Whispers of the Past: The ghosts talk back to us

Bicknacre Priory - A summary of findings from our research

Engraving of Bicknacre Priory - 1818

Important: Our articles covering our previous visits to Bicknacre Priory of which this article is the research findings for can be read here:

Part 1 -  Unravelling the ghosts of Bicknacre Priory: (Click here)

Part 2 - The Serpent and the King: (Click here)

Referring back to my notes, ten pieces of the jigsaw leapt out at me. 

Pausing for thought, some pieces would most definitely be easier to validate, or not, as the case may be. So, in no particular order, let’s look at each individual piece of the jigsaw piece in turn:

1. A Hospital in the vicinity
One of the first snippets of information Laura received when we first got to the location was the impression of a hospital as we entered the priory field. As I alluded to at the time, it wasn’t uncommon for a secular building to have a hospital facility connected, but was this actually the case here?

The Friends of Priory Field Website revealed in 1509, following the death of the last Prior two years earlier, the priory was united with the Hospital of St. Mary, without Bishopsgate, in London (1), by Royal Licence, who held possession of the Priory until 1536, following the dissolution of the monasteries.

Furthermore, a quick dive once again into the History of the County of Essex: Volume 2 (2) revealed there was, later, another hospital attached to Bicknacre Priory – The Leper Hospital of St Giles, which was a dependence of the Priory, the ruins of which still stand, even today. 

However, there was one small, minor issue, it was located on the outskirts of modern day Maldon, some four miles away. Surely Laura couldn’t be referring to this? 
 
Reluctant to accept the Leper Hospital as an explanation, I pulled out my OS Map covering the Priory and started scanning, more with faint hope than anything else.

To my complete surprise, there, not half a kilometre from the Priory, was yet another St Giles Leper Hospital (or rather former), compete with graveyard, which operated from 1914 to 1947, run by Franciscan Monks and Nuns. 

This, to me, seemed just as valid a match Laura’s information as anything else revealed in the historical record. More importantly, it’s closeness to the Priory ruins brought in a much more modern context to the equation, reinforcing the modern information Laura received later, as well as the information obviously relating to the Priory building and the late Prior Edmund Godyng.

Making a note of the location of the modern St Giles, it would be a location we would need to visit in the near future.


2. The Plague and Burial Pit  
Simply from the documented death of the unfortunate Prior Godying, from the plague during one of the latter instances of Black Death outbreaks in the 16th Century, it was evident bubonic plague had gripped Bicknacre at least once in the past, so it was something Laura picked up that could be easily validated.

However, what about the presence of a Plague Pit in the vicinity? 

It would be reasonable to suspect, being mind the presence of the Black Death at the Priory and surrounding area, there would indeed be a plague pit in the area.

But............

Unfortunately, burial pits, generally, were never mapped and faded from local knowledge within a couple of generations. 

Admittedly, some maps have been created for larger urban areas, most notably London (City) but, these maps are far from complete and being revised and added to constantly following new discoveries made during construction work. Sadly, for rural areas such as Bicknacre, no such record has been made and, as far as we can tell, nothing documented in the written histories.

Not to be discouraged, I wrote to the Friends of Priory Fields to enquire if they knew of any record or could suggest where I could make further enquiries. 

Disappointingly, to date I’ve never received a response, even simply to acknowledge my enquiry, this in spite of promising a response within 5 days on their website.

So, in the context of the plaque being present, Laura was most definitely being given correct information, whilst with regards to a burial pit, although it’s more than reasonable to assume at least one would have been present in the area, without documented information, this can only be an assumption at this stage, albeit a very strong one.

We’ll obviously issue an update, should we progress our research in this aspect or, get a response from the Friends of Priory Fields.


3. The ‘Fonts’, or ‘Basins’
Without any idea of the internal design or layout of the Priory – it being long lost to history, we could only research what these features were likely to be, or used for, little else. 

Laura had sketched a specific arrangement of the basins, from the scene she was given (below). The two basins, one above the other, were also accompanied by a noticeable ‘brick’ feature.

The upper basin had, immediately below it, two bricks protruding from the wall, side by side. Below these two bricks were the next basin, beneath which were five bricks, again protruding from the wall, in an inverted ‘V’ pattern. Although neither of us are experts on the features within secular buildings, they’re not structures we’re unfamiliar with and neither of us could ever recall seeing a similar feature in our travels.

The shallow basins, as sketched by Laura

Undertaking a little research, it was easy enough to identify the basins as piscina – a shallow basin, placed either near the altar or, in the sacristy or vestry, for the purpose of washing communion vessels. 

In England, they were very rare until the 13th Century, when it then became rare to find a church without one. If there was no drain from the basin, it would technically be a lavabo, although from the information Laura received it was unclear if there was a drain or not. 

Examples of double piscina are known, but these are positioned in separate niches, usually side by side not on top of one another.

So, in the scheme of things, the basins, or piscina do make sense, although the context in which Laura saw them – above one another, with protruding bricks is a bit more puzzling.

One thing my mind kept going back to was Laura’s initial vision of two alcoves when we first arrived at the Arch – something she advised were not alcoves, but she couldn’t describe them as anything else.

In retrospect, if they weren’t alcoves, they could well be niches, where piscina were often situated.


4. Black robes, with gold band around each cuff and around the collar
I must admit, upon hearing this from Laura, it didn’t strike me as being correct as monks, usually living in poverty, weren’t renown for their lavish robes. 

Or so I thought.

It soon became clear that several religious orders had worn black robes with gold accents around the cuffs and collars, most notably the Benedictine Order. The specific design may differ amongst communities, but black robes, with gold trim, was a common design feature.

However, the Augustinian Order, as present at Bicknacre Priory, did not. In fact, in modern terminology you could say they were fairly footloose and fancy free, their attire varying depending on the particular community, wearing dark coloured or black robes often combined with a white, or light coloured undergarment, the focus being upon the simpler form monastic style of clothing.

Seemingly hitting a brick wall with this particular vision of Laura’s, I carried on digging. 

