During The English Civil War, the last battle was fought here and if the Royalist had won, Beaumaris may have been the capital of Braitain, as local landowner Colonel Bulkeley had invited Charles 1st to rule from his home at Baron Hill and he may have used the castle as his base. But the Parliamentarins won. The castle itself did not suffer during the civil war and it is now run and managed by CADW.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY IN THE CASTLE
--- Figures seen walking around the grounds
--- Footsteps heard


This was not an investigation as such but a family day out. But whenever I visit a place such as this, I always try and conduct my own mini investigation.

I go off on my own and ask questions. I always carry my recorder and camera. I look a little more closely at my photos because you just never know.

This time I came away empty handed but I would love to do a full investigation here.



BEAUMARIS GAOL



The gaol was built in 1829 and designed by Joseph Hansom (designer of the Hansom cabs). It was expanded in 1867 due to an act which meant that the gaol could add more solitary confinement cells. The gaol could now accommadate approx 30 inmates but it closed just 11 years later.


The building has since been used as a Police Station until the 1950's, a child's clinic and since 1974 a museum. The town's air raid siren was located here during the second world war and it was still in operation during the Cold War, incase of nuclear attack.

Punishment was brutal and harsh. Punishment through hard labour was its main aim. The prison's most brutal methods included the whipping room with a whipping frame, stretching racks and chains. There was also a treadmill outside in the courtyard. This treadmill pumped water to the top of the building. So it was a job as well as a punishment.

The Nursery
This was for women who had babies and brought them in with them and for women who gave birth in prison. Women were able to rock the child's cradle from the workroom below using a rope without stopping their work.







The Woman's Workroom
The women worked from 6am (8am in winter) till 6pm. Their work included spinning, sewing, knitting and in other parts of the gaol they did the cooking, cleaning and washing.

Kitchen
Their diet included oatmeal, bread, meat, potatoes and soup. The quanity of food given depended on the work you did and the lenght of your sentence. Food was prepared by the women prisoner's. It was served in the workrooms or cells. Stoppage of meals was a punishment. Prisoners confined in the punishment cell were only given dry bread and water.

Punishment Cell
This was completley sound proof and dark. You were sent here for refusing to work, speaking to other prisoners in the exercise yard and bad behavior.

Condemned Cell


This was twice the size of the ordinary cells. And this also had a fireplace. On the morning of execution, the person would leave the cell, walk along a corridor to the door in the wall and along a wooden ramp to the gibbet.









Cells




These were 10feet by 6feet. There was a hammock or wooden bed, a seat, table, enamel washbowl and toilet (which was flushed by water from the washbowl) in the cell.







Other rooms in the gaol included The Governor's Office and a Chapel.











ESCAPES
Only one person was able to escape from the gaol. His name was John Morris. He escaped on the 7th January 1859, using rope he had stolen. His escape was slightly amazing because he broke his leg whilst escaping but he still made it out of the town before he was recaptured.

EXECUTIONS
There were only two hangings that took place here.

The first was William Griffith in 1830. He was sentenced for the attempted murder of his first wife. William tried to barricade himself inside his cell on the morning of his execution. He was dragged to the gibbet.

The second and last hanging was Richard Rowlands in 1862. He had been found guilty of murdering his father in law but always protested his innocence. Legend has it that he cursed the church clock from his gallows, saying that if he were innocent the four faces of this clock would never show the same time. Which for a while after his death they did not.

Both men were buried within the walls of the gaol, in a lime pit. But no one knows the exact location.







PARANORMAL ACTIVITY IN THE GAOL.
--- Dark shadows seen in corridors
--- Flashing lights
--- Hair pulled
--- Stones are thrown
--- Doors open and close with a bang
--- Keys heard rattling
--- Heavy footsteps
--- Figure of a man seen in the Governor's office


It is no surprise with the history of this building that there are tales of ghosts. From Pirates to the last Civil War battle, what other events have happened in this area before the gaol was built.

Even as a gaol, there has been misery, confinement and death here. The walls and the land the gaol is built on, must hold some fantastic tales.

Walking around this building, it is quite easy to imagine the harsh life that the prisoners use to have. Even though I caught nothing on camera or my recorder, I did get the feeling of being watched esp as I walked down the corridors. I would love to walk this building on my own just to see if anything happened. Fantastic building.

Harlech Castle

Harlech Castle
Wales


GROUP ..... Myself



HISTORY OF HARLECH CASTLE
Harlech is one of the group of castles built by King Edward 1st of England during his campaign to rule North Wales. There were fourteen castles built together ...
FLINT ...................... building work began in 1277
RHUDDLAN ............ building work began in 1277
RUTHIN .................. building work began in 1277
HOPE ....................... building work began in 1277
BUILTH .................. building work began in 1277
ABERYSTWYTH .... building work began in 1277
CONWY ................... building work began in 1283
HARLECH ............... building work began in 1283
CAERNARFON ....... building work began in 1283
DENBIGH ................ building work began in 1284
HAWARDEN ........... building work began in 1284
HOLT ....................... building work began in 1284
CHIRK ...................... building work began in 1284
BEAUMARIS .......... building work began in 1295

Harlech was designed by Master James of St George (he designed Beamaris as well). After it was built, Master James was appointed Constable of Harlech Castle (which he held for three years). The castle took seven years to build and cost £8,190 to build (in 2009 this worked out as £88 million).




This site probably had a Welsh fortress on it before the English invaded, perhapes as far back as the Iron Age. The first fortress is said to have been built by Maelgwn Gwynedd during the 6th century. During the 11th century, the fortress was known as Caer Collwyn. Collwyn ap Tango (who lived here during the 9th century), lived in a square tower in the fortress. Remains of this can still be seen today, as some, if not all, of its walls were used as the base of todays building.

In 1294, Madoc ap Llywelyn, began an uprising against the English. He lay seige to the castle that winter but he gave up by the following spring.

In 1404, Owain Glyndwr lay seige upon the castle and finally won. He made it his home and his headquarters.








In 1409, Prince Henry (later Henry V) and a force of 1000 men lead by John Talbot, took back the castle after an eight month siege. After the siege, Owain's wife, Margaret Hanmer, two of his daughters and four grandchildren were captured and later imprisoned and died.

During the Wars of the Roses (1461 - 1470), Harlech was a Lancastrian stronghold. In 1468, Harlech was the last Lancastrian fortress to surrender after a seven year siege. It was the longest known siege in British history.

Harlech was the last Royalist fortress to hold out against the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. Its surrender took place on 16th March 1647, over a year after King Charles had been captured.

The castle is now looked after by CADW.









PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

There is no recorded activity in the castle that I can find, but if anyone knows of any tales, please let me know.



As with any building of this age, it is so easy to imagine the beauty and the harshness of everyday life for people living on this site. Not only for the people connected with Harlech Castle but the Welsh fortress that stood on this land first.

We have births and deaths associated here. Bloody battles and long sieges, then a period of peace, only to start all over again.

Personnaly I can imagine ghostly battles, ghostly feasts and celebrations and at least a couple of wondering lost souls.

Walking around this building, your imagination can work on overload, esp at dusk



MORE PHOTOS OF THE CASTLE