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| Ghosts Archive 2003 |
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 Ghosts news, views, gallery and archive brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Longleat House Sign of an Angel Bewley Court Red Lion Westbury Pool Maud Cunnington Wardour Castle Manor House Hotel Devizes Castle Kings Arms Malmesbury Abbey Lacock Abbey Avebury Manor Littlecote Manor Lydiard House Gallery Postcards Wallpaper Forum Links |
First Published October 21 2003 Ghost takes a back seat Swindon's revamped Arts Centre is proving so successful, even the resident theatre ghost seems pleased. The Arts Centre, in Devizes Road, which re-opened almost a year ago, has just replaced all 210 of its seats after an 18-month campaign to raise £40,000. Swindon Council lent the Arts Centre £16,000, towards the £24,000 already collected, so the seats could be fitted over the summer, along with new carpets in the auditorium. And 'Mrs B', the ghost, which is rumoured to have haunted the theatre ever since it first opened in 1955, appears to be content. Jill Tomalin, marketing officer at the Arts Centre, said: 'We tend to see Mrs B as a barometer of the theatre's health. We haven't heard her for a while, so she must be quietly content and taking a back seat.' Her presence was far more pronounced when builders were working on the £660,000 makeover last summer. Mrs B is alleged to have been so active, bricks were moved, envelopes opened and doors inexplicably locked. Mrs Tomalin said: 'Mrs B doesn't like the Arts Centre to be disturbed. When the builders came I think she thought it was under threat, so started making her presence felt. All sorts of mysterious things happened. Once a fully charged battery suddenly went flat.' Mrs B managed to scare the site foreman so much, he wouldnít enter the building on his own. Mrs Tomalin said: 'He was really quite spooked. Several of the builders sensed Mrs B and were unnerved by her actions. So it is a relief that the centre is back to its former glory and our ghost has settled down again.' Mrs B acquired the name because of a house lived in by the Bradford family used to stand on the site. Mr Bradford is believed to have had three daughters, which all appeared on the 1891 census. In 1901, only two of the daughters were registered. It is thought the other daughter died and was buried in the garden, where the Arts Centre now stands. Jill Tomalin said: "We heard about a gardener being paid a small retainer to rend a grave on the and and that is how Mrs B came to be." Back to 2003 index |
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