Interestingly, the Augustinians, unlike other Orders, did not undertake a vow of poverty – were they the prototype of what we now recognise as a hippy commune?

Digging deeper, there appeared to be a close connection between the Augustinian Canons and the Benedictine Order, in spite of them being distinctly separate religious orders, with different founders and rules, drawn together by their mutual emphasis of communal life.

This extended to individual Augustinian communities adopting some Benedictine practices, including clothing and, vice versa. Numerous examples of these mutual adoptions exist throughout history so were we looking at another example here, where the Canons of Bicknacre had taken on the robes of the Benedictines?

The Benedictines were present in Essex, so whilst we cannot know for sure, equally, the fact that the Canons of Bicknacre Priory, at one stage, wore Black Robes with gold accents around the cuffs and collar cannot be ruled out.


5. The Serpent and the King
Of all of Laura’s visions at the Priory, this appeared to be the most random, simply a King with a serpent coiled around his body – with no context whatsoever.

As a starting point, one of the few things we could find been documented about the Priory is the visit by Edward I, in 1289, on his way to Beeleigh Abbey, in nearby Maldon. However, as far as I’ve been able to establish, there was no connection between Edward I and serpents.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any records of other Monarchs visiting, just Edward I.

I then cast my attention further afield - looking through the history books, I could find only one English Monarch associated with serpents – and this being probably England’s best known Monarch, the infamous Henry VIII.

As the world knows Henry was famous for having six wives and, more notable, separating the Church of England from Papal authority. Born in 1491, Henry became King in 1509, following the death of his father Henry VII. Henry himself died in 1547, at the age of 55.

However, what many don’t realise was the Tudors were a Welsh noble family, who claimed descent from Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, one of the last Kings of Wales and, ever keen to emphasise this, Henry added a green dragon, or serpent, to the Tudor Rose (a red rose, originally from the House of Lancaster), to represent his Welshness, through his Tudor ancestry.

The new emblem, a serpent / dragon, intertwined with (or wrapped around) the Tudor Rose can be seen in various depictions of Henry’s Royal emblems, such as Royal Banners and coinage issued during his reign.

A seal used by Henry VIII, displaying a serpent / dragon to the right 

As already mentioned, this imagery was a deliberate effort by Henry to shout about his Welsh lineage (the Ancient Britons) from the rooftops and allow him to assert his authority as the rightful King of England, via his ancestry and thus the rightful and ruler of the British Isles.

So, was Laura’s vision of a King wrapped in a serpent a symbolical representation of Henry VIII or even the Tudors or, was there a physical link between Henry and Bicknacre Priory that we’d yet to discover?

Henry VIII and Bicknacre Priory – a physical link?
As I had exhausted the written histories as far as I could, I had little hope on this thread of research. 
There were no known documents recording a visit to the Priory by Henry as far as I could tell, so this method of research was closed, for now at least. However, looking at the wider landscape surrounding Bicknacre Priory, could this reveal any clues?

Obviously Bicknacre is close to Maldon, an important port in Tudor times and is less than five miles away. 

If we could place Henry there at some point, it’s not impossible he could have visited, especially as the Priory was dissolved during his reign, in 1536 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Also, Henry was well known for visiting various religious houses and estates throughout his reign. 

However, again after some digging, this also threw up a blank. Again, it wasn’t impossible a visit but, none had been documented in the annals of history.

So, was there anywhere else nearby? There was, somewhere far more personal to Henry VIII, somewhere he lived.

The Palace of Beaulieu
Again, only five miles from Bicknacre, on the outskirts of the county town of Chelmsford (now City), it lies near the sleepy village of Boreham, now bypassed by the new A12 road. 

At the Chelmsford end of the village is New Hall School, a Catholic Private Boarding School, founded there in 1798, taking the name of the original house that stood there, in the 15th Century.

However, New House was owned by a certain Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, the future second wife of Henry, who sold New Hall and the surrounding land to Henry in 1516, 20 years before the Dissolution took place, for £1,000.

Henry then rebuilt the house for £17,000 , with 29 great beds, four bathing rooms, with beds set into the walls and, an extensive library. Henry named the new building the Palace of Beaulieu (beautiful place in French).

The surviving North Wing of the Palace of Beaulieu, only 5 miles from Bicknacre

It was in the Palace of Beaulieu that Henry plotted to obtain a Papal Bull to allow him to replace his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, with Boleyn.

By the early 18th Century, having also been used by Mary Tudor and Queen Elizabeth I, the Palace had fallen in to disrepair and in 1738 the North Wing was refashioned as a self-contained house, which is the building in which New Hall School is still based today. 

So, whilst we’re leaning towards Laura’s vision being symbolic, there is no doubt it can be linked to an actual King, who not only oversaw the Dissolution of the Monasteries that brought about the end of Bicknacre Priory, we had the same King that lived only five miles away whilst it was operational.

Nevertheless, to say Henry VIII visited Bicknacre Priory is pure conjecture, which we’re not going to do here. So, let’s take a look at any symbolism that could be implied by the vision.

Symbolism
The main issue from symbolism is it’s very much open to two forms of interpretation – that of the originator verses the viewer. In addition, interpretation can vary, based upon cultural and esoteric bias.

In this case it would be the intent of who, or rather whatever was giving Laura the vision, versus our personal interpretation.

Turning to our challenge here, rather unhelpfully, in occult symbolism, the association between a serpent and a King does vary. 

For a serpent, it can be interpreted as a symbol of transformation or wisdom or, in true occult tradition, hidden knowledge. It can also have both positive and negative aspects – enlightenment and temptation. 
Therefore it could be said, in the context of being coiled around a King, it suggests themes of power, transformation or, even the dual nature of ruling – very apt in the case of Henry VIII, being both ruler of the nation and, the Church of England. 

However, our esoteric is limited, being restricted to dusty books as opposed to any practical knowledge, so if anyone is willing to provide any further advice, you would forever have our gratitude if you could reach out to us. 
 
Nevertheless, our research has been able to show a potential link between Henry VIII and Bicknacre Priory, both from a practical and symbolic perspective. Hopefully this is something that could reveal more with further research.


