How is the Ghost?

During our twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson she produced a copy of a letter from the Standford Estate to Henry Roberts, director of Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in 1935, who lived at Preston Manor. We liked it so much we thought we’d share it with you:

Standford Estate Office

Shirley Drive,

Hove

21st August 1935

Henry D. Roberts Esqr. M.B.E.,

Preston Manor,

Brighton.

Dear Mr. Roberts,

How is the ghost? Have you met her yet?

I hope that by this time she has been ‘laid’ after all the trouble I have taken over her.

She is quite harmless and quite interesting.

I have a sneaking hope that she will come and share your whisky and soda last thing before you go to bed.

 Your faithfully,

(signed) John Benett-Stanford

Letter from the Stanford Estate, 1935

Transcript of twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson (Ghosts and Preston Manor)

Yesterday afternoon, our Preston Manor ghost expert Paula Wrightson gave a question and answer session on twitter. In the run up to Halloween and the spooky events taking place at the Manor, we wanted her take on the ghostly tales and things that go bump in the night.

Here is a transcript of the discussion:

@BrightonMuseums (1:02pm) Paula’s here and already spooking us with her tales of Preston Manor! Have you got a question for her? Ask her now! #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:07pm)

Here’s a question: Has anyone actually photographed a ghost at Preston Manor? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:10pm)

Yes and we have the images… but I would say they are inconclusive. #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:13pm)

Did you know Miss Ada Goodrich Freer aka Miss X was called in to do a seance at the Manor in Nov 1896? #PrestGhost

@kathleenlawther (1:12pm)

@BrightonMuseums Have you been in contact with the spirits? What would you want to ask a#PrestGhost ? #Halloween

@ BrightonMuseums (1:17pm)

@kathleenlawther: I haven’t personally been in contact. I would ask do ghosts wear clothes if they are mere spirits? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:19pm)

Another Q! Is it scary working at Preston Manor at night? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:22pm)

Yes! It can be, it’s a big old creepy house. I defy anyone not to be scared! #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:28pm)

A Q we were asked earlier: Do you think a museum should be dealing in the supernatural? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:30pm)

It’s what our visitors are interested in and we’re answering the questions people are naturally curious about. #PrestGhost

@Jackshoulder (1:30pm)

@BrightonMuseums If it is relevant, then why not. If using ‘supernatural’ as a gimmick then no.#PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:33pm)

@jackshoulder: Exactly. Our ghost story is derived from genuine letters by the Victorian owners of the house. #PrestGhost

@Jackshoulder (1:32pm)

The ghost at Preston Mannor is part of the history of the place @BrightonMuseums so it is relevant. #PrestGhost

@mortiquarian (1:41pm)

@BrightonMuseums To take meaning from our past we graft the flesh of social history, folklore & myth to the bones of empirical study. So:Yes

@BrightonMuseums (1:46pm)

@mortiquarian: We are not unlike the Victorians who sought meaning to questions like is there life after death? #PrestGhost

@KateNaylor1 (3:32pm)

@BrightonMuseums Anything goes, as long as it spices life up a bit! I’m enjoying the conversation.

@BrightonMuseums (1:39pm)

Did you know staff at Preston Manor report locked rooms in which objects have moved overnight… #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:48pm)

Did you know for the Victorians, one of the biggest questions was is there life after death? And that’s why Spiritualism emerged #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:51pm)

We’re recreating a Victorian seance experience without the paranormal on the 11th of Nov at Preston Manor #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:53pm)

Here’s an obvious question we’ve had: Paula, do you believe in ghosts? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:54pm)

I don’t personally believe in ghosts – although I am scared by them! I know people who have had very creepy experiences! #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:56pm)

Did you know, in historic houses rooms called the Blue Room are invariably the most haunted. It’s the same with Preston Manor #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (1:59pm)

One last Q: when was The White Lady last seen at Preston Manor? #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (2:00pm)

I know somebody who saw The White Lady in the grounds of Preston Manor in the 1970s. #PrestGhost

@BrightonMuseums (2:09pm)

That’s it for our spooky talk, thanks to all who followed, tweeted or retweeted. We have Halloween events at the Manor! ow.ly/7aDRj

A Ghost in the House?

Mysterious photograph taken in Preston Manor, 2010

If you followed yesterday’s Twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson, you will have read that Paula mentioned that some photographs have been taken in Preston Manor which appear to show odd, possibly ghostly, phenomena. This is probably the most interesting example.

In the summer of 2010, one of our guides, Penny Balchin, was contacted by a couple who had visited the manor with their children. The house was fairly empty at the time, and the family were alone upstairs. As they left the guest bedroom, the wife took this photograph with her mobile phone. About a week later, after downloading the photos onto their computer, one of the children noticed what appeared to be the ghostly image of a young boy on the left of the photograph. (If you can’t spot it at first, take a look at the right sleeve of the black coat.) The couple brought a copy of the photograph into Preston Manor for us to keep.

One of our security team has an interest in Preston Manor’s history and has researched the family trees of its former owners. If the photograph does show a ghost, who could it be? She tried to establish whether any boys had died with a connection to the house. She discovered one possibility. In 1683, a boy name Anthony Shirley was born in the manor, who died in 1694 at the age of eleven.

Does this photograph show the ghost of young Anthony Shirley? Or is it simply an accidental illusion? As is common with mobile phones, the camera can be seen to have struggled with the low light levels in the room and the uneven effect of the flash. Many of the dark areas in the photograph show coloured mottling. Are we simply reading too much into a random pattern of pixels?

Opinion within the Royal Pavilion and Museums is mixed. Some believe it may be a ghost, others are sceptical. Paula has described this and other photographs as ‘inconclusive’. We’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions. You can view the full image on Flickr. You can even visit the manor this weekend and try to spot your own ghost! As ever, your comments will be appreciated….