Pateley Bridge

Homepage / Investigations / Photos

HISTORY: Harefield Hall is a 15th Century former manor house, situated in 28 acres of woodlands overlooking the river Nidd. There has been a manor house on this site since the mid 15th century and was previously the home of Bishop Benson and his monks. It came into the ownership of Henry V111 in the middle of the 16th century during the period of the dissolution of the monasteries and, as a reward for his leading involvement in this work, the house was gifted to the Inman family.
PRESENT FROM AGH, WERE MARK, ANGIE, TRACEY, ANDY, MIKE, WE WERE ALSO JOINED BY CHRIS AND CLAIRE ALONG WITH STAFF FROM THE
HOTEL, JUDY, SOPHIE, KATIE & RICHARD.

22:00hrs, We started the investigation firstly by making our way to the dining room, when Chris asked Angie what she had been feeling upon arrival, Angie tells him there are many people present they are from the same family, she feels the place is atmospheric, there is also a monk called Vincent. There is also a little girl present aged 7 or 8, she gives different impressions such as sadness or happiness, there is no name for her yet. Angie pauses while Chris speaks for the Audio recording for the Radio and then Angie says we are in a hotspot now, as I came into this room a man followed us in here, she starts to knock on the wall and says I'm looking for something, there is secrets here she says lots of them, there is a secret panel directly behind Angie as she says John, he is here to protect the secret. Angie, Mark, Tracey and Andy all here a voice but it is not understood what is said. Chris asks out for the voice to repeat itself, again we hear a slight voice but again we cannot make out what is said. (We did discover what was in the secret panel that John was protecting but have been asked not to place here). As we stood Tracey, Claire and Chris get the name Anne (we have discovered Anne was John's daughter-in-law). Angie is interested in the room next to us behind the screen panel, which is pulled back for us to enter the room. We entered the long room and as we did Angie is greeted by a man called Edward who says "come on in" he then asks Angie where are his books, Mark asks what books is he is looking for, Angie replies he is just asking for his books, novels of some kind, but he is looking for one book in particular a ledger of some kind, then quickly he asks Angie "do you know Mary", we are not sure who Mary was although the name appears several times linked to the property, as he did not specify who she was. Angie says she feels the property belonged to one person but then it was given away, it was handed over to another as it was taken away! she did not get any more on this. (Please see history at the top of page). Angie then turns to Richard the chef and tells him there is a man that is with him when he is in the hotel, he is called Charles (we have found a Charles who had a son called Richard) and Richard reminds him of someone in name and appearance, he is watching over you making sure you are okay. At the same time Chris and Andy felt a small figure pass between them and Angie says it is the little girl again Angie feels she is called Charlotte.

22:30hrs We made our way back into the dining room, as we walked partly through the room Angie gets a very strong smell of Cigar smoke, Judy then tells us about her experiences of Cigar smoke as she has smelt it lots of times when she has been walking around the building, Chris who had visited the hotel a week earlier when doing a radio broadcast had smelt it then when no one was about. Richard then returns with a copy of a family tree and shows us Charles did indeed have a son called Richard. As he told us we heard a child's giggle from the room we had just left. We then made our way back into the room as we did both Angie and Chris saw a young girl run towards a corner, so Mark and Chris went over to investigate as they did Mark and Andy saw clearly a sheet covering a chair be tugged on very hard, twice. Angie joins us and says she can see the little girl hiding behind the chair, just then the sheet gets tugged again. Then Andy and Mike feel a rush of breeze between them and Richard says he saw a little figure pass them. But it is not the little girl it is a little boy Angie says he is called William, he is related to the little girl but not as sibling, Angie feels more cousins. Angie says he had a lung and liver condition and sore throat, the team asked did he die of consumption but Angie feels he had Cystic Fibrosis which symptoms include lung and liver infections, it is possible that at that time he may have developed something like TB Tuberculosis. As we discussed this Mark felt someone move to the side of him, Tracey who is stood by him says she saw someone move in the same place and then away from him, just then Angie from the other end of the room says to Mike and Andy "William has just moved next to them" . People started to complain of having tight chests and sore throats, so we moved them out of the area for a small break.