5. “George” / “George Lingun”
As we’ve occasionally found upon repeat visits to other locations, sometimes we get repeat ‘visitors’, as we’ve experienced here.
During our first visit, as Laura got up from the bench in front of the arch, she was given the name ‘George’. During our second visit, seven years later, as Laura was sat on exactly the same bench, she was again given the name ‘George’, only this time she also received his surname – ‘Lingun’, ‘George Lingun’.

Unfortunately, as these sort of things seem to go, on both occasions, Laura was given the name amongst the context of other seemingly unrelated information at the time. 

However, what could we find of ‘George Lingun’?

Tentatively, I searched for the surname ‘Lingun’ – was it actually a surname? 

To my surprise, I found that it was, albeit a very uncommon one, in the far east and, more closely Turkey. So, what of ‘George Lingun’?

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, this was where things started to break down. There were no exact matches with ‘George Lingun’, but several with the similarly sounding ‘Lingen’ or ‘Lingin’, linked to the county of Essex, by birth, death, marriage, divorce, Electoral Registers or Census returns. 

However, no information tying any of these Georges to Bicknacre, or the surrounding area.

Deciding not to waste any further time on the search, I moved on to our next research point. Perhaps further visits may expand on our friend George? 

Only time will tell.


6. Was an Army Camp ever present in the area surrounding Bicknacre Priory?
With the scarcity of written work available on Bicknacre, again I thought the best place to start was online. I quickly found, via the village website (1), an early 1930’s children’s Holiday camp was built in the field in which the Priory sat, which was commandeered by and used by local Servicemen during the Second World War. 

In what capacity was unclear but, a Military Camp of sorts, was present, confirming the information given to Laura.

7. Soldier Burial
Although seemingly bizarre, the image of the grave of a soldier, with swords (short swords or daggers perhaps?) arranged in an array around the skull, almost like a crown, was quite precise. 

There were a couple of the pieces of the jigsaw missing or course – where was it situated and, from what period did it date?

The burial of objects precious to the individual for them to use in the afterlife was a relatively common occurrence, especially amongst the ruling classes, this was something I was already aware of. However, has there been an examples of burials with swords arranged as seen by Laura recorded or, even an ancient burial discovered in the Priory Field?

Sadly, my search uncovered no answers to either question. An online search revealed nothing of interest. 

Certainly, there were many examples of burials with swords included as grave goods but none, as far as I could tell, with swords arranged like a crown, around the head of the individual. 

Likewise, nothing could be found regarding a burial in the Priory field, other than a handful relating to the Priory itself.

Fortunately, we possess an extensive collection of Essex Archaeology and History Report, as well as copies of Essex Archaeology News going back to the 1970’s. However, a couple of hours trawling through these documents and magazines again, also drew a blank.

Sadly, for now at least, the search for the grave of Laura’s Soldier remains outstanding.


8. The Lighthouse
Out of all the information Laura was given during our visits to the Priory this, perhaps, was the most perplexing. With the majority of Essex coastline being muddy estuaries, Essex had never really been associated that strongly with light houses, other than to the North East of the county, where historically there was a cluster situated around Harwich / Dovercourt and, Frinton. The remaining Essex coast, being protected by Light Ships and buoys, many examples of which have been preserved, dotted around the old ports and harbours. 

Under the impression I was chasing a lost cause, I got to work on the issue. As expected, except for the floating type, there had been no light houses located in the nearby ports on the Crouch and Blackwater estuaries. With nothing else to lose, I did a simple search for the term light house in the Dengie Peninsula and, to my surprise, came up with two properties a couple of miles from the Priory (and nowhere else) – A property called ‘Light House’ and another, nearby, called ‘Searchlight House’. I won’t provide details here, with both houses being relatively modern, one less than 20 years old. 

Did they refer to a war time searchlight unit being located nearby? This I haven’t been able to uncover yet. Did this fit with Laura’s information of a journey from a local lighthouse to the Priory?

Interestingly, there was a Searchlight Unit based at nearby Danbury, which is a straight line from the two properties, though Bicknacre, before reaching Danbury. 

So, if there was a satellite Searchlight near the two properties, did the journey from the Lighthouse that Laura picked up reflect a Soldier walking from the mobile light, through Bicknacre (perhaps stopping off at the military camp there), before heading off to base at the Cricketers Arms in Danbury? Again, conjecture, but something to research further at a later date.


9. Laura’s Symptoms
During our second visit, Laura was troubled by several symptoms whilst at the location. To recap, they could be summarised as follows:

A. A feeling of nausea from the moment we drew near to the location, which remained with her the entire time we were there, until we’d driven away; 

B. An additional feeling of sickness’ at the foot of the hill leading to the Priory ruins, as well as a strong sensation of stiffness and tenseness in the calf muscles of both legs, accompanied by stiffening of her legs all the way up to her hips, as if her leg was locked straight and had to drag them as she walked; and

C. She was prevented from proceeding any further, as if there was a barrier she could not pass and, it took all her effort to continue our journey up to the Priory ruins.

I considered each set of symptoms, one by one.

With Set A.- a strong feeling of nausea, Laura frequently experiences this whenever we visit religious buildings, a badge of honour of sorts. 

However, this sensation was particularly strong, one of the strongest instances she’d ever experienced before and, it usually alleviates once she’s ‘attuned’ to the location. This time it stayed with her during the entire visit (over an hour) and, it was noted Laura did not experience this during our first visit back in 2016.

Nevertheless, with little else to go on, especially as she also experienced a secondary, further wave of sickness (which we shall discuss next), we could only put this down to what she usually experiences at such locations, perhaps it just being a bit stronger as a precursor to what she was about to and, eventually experienced at the Priory.

Turning to Set B., as our research had already established the Priory had been hit by bubonic plague, it being documented the last Abbot having died from it, this seemed a good place to start when researching the symptoms Laura had experienced at the foot of the hill, immediately after crossing the footbridge.

As Laura had experienced an extra layer of nausea, I was keen to establish if this was one of the prime symptoms. Reviewing the recoded effects of bubonic plague, not unexpectedly, the feeling of sickness was there as one of the symptoms, but what about the issues she was picking up relating to her leg muscles and general movement?

