THE WALNUT TREE INN,
Aldington, nr. Ashford, Kent
Investigation
Friday 31st October, 2008
Report submitted by
Denise Bottali & Beccy Hirst
The Walnut Tree Inn was built during the reign of Richard 111 (1377-1399).
In it's early days it was little more than a timber framed wattle & daub hut with a thatched roof.
In the mid-15th century it was extended and later around 1687 became a 'Brew House'
(a place where ale was brewed).
In 1749 it became a registered licensed premises known as 'the Walnut Tree' and became infamous as the meeting place for the 'Aldington Gang', a group of smugglers during
the Napoleonic Wars.
Team One
Wendy, Jen, Alex, Gail, Bex, Barb, Mick, Kev, James, Will & Sam
Team Two
Katy, Katy's Mum, Woody (filming), Joan, Denise, Michelle, Chas, Angela, Karen, Sarah & Leah.
We all arrived at the Inn before 9.30pm and enjoyed the hospitality (of the non-alcoholic kind of course) of our host Karen.
We would like to thank Karen for inviting us to carry out our Investigation in her beautiful home.
Around 11.45pm, the last of Karen's customers had left the premises and we began with a Circle of Protection, led by Michelle. Following this we split into are two teams and our Investigation began.
Team One – Upstairs Restaurant Bar – 12 midnight
Before the investigation began, Alex saw a black & white cat run past him in the restaurant area.
Mick asked out and Jen felt very cold. Movement was sensed behind the bar and a man was seen standing next to the optics, believed to be a past Bar Keeper named Albert or Al.
Wendy sensed a shadowy figure standing behind her as all the team felt a draught. The temperature read19.8c.
Alex, Wendy, Jen & Bex sat down and Kev sensed a wolfhound type dog, close to where they were sitting.
Wendy noticed a light towards the restaurant doorway and .
Mick became aware of a man with the skin condition ‘psoriasis’. Wendy felt compelled to say " it feels like a boat in here ".
We were All feeling really cold, temperature 18c - 17.8c, so
We Asked for the temperature to be lowered, but, no further change was noted.
There was a strong sense of dealings, money changing hands and lives lost.
Kev and Mick went into the restaurant area, as Wendy's camera stopped working for no reason.
Bex and Jen felt really cold and as Barb called out, pin pricks of light could be seen to the left of the bar area
Mick and Kev returned to the bar area and as they did Kev picked up on a highway man, riding a white horse.
There was also a lady waiting for someone to return. She was wearing a dress with puff sleeves, and had her hair worn in ringlets with a white ribbon. She was full of sorrow.
Wendy moved to the restaurant area and Kev heard a ‘tutt’ and Wendy was told that “her group was being unruly”.
“my group wouldn't be unruly”, she was told.
It is felt that ‘George Ransley’ was with us. Wendy was aware of a shadow by the fireplace as Jen and Mick heard a dull thump behind the bar area, where the group had returned to.
Kev complained of feeling a pain in his left knee, a possible injury.
Bex was called back to the restaurant by a one of our guest investigators, Will Parkinson, who had witnessed a carrier bag being squashed down by an unseen arm. There was a definite dent across the bag, as if an arm was resting on it, squashing it down.
The group decided to experiment with table tipping but unfortunately nothing notable happened.
A second Investigation guest James Saw pin pricks of light coming from the kitchen area.
Team Two - The Cellar -12 MIDNIGHT
Our host Karen led us down into the cellar and we all gathered in the first cellar room.
The temperature read at 11.6 c, quickly reducing to 8.3.
Woody began by calling out to any spirits present and we all thought we could hear a cough, but this turned out to be noise coming from machinery in the 2nd cellar room as it was shutting down.
Chas sensed a figure of a Monk, standing behind Denise and was later given the name of Brother Edgar for this spirit, of whom Woody asked for his presence to be made known. With this a clicking sound was heard by all from behind Denise.
Chas believed the Monk to be hiding in the cellar around the time of Henry Viii and Michelle confirmed that he had indeed been persecuted. Angela believed that a house on the site had at some time had a priest hole.
Karen our host confirmed that tunnels were believed to have run from under the Inn to the local church, and also that during the 1960’s/70’s, bodies had been found buried under the kitchen, possibly plague victims. (earlier in the evening Michelle and Denise had felt extremely uncomfortable in the Kitchen, although they had sensed a murder of a man called William and Denise had sensed that something was under the floor of the Restaurant Bar).
Katy felt as if someone was touching her leg and Joan was given the name of Francesca.
At this point Denise felt as if she should go through to the second cellar room and spent a few minutes there alone.
Karen mentioned that George Ransley of the Aldington Gang was thought to still be around the Inn as a spirit, so Woody asked for George to make his presence known to us. As he did so, a sound like air being released from a barrel came from an area where barrels were standing. (Karen said this would not normally happen).
Joan thought that Woody's face had changed, becoming older, haggard, with bushy eyebrows. Karen confirmed that this description could fit George and asked for him to come forward. As she did so her left arm went very cold.
Angela got a sharp pain in her chest, going down to her stomach and sensed a man standing behind Chas, who replied that the spirit man was very tall (Karen again confirmed this could be George).
Denise thought she could see shadows of people coming down the stairs, through the plastic curtains dividing the cellar area.
The team then moved through to the second cellar room.
Michelle felt her head being touched and Denise sensed someone standing between Chas and Woody (who were standing at the bottom of the cellar stairs).
