‘The Midlands Report: Ghosts’ T.V. Programme and the Ghosts of Belgrave Hall.

During mid-September, 2000, the Ghost Club received a letter from BBC Pebble Mill, enquiring whether we would be interested in taking part in a proposed documentary focusing on the subject of ‘Ghosts and Ghost Hunting’ in the Midlands region.  During subsequent contact with ‘Midlands Report’ Journalist, Anna Cunningham, it was requested whether a television crew might conduct a ‘fly on the wall’ approach during one of our forthcoming ghost hunts and endeavour to catalogue and record the vigil as it progressed.

Following a failure to secure our initial suggestion for a proposed vigil site, the BBC turned to Belgrave Hall in Leicester; a building which, over the preceding months, had been courting considerable, international attention with reports of ghostly goings on.  (See ‘Site History’ below).  As all enquiries regarding paranormal investigations at Belgrave Hall were then routinely passed into the hands of a Leicestershire based ‘ASSAP’ researcher, initial BBC interests began to change track somewhat and the Ghost Club found themselves suddenly having to take something of a ‘back seat’ on the planned project.

Because of scheduling difficulties, the planned broadcast date for the finished documentary – Nov. 2nd 2000 – was cancelled and the programme eventually didn’t get to see the light of day until Thurs. Jan. 18th 2001.

The Mysterious ‘Belgrave Triangle’.

Belgrave Hall:

Built between 1709 and 1713, Belgrave Hall has a long standing reputation for being haunted.  Ironically, it wasn’t until some anomalous film footage was recorded by an external security camera in Dec. 1998 that news of the buildings ghostly heritage eventually leaked out and the case of ‘The Belgrave Triangle’ quickly caught world wide media attention.  The ‘Triangle’ title was a [light hearted] reference initially coined by ASSAP member and key investigator for the Belgrave affair, Mr. Terry Hewitt.  The term was conveniently introduced to describe three supposedly haunted sites - Belgrave Hall, the Talbot Hotel and St. Peters Churchyard – which stand within a few metres of each other on Church Road, Belgrave, Leicester.

Unfortunately, it is somewhat ironic to note that such nondescript data as the security footage should be the ‘evidence’ to bring Belgrave Hall to world attention.

At best, the peculiar shapes captured on the tape are ‘amorphous’ – certainly a far cry from the ‘Phantom figure sheathed in a long, Victorian dress and bustle’ that one source claims to have detected when viewing the footage.  Other ‘Experts’ apparently confirmed that the figures(?) “simply couldn’t be human in origin, as they were clearly producing heat and energy similar to that given off by a fluorescent light”.

Following a brief series of, reasonably simple, tests carried out by A.S.S.A.P. researchers, the most likely explanation for the ‘ghostly figures’ was soon discovered. While a ‘rubber bat’ secured to a fishing rod failed to impress anyone to any great length, a handful of Oak Leaves - gathered from a nearby tree - were eventually cast in front of the camera and the resulting images left very few in doubt as to the most probable cause of the, by now, infamous images…………!!!

Questionable video footage aside, Belgrave Hall would still seem to hold enough ghostly tradition to merit a definite ‘Haunted’ label.

On more than one occasion, the figure of a Victorian woman in a long terracotta coloured dress and black boots has been seen by staff at the Hall.  Inexplicable footsteps, clearly originating in empty rooms and on deserted staircases, have been reported with increasing frequency.  Three people working in the house claim to have detected the smell of cooking coming from the long disused kitchen.  One reported the scent of a casserole being prepared, while the others clearly recognised the smell of bread and gingerbread baking.

The Talbot Hotel:

This centuries old hostelry is situated only five minutes walk from Red Hill…. once the site of the local Gallows.  According to Landlady, Lynne Deacon, the Talbot was often the last port of call for doomed prisoners on the way to their ‘date with the rope’.  Probably the last civilised action many people would have experienced in their lives was a ‘quick one’ in the bar before shuffling – or, perhaps more accurately, ‘swinging’ – off this mortal coil!  It is said that the pub garage once served as a mortuary; most probably a stopping off point for the unfortunates on their was ‘back’ from the gallows too?

The ghost of a man with a disfigured face has been spotted, on occasion, in the pub.  For reasons undisclosed, it has been suggested that he could possibly be one of the many who had cause to visit nearby Red Hill.

A previous landlady reported having seen the figure of a young boy in the pub cellar and elsewhere on the premises.  Coincidentally, equipment within the cellar itself has often been inexplicably tampered with and, at times, stock has actually disappeared with no easy explanation.

The sound of footsteps and movement has been heard to originate from the flat above the pub.  Such noises manifested during an ASSAP vigil at the site and thoroughly perplexed investigators when it was revealed that researchers inside the flat had detected absolutely nothing, while a separate group, situated in the bar below, supposedly picked up an impressive array of sounds?

St. Peters Churchyard:

Sightings of a female apparition have been associated with this particular site.  One witness reported having watched the figure of a woman clearly passing through one of the gravestones in the cemetery, before turning round and – somewhat cheekily – giving him a wave!

The BBC investigation of the three sites concerned took place on Saturday the 13th of October 2000 and entailed a collaboration between members of the West Midlands Ghost Club, the Black Country Paranormal Society and ASSAP.

For the duration of the vigils, the researchers present were formed into three groups of four people. 

During the first vigil of the evening, a number of researchers from groups 1 and 2 reported clearly hearing the sound of something akin to a female ‘Sigh’.  Members of ‘Group 2’, who were seated looking over the second floor landing, claim that the noise seemed to originate from a point below where they were situated, while a researcher on the floor below (the only one from ‘Group 1’ to hear the sound, which he personally likened to a female ‘yawn’) believed that the noise came from somewhere up near - or perhaps on - the second floor landing itself. The only female researcher in the building was a member of ‘Group 2’ and one of those who reported hearing the anomalous ‘female’ sound.

An investigator from ‘Group 3’, situated in the hallway on the ground floor, claims to have felt a distinct change of atmosphere - akin to a panic attack - at approximately the same time as the above mentioned experience.

While conducting a vigil in St. Peters Churchyard during the early hours of the morning, two if the investigators from ‘Group 1’ claim to have had the strong feeling that they were being watched.  Upon later relating their experience to Lynn Deacon at the Talbot Hotel, they were informed that they had been standing in close proximity to the resting places of two previous Talbot landlords at the time.  (Though, what this had to do with their experience is anyones guess?)

At the public house itself, the only disturbance during the night were two loud thuds detected by members of 'Group 3'. Subsequent investigations revealed nothing to account for the sounds.

During the very last vigil of the night, a member of ‘Group 3’ reports having clearly heard a scratching sound for approx. 30 seconds – the sort of noise that would perhaps be made by a rodent – originating from the door of the Curators Office on an upstairs floor of Belgrave Hall.

With regards to ASSAP technical support – various recording devices, motion detectors, EMF Meters, etc – nothing at all of possible paranormal significance was detected in any of the three separate sites covered.