Again, examining the symptoms of the plague, it soon become clear that muscle cramps and stiffness is one of the major symptoms, so again something we could match with what Laura had experienced.

Whilst this was unusual – normally digging deeper beneath the surface was a standard requirement of our research, we appeared to match the symptoms that Laura had experienced with bubonic plague, which had been recorded at the location and, resulting in the death of at least the Abbot, Edmund Godyng, in 1507 (3).

Finally, we have Set C. Laura becoming rooted to the spot, unable to proceed any further. Taking a step back and applying Occam’s Razor, in that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, we viewed this as Laura was being prevented by a barrier, either a physical one (which we thought unlikely) or, one placed by society – where convention, rules or guidelines decreed you were not permitted to enter a location.

In this case we could only presume it was Laura (or a female she was sensing) was prevented from proceeding further, nearer to the Priory, due to convention? 

However, although common belief is that women were prevented from monasteries and other male dominated spaces, this, as we shall explore further in the following point below, wasn’t always the case.


10. The presence of females in the Augustinian Order
As touched upon above, common perception is females were not permitted to enter the male domains of Monasteries, Priories and Abby’s during the Medieval Period. 

However, in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Depending on the Order, the exact rules and regulations of who could be present at a priory could vary, even from region to region of the same Order – this could be females following a life of religious devotion, to that of servants and helpers to assist the monks in everyday life.  

They were often subjected to stricter rules and regulations such as communication with the outside community, as well as restrictions in movement. Admittedly, the numbers in mixed communities were kept deliberately low, mainly to reduce the risk of temptation to their male cohabitants, remembering that not all monks were there for the religious experience.

Therefore, in the scheme of things, it was not beyond the realms of possibility of females being present at the Priory, especially as Laura appeared to be in contact with a number of them.

But, was there any evidence of this in the limited historical sources we’d traced for Bicknacre Priory? 

Turning once again to the History of the County of Essex, Volume 2. (2), we find the answer.
In the limited information contained within, we find two references – In 1337, Richard de Badewe received a licence to grant land in nearby Woodham Ferrers to the Prior and Convent (my italics) and, earlier, in 1286, the Prior and Convent granted John de Swanesheth victuals for life in their house. 

An artists impression of Bicknacre Priory, looking from the North East

So, not only was it possible there were females at the location due to administrative set up, there was also, admittedly little referenced, convent in situ too. In addition, although present, females would have been restricted from being present in certain areas, possibly relating to the experience Laura had which we discussed in the previous point.


Summary
To say we were surprised at the wealth of information Laura was able to trap in during our second visit was an understatement. Whilst it brought its own issues with the sure volume of information we needed to research, eventually all the jigsaw pieces fell into place. Laura was not just tapping into the medieval life of Bicknacre Priory, she was also picking up the more recent past.

Whilst no major narrative could be extracted, the tentative link with Henry VIII, both on a physical and occult level was an interesting development, although it goes without saying this is likely to be a flight of fantasy as opposed to a real connection. 

Perhaps only time will tell, with further visits and research enabling us to uncover more information that will perhaps provide us with a clearer view of the history of the Priory and its lands and, the people who lived and died there.

Laura and Mark



Read:

Part 1 -  Unravelling the ghosts of Bicknacre Priory: (Click here)

Part 2 - The Serpent and the King: (Click here)

 
 

References:
(1) http://www.prioryfields.org.uk/history/bicknacre-priory/
(2) A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2. Pages 146-148 (Victoria County History 1907)
(3) Edmund Godyng, Prior for two years before dying of the Plague in 1507 (Friends of Priory Fields - http://www.prioryfields.org.uk/history/bicknacre-priory/)
 

Whispers of the Past: The Serpent and the King

Unravelling the ghosts of Bicknacre Priory (Part Two)

You can read Part One here: Click Here
You can read Part Three here: (Click Here)

Although we frequently drove past the Priory and, despite how close it was to where we lived, we were never tempted to take time out and re-visit.

Days turned to months, months turned to years.......

And so it was, in 2023, with the school summer holidays looming, we decided to spend a couple of our free days leading up to the summer break by visiting some local locations, our preference being not to visit sites with our young children in tow.

St Peter-on-the-Wall, a half hour drive away was first on the list, however, it was warm and we didn’t fancy driving that far when there were just as suitable locations within spitting distance we could think of.

Beeleigh Falls was a location we definitely needed to revisit but, after the events following our last visit a few months earlier, where we wasn’t able to access the area we needed to visit because of deep flooding, we decided to give this one a skip and settled upon Bicknacre Priory, which we both knew we hadn’t visited for many years and, really needed to pick up again.

So it was settled – Bicknacre Priory it was!


July 2023 – the return.
As with our previous visit, we decided to get there just before mid-day and grab some food at our favourite cafe when we returned.

The short drive to the Priory proved uneventful. However, as we pulled into the car park, Laura reported she felt physically ill as we took the exit from the roundabout 200 metres or so down the road, before we reached the car park.

The feeling of nausea was so strong Laura had doubts she would be able to continue.

Exiting the car, Laura took in a deep breath, hoping the fresh spring air would relieve the feelings she was experiencing.

Pacing around our car, Laura slowly began to regain her composure, to the extent she felt able to continue. Unfortunately, for Laura at least, the feeling of nausea remained with her the entire time we were at the location, until we physically drove from the site and away from the Priory itself.

At that point, little did we suspect how intense the next 60 minutes would prove for her.


The walk to the Priory
Making our way along the path to the remains of the Priory, which was located a couple of fields away, we gradually left the humdrum of the school play ground adjoining the car park.

The noises of the excited children gradually faded, to be replaced by the quiet solitude of the wild flower meadows, embracing us as we drew closer to the Arch.

At the foot of the hill leading up to the Priory, crossing the small wooden bridge over the stream which acted as a boundary for the former Priory’s grounds, Laura paused, telling me she kept getting the suggestion of a hospital.

