The Ship Inn was an
interesting location for a couple of reasons, (one) parts of the pub date back
to the 1400's and 1600's (two) it was also a great place for smugglers who smuggled
drinks from brandy and gin, to tea and coffee, as well as tobacco and silk,
it was most rife during the Eighteenth Century, and (three) the most notorious
smuggler in the area was John Andrew, sometimes known as 'Big Jack' or the 'King
of Smugglers' Who was landlord of the Ship Inn from the 1770's he also owned
the White House. He married Anne in 1871 who's Auntie and Uncle owned The Ship
Inn. The phrase 'Andrew's cow has calved' meant that a boat was ready to be
unloaded and pack horses would be used to take the smuggled goods to safe hiding
places. Big Jack was born in Scotland and was eventually captured in 1827.
Present for the investigation from
AGH where Angie, Mark, Tracey, Chris B, Jazz, Wayne, Chris !, Alan, Peter and
Claire.
We arrived at The Ship Inn before midnight to set up the equipment we decided to split into two groups, GROUP 1 (in this colour) headed by Angie also had Chris B, Tracey, Peter and Claire, GROUP 2 (in this colour) headed by Mark also had Jazz, Wayne, Alan and Chris S.
MIDNIGHT: GROUP1 went to the oldest part of the building we will call the tap room as there are two bars. GROUP 2 went into the restaurant area and kitchen. We also set up a tape recorder in Bar 2 area.
GROUP 1 in TAP ROOM:
As the group passed through the corridor to enter the tap room Chris B was feeling uneasy he felt as though he was being watched by someone, As they entered the tap room Angie went and sat in the corner behind the door and instantly sensed a young girl had passed who lived here, Angie felt her legs were weak Tracey felt a condition like flu Angie said she sensed Diphtheria and that the young girl was aged 4 years she said the name Anne was connected to the girl, the little girl had been ill since birth, (Charlotte who was one of Anne's daughters died aged 4 of diphtheria and had been ill since birth) as she walks around she says she can hear a mans voice slightly Scottish accent "it's Johns voice" says Angie and then gets the surname Andrew (The landlord from 1780 was John Andrew Husband to Anne father of Charlotte and he was Scottish) as Angie said this Chris B saw something move directly behind Angie, she than says "Big Jack he is sometimes known as Big Jack" (John had two nicknames Big Jack and the King of Smugglers) "John was a smuggler but he was different he was clever, he was in charge" (John had taken over as head smuggler when Anne's uncle Will Harrison had died) The group continued to work their way around the tap room when Angie comes up with name Elizabeth but feels it is connected to John twice somehow, but feels the name is given as she is John's daughter she also feels the name Anne is connected twice and gets wife and daughter, (John's mum was called Elizabeth his wife was called Anne but he had two daughters called Elizabeth and Anne as well as Charlotte who died there is also Harriet, it is believed he had eight children in total) as they continued to walk around the room Chris B had a horrible sensation and Angie gets the name Tom and then Rabbity at the same time Chris B gets a surname of Bentley somehow connected to one of the girls (Rabbity Tommy was a local man who worked as a snitch for the excise men known as the Preventives) as they continued to move around the room Angie says "John died 1835" and says "I have an image of a crown! I feel something to do with a court" she sees him as a stout man Tracey also gets an image of a big round man, Chris B says he gets an image of reddish hair (John Andrew who was auburn and a big man died in 1835 but in 1827 John Andrew was caught in Hornsea smuggling he was taken to court in York and fined £100.000 as he could not pay he was sentenced to two years in Yorks debtors prison (there is some debate of this as John had a son John Andrew Junior if it was John Senior caught in 1827 he would have been 62 years old when caught, some people believe it was his son who was caught)) just after that both Chris B and Peter heard a child's voice but could not make out what was said they try to communicate with her but get nothing they describe her as below 3 feet high with blonde hair, they had seen her popping her head from behind the bar but as they look over she is not there, Angie senses another name of Harriet as one of Johns daughters, As Angie moves she senses a hiding hole below the floor for the contraband it had steps leading down to it it was very strong but there was another place they hid stuff very close to here in another building he owned two, (John had bought The White House further up the hill in 1810 it had previously been an Inn, outside in the stables there was another hole below where John kept his horse which was used to hide contraband) just then Chris B senses the name James Adams Angie Claire and Tracey all hear a child's voice Tracey says it sounded like "Hello" (at this time there is a possible EVP on the camcorder but it is not clear) then Chris B sees a mist behind the bar which the rest of the group all see but it quickly disappears. Angie stands near a chair in the far end of the room and says Staintondale the place has a connection somehow.
