|
 |
|
|
| Ghosts Archive 1977 |
|
 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 June 29 1977 Mystery surrounds the little old lady at the pub's door THERE'S one caller at the Abingdon Arms in Grove Street, Wantage, who's always greeted by the dog. He just sits there and whines and stares into the attic. Bernard and Pamela McIntyre, who run the pub don't greet the little old lady at the door. They can't see her. In fact, the only people who seem to know she is there are the McIntyre's eight year old daughter Tamara, their dog and Pamela's father, a spiritualist believer. The McIntyres have discovered some spirit that was not on the stock-taking list when they took over from Leonard and Louise Hutton and, as far as they know, was not on the inventory of any of their predecessors. 'All kinds of strange things have happened - things have been moved, doors and windows have been opened and there have been some strange noise but nothing to account for them,' says Bernard. 'We are not worried by what is happening because my father, who is the only one to have seen a figure, says the little old lady he saw does not mean us any harm and is quite friendly,' says Pamela. 'She is quite welcome to stay. I don't mind as long as she doesn't show herself to me,' she says. The man who has seen an apparition is Mr Ernest Dulieu of Haywards Road, Drayton, who saw a little old lady in the Inn during a visit to his son-in-law and daughter. 'Tamara loves it,' says Pamela who tells how she was vacuuming one day when she felt a hand on her arm, looked round expecting to see one of her children but saw no one. Pamela and Bernard both tell of incidents when they have left articles in rooms and returned to find them moved, of doors and windows which are opened and closed without anyone on the premises being involved and how, during some of the considerable improvements, they have carried out, a locked door was shaken and the handle turned repeatedly. Bernard hurried round to the other side of the door. There was no one there but the handle was still being turned backwards and forwards as if someone was trying to open the locked door. When a water tank burst in the roof space they found a bed there but, heeding the advice of Mr Dulieu, they left it there because 'it might be her resting place, and we wouldn't want to disturb her.' Although we have carried out work to improve the place for the benefit of our customers, we don't think that has had anything to do with what has been happening but some of the things are impossible to explain,' says Bernard, who recounted several unexplained incidents. 'One night when the bar was full and it was quite noisy it suddenly went quiet and we heard what sounded like a herd of elephants rush across the rooms above. 'We thought it was the children out of bed but I found them sound asleep and nothing to account for the noise. 'Another time we were woken up by a terrific crash, just as if something had run into the place, but everything downstairs was quite in order. Bernard and Pamela are trying to compile a story of the inn, part of whose premises are known to date to at least 1670. It was extended onto the site of the former cottages in the past 50 years but they do not know how long licensed premises have been there. They have some old photographs of the building and hope that anyone who has other pictures of the pub and/or its residents will let them see them because one might possibly include 'the little old lady' who is a resident guest. Mr Ted Reeves of Wallingford Street Wantage, whose mother and father ran the inn for some 30 years said: 'I have never heard of a figure being seen. 'There was a Mrs Wilkins who ran the pub before my parents. 'The cottages next door were used as a doss house by organ grinders and people like that. 'There must have been many women living there over the years but I don't know anyone who would fit the discription of 'a little old lady.' Mr Dulieu said last night: 'I cannot give a full description of clothing or anything like that. What I saw was more vague than anything. 'But quite clearly I saw the face of a cheerful old lady, a shortish lady, who was standing behind my daughter. She seemed a very pleasant sort. 'There was a sort of brightness about her face. I told her to go away and she did but she returned and I told her again. 'She went after I told her she was not wanted and I think she will not come back. We believe that if friendly spirits are told to go away because they are not wanted, that they will leave and not return. Back to 1977 index |
[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | |
|
|
| Postcards
I
Wallpaper
I
Site Map
I This is Wiltshire
I Newsquest Digital Media Services
I Other This is sites Home I Crop Circles I Silbury Hill I Stones I UFOs I White Horses I Ghosts I Miscellaneous I Forum |
|