Although I had no knowledge of such a facility existing historically at the location, I could only advise it wasn’t uncommon for secular buildings to contain what we would now recognise as a hospital of sorts, but it was something we could research later.

At this point, Laura was also feeling ‘sickness’ (in addition to her own nausea) and achy calf muscles, a strong feeling of tenseness in the her calf muscles of both legs, which she described as stiffening up, from the hip, like her leg was locked straight and she had to drag her leg.

After a few more steps, Laura came to a halt.

Laura, being forced to stop as she entered Priory Field

“I feel like I’m stuck here, like there’s a barrier................ like a gate, or..... being stopped here” reported Laura.

I asked her if she felt there was a boundary of some sort? Laura responded to the positive but, at the same time, not sounding entirely convinced.


The Priory Arch
As we recalled from our first visit several years earlier, the remaining arch was still protected by a modern, six foot grey metal slated fence. Nothing had changed, the fencing appearing entirely out of place in its setting.

Walking to the crest of the hill where the Arch was located, we made our way to the entrance of the grim enclosure and tested the gate.

As expected, it was locked.

Straight away, Laura started picking up names – first of all ‘James’ and, a name unfamiliar to Laura, ‘Alicea’. Initially, she thought she was getting ‘Alice’, but after concentrating advised it was ‘Alicea’ or, even ‘Aliceiere’.

I commented it’s likely a lot of the names associated with the Priory, especially in its early history, would be Latinised or Norman (French) names.

Ignoring me, Laura stated ‘Alicea’ was a very old lady.

At this point in our audio recording we received two, unintelligible EVP’s, six seconds apart.

I asked her if she was getting a sickness feeling with the information.

Laura gave the vague response, not directly answering, “Yeah, there’s two arches, like alcoves, together......but like in a corner”. Then finally let out a gasp and advise she felt really sick.

I pointed out a nearby bench, where she could sit down and take a rest for a while, but Laura just stood still, unresponsive.

Letting out a long sigh, she exclaimed ‘Oh!’ and advised she was getting a name that sounds like ‘Duncan’, clarifying it sounded like ‘Dun Eakun’ or ‘Dun Ea Kun’.


At the bench
Guiding Laura to the bench, I warned Laura to be careful of the nettles surrounding the base of the bench. Sitting down, Laura suddenly announced she got the name ‘Fredrieksen’, clarifying it was ‘Fred’ and, spelling ‘R I E K S E N’.

I pointed out this name sounded a bit more modern, although I’m no expert on Scandinavian surnames and, that she appeared to be getting a mix of old and modern names.

Again, Laura didn’t respond.

Turning to the arch in front of us, I pointed out the arch was one of the internal entrances to the four wings of the Priory, which was built in the shape of a cross, as opposed to a crucifix, as many British churches are.

Upon hearing this, Laura returned to her vision a couple of minutes earlier, of two alcoves. In the passing time, she’d received more information.

The two alcoves were on adjacent walls, 90 degrees to each other, in the central core of the Priory. Laura wasn’t entirely sure they were proper alcoves, but she felt to describe them as such all the same.

I advised there was no plan of what the Priory looked like in its heyday, all we have is a modern interpretation of the footprint, from the tentative exploratory excavations from the Maldon Archaeological and Historical Group a few decades ago.

Laura, by this point, was really suffering from the pain of her headache, which she usually experienced when tapping into information. With the amount of information she was getting now, I could only imagine how severe her headache was.

“I keep seeing images of the Priory” Laura exclaimed.

Recognising a possible opportunity to pin down a plan of the Priory, I asked her to describe the building.

Through her pain, Laura explained she couldn’t focus on the building as a whole – she felt like she was watching a slide show of various shots of the building, each image flashing rapidly in front of her, so quickly she was struggling to take in the image in front of her before it quickly switched to the next view.

Attempting to assist, I started to describe the Priory as what exists today, simply an arch, with the hope this could help Laura to lock onto a point within the ‘slideshow’ she was viewing.

This proved futile, all Laura could comment was she’d never felt this ill for so long at any location she’d visited up to now. The feeling was up around the front of her throat, at the base of her jaw.

Accompanying this was the feeling of hands on her throat, possibly as someone would clutch there throat when being ill. However, more ominously, Laura added it could have been strangulation.

Concentrating, Laura opined this was a woman, as her throat felt ‘small’ and whatever it was, occurred a very long time ago, in the depths of history.

After a short silence, Laura advised she kept seeing a light house, but she didn’t know why. I asked her how it appeared, curious as to whether it was a modern lighthouse, or of a design far older.

All Laura could tell me was, it was white and, with windows wrapping around it’s column like construction. Above the windows, she could see a ledge, a balcony, black, going around at the top. Continuing, Laura advised there was a connection between the light house and Bicknacre Priory, possibly involving a person rather than the physical locations. And, a harvest.

After a pause, Laura advised she could now see people, Chinese or Oriental people and, a young man. Also sick people.

Laura complained now she was getting so much random information, it just didn’t make any sense.

She was seeing stained glass windows, windows divided into small triangles and blue, blue, something blue, the colour’s blue – everything’s blue!

At this point, Laura was holding her face in her hands. Whilst remaining in this pose she explained everything just went blue, a light shade of blue, the blue light shining through her hand, obliterating everything else.

I kept quiet.

After another short pause, Laura continued. ‘Curumba’, ‘Curumba’ – although she wasn’t sure of the correct spelling. In a whisper, she repeated ‘Curumba’, with a ‘C’ so it’s C C C ‘Curumba’. What is it? She asked, whispering to herself.

Continued, “a yellow rose with the petals falling......... don’t know’ “, again whispered. “ ‘Dennis’ – I don’t know...... so much...... going on here. Busy”.

Laura exhaled sharply, frustrated with what’s she’s receiving.

Next she got ‘Calliolla’, repeating twice more, the last time whispered.

With Laura losing her patience, we decided upon a calling out session, to see if we could make sense of everything or, even pick up some EVP:


Laura:     “If there is anyone here with us try and talk into the microphone...... try and use your voice, try to speak, make yourself heard”

Laura:     “You’re clearly around us, maybe try and touch one of us?”

