28th February 2006
The Special Investigations team had the opportunity to investigate overnight at one of England’s oldest public houses. The Royal Standard of England Public House dates back to the 11th Century and boasts very interesting tales of historical events. Early in the 11th Century, the site was used as an alehouse by the Saxons, but was then named ‘The Ship’. Later, during the English Civil War, the pub was used as a meeting place for the Cavaliers, Royalists of King Charles I, who were fighting Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians, also known as The Roundheads. It is said that the pub was one of the places that King Charles I was associated with and it is said that his son, Charles II, hid in a priest hole on his way back to France after being defeated at the battle of Worcester in 1651. To view more images see:
Forty Green - Royal Standard Album
To view the investigation notes click on the links below
The priest hole is still in place to this day. After King Charles II restoration to the throne in 1660 he rewarded the pub for its loyalty by renaming it The Royal Standard of England. It is the only pub in England honoured with the full title.
There are said to be many spirits that haunt the pub. One of which is a young drummer boy who was executed by the Roundheads along with Cavaliers at the pub in 1643. It is said that his drumming can still be heard to this day. Some other theories of the haunting in the pub are that of the executed Cavaliers and one of a man crushed to death by a speeding coach outside the pub. Dark shadowy figures and invisible hands tugging at your sleeves are not uncommon experiences had from visitors to the pub. Manila and Tim who work at the pub decided to join the LPS team for the investigation. They have had many a strange experience themselves including dark shadows, with no visible or logical source or cause and the sound of children laughing late at night when there were no children present in the pub. The team was divided into smaller teams who then spent one hour in each location and had some interesting experiences.
Light anomalies were seen on the infra-red camera monitor and by members with the naked eye near the fireplace. A white misty shape was witnessed in the same area. Movement and rattling of bottles were seen and heard behind the bar and some members experienced events connected to the pub on a psychic level from the past and the present. At 1-40 am all the members of one team, who were inside the pub at one location, heard a distinct tapping or drumming noise that appeared to emanate from outside of the pub in the lane. Other experiments were carried out during the night including trigger objects, still and live camera recording, dowsing, Ouija board and table tipping. Digital dictation recordings were also taken throughout the night, including outside, where a couple of members walked the haunted lane in front of the pub where there have been reports of the sound or drumming and the howl of slaughtered staghounds. The LPS team would like to say a special thanks to Manila and Tim who allowed us to conduct this investigation and for their warm hospitality throughout.
All LPS members are eligible to join this team if you can show the following criteria: it is important that you are available at short notice and prepared to travel any distance and at any time during the week, for example the above investigation took place in Beaconsfield all Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. Therefore you must have your own transport and mobile phone so you can be contacted at any time. This team uses a lot of equipment and you must be prepared to adhere to any boundaries put in place for the investigation by the team leaders. Please note that although LPS takes all its investigations seriously you will be expected to show that extra commitment we expect from the LPS Special Investigations Team.