23:15hrs Angie talks to Chris for a radio interview, talking to him about what has transpired so far, Mark set up a camcorder in the long room where we had felt the two children in the hope we may get something on tape. We started to make our way upstairs when Angie stops on the stairs and says she has a surname for Charles, John, William and Charlotte, it is Inman she says. (We have found all four in the family tree, and their surname was Inman). We went to room 17, where there is a strange mark on the wall an almost perfect outline of a person, although Angie does not feel it is anything Paranormal she does sense a young female in the room, Sophie explains the mark on the wall has seemed to grow within weeks and all the staff have felt a great deal of sadness in the room. Angie came up with the name Elizabeth, she is stuck here confined to the room as no one had time for her or would listen to her strange tales as she had Idiocy, Angie tells us Elizabeth could see spirits but because of her situation others laughed at her and thought it was in her imagination. Her spirit had become trapped in the room until she could tell someone who would believe her and not chastise her anymore. Once Angie had told us this, she then looks up and says that Elizabeth had left as she had finally found someone who believed her, as Angie says this everyone in the room says the atmosphere has lifted, and the sadness has gone. (We have been told since the investigation, that the staff now go into the room and no longer feel anxious or sad). Angie then took some time out to talk the staff about how they had felt everytime they entered the room and to tell them a little more about Elizabeth. Mark and Chris went outside the room to discuss the situation.

23:45hrs We then went into the end room, this is where the monks had stayed and it was formerly known as the cloisters. Angie says the room is eerie and feels strange in her, the staff say the feel the same when they come in this room Angie says she senses monks where in this room but says the Bishop wasn't and asks is there a room named after him, (the staff tell us one bedroom is called the Bishops room). Angie then says when the house belonged to the Inmans she feels three deaths had taken place here during childbirth. Angie says the room is full of much sadness and Chris is getting very anxious, Angie and Chris decide to try some scrying in this room. During which Angie could see a female lady she describes as being called Margaret who is 73 years of age and was blind, Chris saw a man he described as being Edgar an elderly gent who had a black moustache, not much more information came out and we decided to leave the room and make our way back downstairs.

00:05hrs We entered the changing rooms that lead to the swimming pool. As we did Chris and Tracey both feel they saw a shadow move into the corner of the room, we went to the corner but could not see anything. After a couple of minutes Angie rejoined us and says she can see a man stood in the corner, directly where the others had, she gets no name for the man and he soon disappears within seconds. The team feel this room may have one time been a scullery and a chiller.

00:35hrs We re-entered the Long room, after ten minutes of trying to find anything else we decided to try Dowsing Rods to ask some questions. Mike took hold of the rods and stood in a position where we had sensed a lot of things. Mike would stand with the rods whilst we asked some questions that require yes or no answers, the rods crossing over one another would signify a YES, whilst moving in opposition directions would signify NO.

The dowsing went on for a good half hour and then Angie says she can sense Grace again and her name is Beckwith, she was married to Anthony, he was important and had a sword, he was a ranking person something like a major but not that, she cannot make out what his title is. (Grace Beckwith was married too Captain Anthony Beckwith). We decided to stop for a break at 01:20hrs and then return to set up the room to do some glass divination.

02:10hrs We went to the Long Room again and sat down for some Glass Divination, we again done this for a half hour, sadly very little happened during the Glass Divination and only a few questions where answered and at random, we ended at 02:40hrs. And then went to the reception and had a final discussion about the night with the staff from the Hotel.

03:00hrs The night had come to an end and we left.

FINAL THOUGHT: The Hotel was an amazing place for an investigation, the staff where very Pleasant and Hospitable. The team enjoyed the night and everyone had felt a sadness and then a sense of relief during our time in Room 17. When we met the spirit of Elizabeth.

Copyright warning: All material, information, images, recordings, video and sound are protected by copyright © And is Copyright © 2004-2008 Abbey Ghost Hunters.