Laura:     “Try to focus on one person giving information. What is ‘Curumba’ “?

Laura:     “What is the connection to the light house? (small cough) “

Laura:     “Who’s ‘Fredrieksen’?"

Laura:     “Who’s ‘Matthew Edinson’?” *

Laura:     “What’s your connection to here?”

Laura:     “Why such a negative feeling with the sickness?”

Laura:     “Is there a female that died here? Early 20’s?”

Laura:     “Why do you belong at this Priory?”

Laura:     “Who is the guardsman?”

Laura:     “It’s not even like a gatekeeper feeling like you feel at some place, it feels like...."

Mark:     “Like you g.....”

Laura:     “..... it’s guarded"

Mark:     “Protected?”

Laura:     “back there, like it was like “no, fuck off!......”

Mark:     “Protected”

Laura:     “......Stop!”

Laura:     “Who gave you that power?”

Mark:     “Do you think there is something still here, as in like an object or something to be guarded?”

Laura:     ”I don’t know”

Mark:     “It sounds like, almost, it’s nothing to do with the Priory, it’s actually the grounds”

* Laura was given the name 'Matthew Edinson' as she started calling out her questions.


At this point I decided to leave Laura alone on the bench and take some photographs of the location.

Sadly, upon reviewing the audio for our calling out session, we found we’d recorded nothing of interest other than our own voices.

Photographs taken, I returned to Laura, who was still sat on the bench, five minutes later. As I sat down, she drew a deep breath and sighed, but said nothing.

Laura, at the end of her session, alone on the bench

I informed Laura, the building had been used as a hospital, as Laura had picked up, after it stopped being used as a priory. This prompted Laura into life, who advised randomly “not like an outburst of disease, but like plague”.

I stopped Laura there and told her the last Abbot had died of the plague (1), so the disease had been present at the Priory. Laura confirmed this is what it felt like, or how she imagined it would feel like – it felt like a sickness to her, she’d felt it from the minute we pulled up to the car park.

I surmised that there was likely an outbreak at the Priory, on the basis the last Abbot had died of it. Laura added that she felt there is ‘something’ underneath here, like a death pit somewhere.

This would appear a logical assumption, a burial pit to accommodate the bodies of those who’d died at the Priory and, probably the surrounding community. So I confirmed to Laura this would make sense and such a thing would be nearby.

When I later analysed the audio, I discovered we’d recorded an EVP at this point, a very faint ‘Yeah’ given, as if in confirmation to our discussion.


Click video below to hear EVP (as always, best heard via headphones)




Concluding our discussion regarding a possible plague pit, Laura advised that she felt the pit would have been at the foot of the hill, where we’d entered the Priory field, near to where she’d felt rooted to the spot.

After a couple of minutes, Laura stated that the location was definitely male dominated. I replied to the affirmative, up to 30 monks had lived here in its prime and, added that the monks were Black Canons (Augustinian).

Again, seemingly in reply to my reply, we later found we’d recorded a faint EVP response, although sadly we were unable to work out what this response was.

Laura then asked me where the light house came in? Was there a connection to the sea?

I had to admit I had no idea – we knew obviously it was a religious site, but short of this, nothing. Perhaps this connection is related to someone who was involved in preserving what remained of the Priory, something along these lines?

Laura wasn’t convinced.

I pointed out to Laura it appeared she was getting a lot of information covering a very wide period of history, all jumbled up. Without any further information we could link this to, we were likely never to find the connection.

Perplexed, Laura queried whether people would have come through a port, to come to the Priory? Was it a big priory? Would people have travelled to a port, with a light house?

As far as I knew, other than light ships and the occasional beacon, there had been no light houses in the vicinity – ever.

Without warning, Laura advised she was seeing this feature, like a church font, only on the wall. She described it as similar to terracotta, a light orange, even tan type of colouring, but, was at pains to make the point it was not terracotta.

It was attached to the wall and was like a semi-circle.

I suggested it sounded more like a basin, somewhere where the priests washed their hands, ritually cleanse themselves I suppose.

Laura considered this and advised there were actually two of them. Some of the bricks around the ‘fonts’, or ‘basins’, were sticking out of the wall, forming a pattern.

Being unable to describe what she was seeing, Laura took the note book and drew what she was seeing (refer image below).

Laura's sketch of the 'basins' on one of the interior walls of the Priory, showing the pattern of the interior bricks.

Showing me her completed sketch, Laura emphasised the ‘fonts’ were half bowls, so were probably basins as I had suggested.


The Serpent and the King
Whilst I was studying her sketch, Laura let out another sigh.

There’s a black robe, with a gold...... like, ribbon thing – a gold / yellow band on each sleeve, just before where the cuffs began. There was also a very thin band of gold around the bottom of the robe and, a red, patterned ribbon type band on the robe and, on the collar. Laura wanted to make it clear there was a collar on the robe, not a hood.

Next, Laura got the impression of an imprint of ‘something’ in the wall, an imprint of something but she was being prevented from seeing it.

Laura started to complain about the volume of information she was now being given, the apparent randomness and, how weird it all was – a King, wrapped in a serpent.

I interjected, advising a King, had in fact visited the Priory and actually lodged there.

Laura responded “but the snake is wrapped around his body”

Symbolism? I suggested.

Laura could only repeat it was coiled around his body.

I could only tell Laura I’d investigate this later and try to find if there was a connection with snakes and that particular King.

She continued “and a tent, like a camp, like an army camp here, close by – like a green, tarpy type camp”.

Next she was given ‘Lingun’, a surname Laura felt compelled to spell – ‘George Lingun’.

Not pausing for breath, Laura reported she kept seeing birds - an Eagle, now an Owl’s face close up, a Barn Owl’s face. Then a Tiger’s face, again close up, possibly a big cat.

Laura went quiet.

Then it began again.

“Jewish, something Jewish, there’s the hat, the hat” Laura exclaimed, before she told me there was a soldier buried here.

I asked whether this was a modern or a soldier from more historic times, being mindful she earlier described a modern army camp being here, in the Priory field.