01:15 Angie goes into a trance and places a hand on her throat Tracey asks "who are you" Angie replies "Mary, they put me down a well" Tracey "did they leave you there" Angie "Yes, Margaret tells lies" Chris B "who did it" Angie "James" Chris B "James who" Angie "Law" Chris B "did he have any help" Angie "yes" Chris B "who" Angie "Tom" Chris B "Tom who, do you know his name" Angie "No" Angie then went Quiet and come out of the trance, (James Law was a smuggler from Staintondale near Scarborough, it was believed he nearly done business with John through one of Johns men Tom if this is the same Tom we are not sure! the only Margaret we can trace is Anne's maid) Tracey stood directly behind Angie as she came out of the trance and as she did Tracey felt as though someone passed through them and she heard a scuffle behind her (on camcorder tape there is a scuffling sound) Angie sits up and says she feels the name Margaret is connected to Anne she was her maid. And Chris B says James Adams is connected to the excise men. (We have not been able to confirm this name but will continue looking for him) Peter had been getting a pain to his head at the side but didn't know why he also felt that the tap room was used as a living room at one time, (before the investigation started the landlord had told Mark this area dates back to the 1400's and the tap room was once used as a living room) Claire who had now sat in the chair Angie had sat in felt as though she was being questioned by four men but felt like why I'm innocent I haven't done anything! (as the story goes when John first arrived at the ship it was the morning after Will Harrison the then landlord had died the story says he was questioned by four smugglers as to who he was) at 02.00am we stopped for a break
Midnight GROUP 2 in RESTAURANT:
The team went to different parts of the room to see what each member could pick up or feel, Mark was stood by a table near to the window and felt heavy to the chest area finding it difficult to breathe so moved away and found the feeling left him, but when going back to the same spot had the exact same feeling, was not sure why and did not sense anything or anyone, Alan who was to the right of Mark just said "hounds" but did not know why! (possible link here is John Andrew was the Master of the Roxby and Cleveland Hounds) Wayne felt he could sense a Portuguese man named Filipo possible friend to one of the families who lived here he described him as having long black hair wearing a brown jacket with white collars he then felt his surname may be Alvares (so far we have been unable to trace this) he also got the name lex maynard (again we have been unable to trace this name) Alan and Jazz both felt a cold breeze pass them Mark turned at the same time toward them and saw a small figure pass them about the size of young child he felt it was a girl she went beyond them towards BAR 2 area where Mark saw a tall black silhouette stocky figure which moved away very fast, they went over to check but could not see anything. The team continued to walk around and Alan stood previously where Mark was and got the exact same feeling around the chest area, then Jazz and Wayne stood in the same area and got the same sensations. Then Alan turned towards BAR 2 area and seen a small figure about 3 foot tall move very fast. (Mark had not mentioned the childlike figure he had saw but had written it down) Just then Chris S says this room is not part of the original pub and feels it may have been a cottage he senses a lady Ida Brown. (The restaurant was once a cottage and not part of the pub and we have been able to find the name as being local to the area but cannot verify where exactly) a few moments later Jazz heard a voice John, then Andrew Then Boss Jazz turns to Mark and says either John or Andrew was the boss here (not realising he had the full name of the boss John Andrew he assumed it was two different people) suddenly there was a shuffle like feet in the kitchen so we went to check it out but found nothing. Alan back in the restaurant stood near a wall and felt the emotions of a drowning he then senses it was a man who had drowned near to the cliffs and his body had been brought into the property, (Mark went to where Alan was stood and said he could the same emotions) Chris S then saw someone move by the kitchen door again we checked it out but found nothing. Jazz then gets an image of a small boat possibly 15foot in length he then turns and says there is a link between the man here this pub and another pub. (John Andrew who owned the Ship Inn had also bought a big house which used to be a pub called The White House Inn also in Saltburn). Alan then senses soldiers marching outside in front of pub (GROUP 1 also got this later when they came in here, it is believed that soldiers based at Marske had passed the front of the pub when out on training marches). Wayne senses a Russian sailor called Dimitiov Boloshenko had also visited this pub he was a regular on a ship that came to this town. (As yet we have not been able to trace this name) We stopped at 02.00am for a break.