Joan was sitting on the bottom of the cellar steps and thought that someone was on the step behind her. As she said this, she thought she could see a misty shape in he doorway at the top of cellar steps and felt her hair being tugged.
Michelle said she could hear someone talking about 'Parish Records' and consumption (Karen confirmed that this did relate to the property) Michelle went on to say that a whole family of about 12 had consumption. The family name she received was 'Ridley' and at some time the property had been flooded. She could then see a big man standing by Joan, holding a watch on a chain.
When Denise asked out if George was still present, Michelle was given 'Of course I am'.
Team Two – Snug Bar – 12.45am
We left the cellar and moved up to the Snug Bar.
Karen explained to us that in the 1940’s workmen had uncovered the fireplace that could now be seen in the Snug.
Michelle could see an energy in the doorway (similar to the mist that Joan had seen earlier). She believed it was a girl of about 16.
Angela was given the name of ‘Young Alice’, someone’s daughter and Angela’s face felt very cold. She also felt that someone was sitting next to her.
Katy followed on with the name of Archie or Archibald, as Woody heard a sound like a bracelet rattling, coming from behind the bar.
Chas felt that an ex-Landlord, John or Jeff, with a bushy beard was present.
Sarah could feel that the air was colder to breathe.
Break – 1pm.
Team One – Cellar – 1.45am
Wendy,Jen and Alex left the the Investigation to go home. The remaining members of the team, with the exception of Barb, entered the cellar. The name Jarvis came through, the atmosphere feeing very oppressive, almost secretive with whispers coming from the corner, all be it very vague. Bex complained of feeling breathless. It was felt that Jarvis used to visit and make a nuisance of himself. He was not a local man, but a "bigwig" of another gang. Mick felt a spiritual energy pass through, and the team felt they were in an airless vacuum. Mick was aware of a woman by the name of Fanny who was raped in the cellar. Bex's torch went out. It was felt that a skull was bricked up in the ceiling, 1950's/1960's. Bex had her elbow touched and Mick and Kev felt they were being pushed backwards. Kev started to sway and felt a sense of panic. Jarvis was felt to be rival gang leader who had invaded someone's else's turf. "Why don't you know who i am?" came through. Kev and Bex both felt unwell. 2.05am we entered the second cellar. nothing apparent happened. Team One – Upstairs Bar – 2.15am . Back upstairs in the bar area, Kev was aware of a male presence by the name of Jack. Bex saw a light flash on the table. Kev was feeling wafty and felt that he had suffered a stroke down the left side of his body. The team decided to table tilt again. We experienced a slight vibration and after several minutes the table turned in a clockwise direction, very slowly, after encouragement from the group, the table turned 360 degrees , and moved several feet across the floor, an unbelievable experience. At the end of the investigation the landlady confirmed that an elderly man, by the name of Frank Higgins, used to sit in the corner. (where Kev felt he was suffering a stroke.) and did indeed suffer a stroke. As Chas and Bex were leaving, they thanked the landlady for her hospitality, and Chas told her that an unknown presence would offer her a Bacardi & coke, and she told us that during the evening she was drinking coke, but for some unknown reason she added a shot of Bacardi, a spirit she never normally drinks. Team Two – Restaurant Bar – 1.45am The Team settled around a large table to try some table tilting whilst Woody filmed and Denise sat on a bench to take notes. This experiment unfortunately yielded no result. Katy thought she could see someone walk through the other end of the bar, but this could have been someone from team One that had come up from the cellar. Those still seated around the table decided to try to communicate with spirit using an upturned glass. Again, this proved to have little success. We all heard a tap coming from the Bar area and both Denise and Woody thought they could see movement coming from the Restaurant, Denise sensing a young woman, wearing a ‘Regency style dress, high waist with shor, round sleeves and wearing a bonnet with ringlets of hair to each side. The group seated around the table then decided to try to contact spirit with a séance and linked hands. Almost immediately Angela was given the name of Joseph, with Joan believing him to be clean shaven, wearing a ‘Puritan’ style beige tunic, belted around his waist with a square buckle and dark hat. She could see him wearing a military type sash across his shoulder. Karen suggested he could have been a ‘Customs Man’, but Joan thought he was more likely to be a Cromwellian soldier, with a connection to Dartford. For some reason Angela could see a pond with ducks. Michelle received the name of James, a customer who had gone to bed one night and had never woken up. The night came to an end with a closing Circle of Protection, led by Denise. Investigation End – 2.30am Following research into the history of the Inn (after the investigation had taken place), I am able to confirm a: - Joseph Silver, a Yoeman, resided at the property with his family in 1502. - A Joseph Conrad (Polish born novelist 1857-1924) resided in the village. - A Joseph Bone was a member of the ‘Aldington Gang’, as were James Hogben and William Crockford (all Christian names having been picked up). It is possible that any of these could been the spirits picked up during the Investigation. Another interesting fact relating to the ‘Monk’ that was sensed in the cellar: - The ‘Aldington Gang’ also used the Augustine Priory in neighbouring Bilsington as a store house for their contraband. Could this have a connection to the ‘cellar monk’? Having checked the census’s for 1841 through for several decades, the name of Alice came up for a few families, as a daughter living in the area, as did the name of Fanny, again several times within differing families. I have checked rival gangs within the area, but could find no mention of a ‘Jarvis’, neither could I find reference to a ‘Jack’ connected to the Aldington Gang or any other. This was captured by investigator Joan without a flash on . The lights could be equipment in the cellar but what is the figure to the right?????