Paranormal Reason

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 Prio...

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 be...

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...

Part 2: Shadow Person Sighting (and other anomalous phenomena), Ipswich, Suffolk   A welcome I would always remember   Once upon a time........ Many years ago, when I first came to work in Suffolk back in 2001, I initially stayed with a friend for a couple of months, to test the water before relocating fully, as I wasn’t sure that I would remain with the company I was working for at the time, which was moving its Head Office from my native South Wales to Ipswich. As things transpired, I was very fortunate to have my friend’s house all to myself for the first week - she had previously booked a holiday and had already departed before I arrived, allowing me to settle in and...... clean up any mess I’d made during the week on the seventh evening. I picked up the keys for the property from a relative whilst driving through Ipswich, on my way to work, then took the decision to continue onto the office, rather than pop into the house quickly beforehand. My first day in the offic...

 Part 1: Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire, England Tutbury Castle - the sole surviving buildings When I look back at the length of time I’ve spent researching the paranormal, I can only recall three, perhaps four occasions, outside of my research with Laura, where I’ve been witness to something which left me thinking perhaps......., events that even to this very day, I am at a loss to explain rationally. Whilst none of the events in themselves could be described as particularly earth shattering, they have left a significant mark on me at a personal level. In the general scheme of things, I think perhaps now is the time to share the experiences, possibly in case any others have experienced similar phenomena in their lives at some time and wish to have the opportunity to discuss them, or simply just to record part of my paranormal journey to date. A word of warning, the events are not in a chronological order, nor a decreasing level of importance to me. In reality, my chosen order of di...