03.00am GROUP 1 RESTAURANT AREA:
The group set up for a seance as they were setting up Angie says that John was from Montrose and Anne was a local girl but John had married twice (John was born in or near Montrose, he married Anne who's relatives owned The Ship Inn and she was local, when Anne died John married Anne's maid Margaret) Claire senses the name Meg, (the only Meg we have been able to trace is one who was a serving girl in the Ship) Chris B then started to feel chesty and felt overwhelmed the team where all feeling strange sensations Angie sees someone outside and at the same time she turns to look Tracey said she could feel someone outside, there is some kind of scuffle out there! they ask was there a murder outside! (John is believed to have killed a man called Jethro Mullins who had come to the Ship Inn to cause trouble he grabbed Anne who was outside and John had come running out seeing what was happening he raised his gun and shot Jehtro Mullins in the side of the head) The group asked John did he own a boat and the glass moved, they asked did he know James Law the glass moved, they asked did he kill someone and the glass moved, some more questions were asked but no response, Angie came up with Black something and Hartlepool he had a connection here (after the napoleonic war John had unloaded some of his cargo at Blackhall near Hartlepool) Angie then sensed a soldier was looking in at us, group 2 had had the same when they were in this area! Angie also senses the name Jamie is connected strongly with John, he was an important part of the set up. (Jamie was a young lad when he first came to work for John he become one of John's most trusted men and had helped in getting rid of the body of Jethro Mullins he was a spy for John and married Anne John's daughter) Angie also gets John wasn't caught in York but was taken there to be sentenced (in 1827 John Andrew was caught in Hornsea smuggling he was taken to court in York and fined £100.000 as he could not pay he was sentenced to two years in Yorks debtors prison) the whole time the group where in the room they could sense a man sat in a particular corner who just observed them he never gave any information and was just curious as to what we were doing, group 2 had had the same thing when they were in this room in the exact same spot! (also during the seance there is a lot of interference but only seems to be when a member of the team asks a question after the interference the group have said several times what was that) at 04.30am the group had come to the end of their investigation and were joined by group 2 to exchange notes and discuss what each member had come up with..
03.00am GROUP 2 TAP ROOM:
We went into the tap room as we did Jazz felt as though he had punched in the ribs and Wayne sensed a trap door which led to the hidden contraband, he sensed the name Harold he felt as though this man would stare at customers and was a bit nasty he got the date 1843-1872. (After speaking with the landlord he tells me one of his staff went to see a medium and was given the same name as a spirit who comes to the Ship Inn) Chris S for some unknown reason had a sensation as if to cry, Alan senses two catholic priests Edward Burden 1571-1574 significant to Edward and Nicholas Pankhurst. (We have been able to trace Edward Burden who served in Yorkshire he was tried for felony and drawn and quartered in York in 1588). Jazz went and sat in the chair were GROUP 1 had used and said John Andrew was the name of the landlord he was the boss of the pub (Jazz had now made the connection with the name) whilst sat in the chair Jazz states "I'm the king of the smugglers" he then looks at Mark and asks did he own another pub White something! (John Andrews had two nicknames Big Jack and the King of Smugglers he bought an old Inn The White House) Alan then sat in the chair but felt seasick! so Chris S decided to sit in the chair for a while he then smiled and said "I feel like the main man, I'm very very clever" Chris then says that John had something to do with building something important and that building work was connected to John (John Andrew when he left Scotland had become a Master mason, he used his skills to build the hiding holes so the preventives would not find them as easy). Then Jazz asks "was there another hiding hole in a stable but in a particular stall and was there something that would stop people checking there" (In the stable at The White House where John kept his beloved horse directly below that stall was believed to be a hiding hole and a possible tunnel which may have led to The Ship Inn, if anyone approached the stall the horse would kick out at them) We all then got a distinct smell of Tobacco and then heard what sounded like a dog whimpering, during the time the group where in the Tap Room we had all been sensing someone in the corner of the room behind the door (as did group 1) at 04.30am the group had come to the end of their investigation and were joined by group 2 to exchange notes and discuss what each member had come up with..
FINAL THOUGHT: The whole night went very well, most of the team from both Groups where sensing similar stuff and each coming up with information that related to the Pub, the great thing about it was the fact that none of the group knew where they were going that night except Mark..
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