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/)