Unfortunately, Laura couldn’t tell, but there were swords with him, swords around the top of his head, sharp ends pointing to his skull, almost like a crown.

After a short pause, Laura started again.

‘Callov’, pronounced ‘Call of’, ‘Hirush’ and 1102, but Laura wasn’t sure if this was a time or, the year.

By now Laura was feeling exhausted and, the headache and feeling of sickness becoming unbearable. She complained there was just too much random information coming through, everything flitting in and out before she could focus on it, just too many images, too many different things.

“People just want to tell you their story, don’t they?”, I commented, wryly.

Walking back to the car, Laura commented she felt the women never went into the Priory.

Referring back to ‘Alicea’, Laura said she didn’t feel like she lived in the Priory or ever went in there.

Suddenly Laura stopped dead in her tracks. We were at the exact point where she had felt rooted to the spot when we initially approached the Priory Arch.

Laura stared at the hedgerow down the bottom of the hill, where the bridge across the stream was. “I can see lots of shadows milling around, between the trees.

I asked if they were watching us, or, doing anything?

Laura gave the question a long hard thought – “I don’t know, it’s like I get the feeling of guarding......”

The hedgerow, to the distant right, where Laura could see 'lots of shadows, milling around

Finally reaching the car, I packed our equipment, whilst Laura looked warily back to the hedgerow where she saw the shadows. Saying nothing, she entered the car, looking forward to leaving the location.

Pulling away from the car park, Laura perked up. “The sickness, it’s gone......”

The journey to the cafe

Driving to the cafe, there was no repeat of the stabbing pain and circles to the palm of her hand that Laura had experienced the last time we travelled back as we drove past Woodham Mortimer Church. 

Nothing.

It appeared, for now at least, we were free from the clutches of Bicknacre Priory.

Aftermath:
In comparison to our previous visit, Laura was able to sense and extract so much more information from the location. And, unlike the frustrations we experienced following our first visit, where we were unable to confirm or dismiss any of the information Laura had picked up, she was able to pick up far more location specific information we could hopefully validate, or reject, with further research.

The hunt was on........






Part One - Unravelling the ghosts of Bicknacre Priory: Click Here
Part Three – The ghosts talk back to us - Summary Findings: (Click Here)

Whispers of the Past: Unravelling the ghosts of Bicknacre Priory (Part One)

Bicknacre Priory today

In a long forgotten meadow, deep in the wilds of Essex, stands a lonely stone arch, holding stubbornly steadfast against the elements, the solitary remains of what was Wodeham Priory, perhaps better known in contemporary times as Bicknacre Priory, which was first adopted in the 13th Century.

The arch, or more correctly, the western arch of the central crossing of the church, to the Nave, is the only remains of the Priory still left today, with even the stone foundations being robbed at some point in the past. 

An 1832 engraving of Bicknacre Priory

Thankfully, the arch was preserved by the then landowner, in 1830, who thankfully had the foresight to protect it for future generations by fitting an iron tie-rod, around the top section of the arch and, tiling the exposed upper surface.

Both protective measures can still be seen, in situ, today.

Historical background

Sadly, very little of the Priory’s history is known today, the majority of records being lost over the ravages of time. However, a partial list of Priors does exist (1). 

It was originally a hermitage for a number of years, before being converted to a priory in 1175, dedicated to St Mary and, St John the Baptist. It held no more than one Prior, four Canons at any one time (2), being supported by up to 30 monks. However, it was only ever a small priory.

However, what we do have is a couple of sketches from the early 1800’s, relating to what survived of the Nave, then being used as a farmhouse and, exploratory excavations and ground surveys undertaken by the local archaeological group – (the Maldon Archaeological and Historical Group) a couple of decades ago.

Likewise, the location is bereft of any documented haunting or any other paranormal phenomena - no goulies or ghosties, no long-leggedy beasties and definitely nothing that goes bump in the night.

With this background it is perhaps understandable, with such an apparent lack of high strangeness, Bicknacre Priory failed to grab our attention, despite living in close proximity for the past several years.

Nevertheless, we have found time to make two visits to the location over the past seven years, both of which we found intriguing, Laura finding herself able to tap into the atmosphere of the Priory on both occasions and, during our second visit, we were fortunate to record EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) – a couple of possible captures in the space of a couple of minutes. 

Due to the size of the combined accounts of our two visits, for ease of reading, we’ve split this article into two parts, one for each visit.

First Visit: May 2016

We remember the day well. 

Summer was quickly approaching, bringing with it the warmer weather. Thinking about suitable locations we could visit, we came to the conclusion it would be an ideal opportunity to visit the Priory nearby. 

It was less than a ten minute drive away and, it was also represented an opportunity to stretch our legs, as it would require a short walk through the meadows to get to the Priory site itself.

The drive to the Priory car park proved uneventful.  It was a lovely spring day, warm and sunny and the traffic non-existent, as we drove the short distance to the Priory.

The walk to the Arch

Gathering my note book and audio recorder, we left the car park and made our way through the fields to the Priory field, where we would find the remaining arch. As we crossed the small wooden bridge to enter the field, Laura immediately picked up the name ‘Constance’ as she stepped off the bridge. This was followed by the name ‘Callifew’ – or something sounding very similar, which Laura was at pains to make the point this person wasn’t connected to the earlier ‘Constance’.

Bicknacre Priory

Walking up the hill, we soon found ourselves within the footprint of the Priory, the Presbytery to be precise, the corners of the building now marked out by modern slab markers. Standing still, in silence, Laura advised that she’d just picked up the names ‘Caruthers’ and ‘Ellen’, but unfortunately, no other information which could be linked to the names.

At this point, we decided to split up and go our separate ways to explore the site. 

Floor Plan of Bicknacre Priory today

I went to take photographs, whilst Laura made her way to a nearby bench, positioned about 50 feet away, to take in the view of the arch. As she made her way to the bench, she was given the name ‘Hallifract’ and, the country ‘Canada’.

Sitting down on the bench, it wasn’t long before the information started to flood in.

Initially she picked up the names ‘Emmanuelle’ and ‘Oscar’ – with ‘Oscar’ she was also given ‘third’, as in the number.

The names kept coming – ‘Sarah Western / Weston’ then ‘Nigel’, followed by ‘Boulevaunt’ – this could be linked to ‘Nigel’ and, could also be hyphenated (Boule-Vaunt). This information was retrieved from our audio recording, but confusingly, in our notebook Laura had written at the same point ‘Marjorie Beaumont’ and unfortunately it’s not clear if this person relates to ‘Nigel Boulevaunt’ or, if this was something completely different.

This was quickly followed by an image of a statue, a stone angel.

After a short pause, Laura then got the image of a nun (or a sister), before immediately getting the name ‘Oheane’ or ‘Alleane’ – ‘Sister Oleon’ ?

However, Laura was hit by the name and image so quickly she could only guess at the correct spelling and, in the cold light of day, could only suggest that phonetically the name was similar and, not spelt as she’s suggested.

She was able to describe the nun as having a round, pale face and having blue / green eyes.

After spending ten minutes or so sitting on the bench, Laura decided to explore the area around the perimeter fence guarding the remaining Arch. As soon as she approached the fence, Laura got the name ‘George’.

Walking around the perimeter, Laura got the feeling that people had been hanged here, although not many. 

In the furthest corner behind the Priory, she picked up ‘adultery’.

Laura, during her walk around the perimeter of the safety fence

Moving to the area in front of the Arch, again within the area that had been identified as the Presbytery, Laura received the vision of a man, with long dark wavy hair, almost black, in an old hair style. The man had dark eyes and she saw the vision, as if in an old sepia photograph.

As she was receiving the vision, Laura felt compelled to crouch down and touch a flagstone in the grass (one of the slabs positioned to mark the original outline of the priory). Once she had done so, she got the name ‘Edward’, who was a young man in his 20’s. Laura later commented this was where she’d picked up the name ‘Ellen’ earlier.

The slab, where Laura was compelled to crouch down and touch 

She also though, at this spot, she should be talking, as if she was addressing people, standing on a platform of some kind, in the corner of a room. She was also, simultaneously, picking up on a lot of women and got a feeling of uneasiness.

Laura then got ‘Cardamen’ or, ‘Cardaman’ – she was at pains to make it clear this was a title, not a name. Connected with this, she got the name ‘Creighton’.

All this information was now coming through thick and fast – this was followed by a name beginning with a letter ‘A’ – ‘Alanadale’...... ‘Arunsale’..... something similar. Laura focused long and hard and finally the name came through, although she has to spell it..... A-R-R-A-N-S-A-L-E – ‘Arransale’. 

A call to prayer

Looking down, Laura spotted a little face looking back at here from the grass, whilst she viewed this as pareidolia, she thought it was that of a small animal.

She was then given the words ‘conspiracy’ and ‘defeat’, before feeling compelled to kneel down and pray, facing north, towards the Arch. This feeling was very strong, difficult to resist, to which she eventually succumbed to and knelt down.

The spot where Laura was forced to kneel down and pray

As she did so, she felt the presence of four individuals – herself (or rather the part she was playing) and three others, all male and wearing soiled dark grey cloaks or gowns.

With nothing else forthcoming, we decided to get some lunch. 

As we took the short walk back to the car park, our conversation naturally turned to the priory and what Laura had picked up during the short time we were there. 

We both acknowledged whilst the least promising locations often prove to be ones Laura has been able to connect to the strongest, Bicknacre Priory appeared to be particularly bereft from a high strangeness context. 

Jumping into the car and noticing the time, we decided to grab lunch at a cafe near home.

It was over – or so we thought.

The drive home – a most curious event

As we made our way to the cafe, having just passed Woodham Mortimer Church, Laura suddenly cried out she could see a circle, within a circle, on the palm of her left hand. Whilst I was unable to take a close look as I was driving, I couldn’t help notice Laura looking at her hand, touching the spot where she could see the circles.

Nothing else was forthcoming during the drive and, we were soon at the cafe.

Upon arrival at the cafe, having placed our orders and took our seats, we took the opportunity to discuss Laura’s experience as we waiting for our food. We kept our voices low, in case we were overheard, but fortunately no one else in the cafe appeared to be paying us any attention.

Laura was quite shaken by the experience, it was the first time she’d ever encountered anything like this personally (although it would be far from being the last, as things have turned out). 

Discussing her experience, she told me whilst we were driving along, she was thinking about her experiences at the Priory. Without warning, she was rudely shaken from her thoughts by an unexpected sharp pain, which had almost taken her breath away at the time. 

She described the pain as feeling like she was being stabbed - like something was stabbing her left hand as the two circles took shape. 

As Laura was describing this to me, she saw faces begin to form on the same left palm where the circle had formed. I asked her if she recognised or, had any idea from what period they were? Sadly, Laura replied to the negative.

A little something and yet a lot of nothing....

As we discussed in our introduction, for the moment at least, the known history of Bicknacre Priory is thin on the ground to say the least and, as such, proved little help with the information Laura picked up during our visit. 

I guess, upon some reflection, its information that could fit within the context of the Priory, although there was absolutely nothing we could verify at this stage.

Turning our attention to the circles and faces Laura had seen in the palm of her left hand, our research equally drew a blank. It could have been a form of a solar symbol, an evil eye or even a personal Sigil. 

Likewise, it could have been another symbol entirely that didn’t form fully, something to draw Laura’s attention to the faces she saw. 

Or, something else entirely and nothing paranormal at all.

As for the faces, we had nothing to compare them to, or even date the period they related to. 

So, in light of being unable to uncover any meaningful history other than what we’ve previously described, we simply gave up, filed our notes and forgot about it.

References:

(1) A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2. Pages 146-148 (Victoria County History 1907)

(2) The Ruined Abbeys of England, Wales and Scotland – H. Thorold. P.41 (Harper Collins 1993)

Part Two - The Serpent and the King Click Here

Part Three - The ghosts talk back to us - Summary Findings (Click Here)