Bryn-y-Parc is a complex arrangement of sub-medieval structures, some timber-framed, some stone-built, which form a court-yard plan, fronting Park Street, close by the late-medieval market square. Its development is unclear at present. However the buildings appear to have developed mostly from the mid 16th century, culminating in the c.1870 vernacular framed finish to the south and east garden facades. Its early 17th century timber and stone built front range has a lateral fireplace, indicating a building formerly of high-status and the paneling to the rear 2-storey parlour/hall and principal-chamber unit confirm this impression.
The present front-range retains the line of a late 16th century cross-passage between hall with lateral fireplace and parlour, which leads into a courtyard. This passage (later enclosed) continues across the courtyard alongside the timber-framed, 16th century, 2-bay wing, past the late 16th century, stone-built, parlour/hall and principal chamber block, to the formerly detached 16th century, stone and timber-framed 3-bay kitchen/lodgings range. The passage continues through this building to access the 17th century, stone-built, stable-range and garden beyond.
An entry passage against the west boundary wall provided separate and later access to the 16th century, kitchen/lodgings range beyond the courtyard.
Photographs taken of paneling prior to the fire inside the 2-storey parlour/hall and principal chamber unit include a carving of the Annunciation with inscriptions and the arms of the Lloyds of Foxhall.
The Royal Commission has been investigated a number of historic buildings in Denbigh as part of the Townscape Heritage Initiative that has been taking place in the town. Two of the most iconic buildings date from the 1570’s and were built by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Baron of Denbigh and, through his association with Elizabeth I, one of the most important men in Britain. As the new Baron of Denbigh, he had grand plans for its improvement, attempting to rival major cities in England. The Shire Hall was built on his instructions, on a plot of land donated by him, in 1572, and was a multi-purpose structure providing a market hall and probable lock up on the ground floor and meeting rooms for the Quarter Sessions and borough meetings above. Altered and extended over the years, the Commission has carried out an extensive survey and investigation to unravel the changes that have been made and create a reconstruction of how it may originally have looked. St David’s, or Leicester’s church as it is commonly known, was begun in 1578-9 by Dudley with the intention of being the largest Protestant preaching Hall in Britain, and possibly to replace St Asaph as the head of the Diocese. Nearing completion in 1584, Dudley appears to have abandoned his improvement scheme in Denbigh, partly through his growing unpopularity with the townspeople, partly through lack of funds and the church was never finished. While the building works were in progress however, large numbers of men would have been accommodated within the town. One theory is that a substantial house, Bryn-y-Parc, with extension work dating to the 1670’s, may have been used to provide lodging for workmen. Bryn-y-Parc was badly damaged by a fire in 2002 in which sadly the owner an elderly lady, perished. The Commission has since carried out investigations in order to understand the complex structural and historical development of the building.
Armed with cameras, voice recorders, EMF detectors and a fascination with the paranormal the North Wales Paranormal Group travel the country investigating haunted locations. And with more than one-third of the U.K sharing a belief in ghosts and spirits, there are so many places to investigate especially in North Wales. An open mind is all you need to enjoy the eerie delights of ghost hunting in North Wales and with such a wide choice of haunted locations and venues available you will always find yourself within easy reach of an exciting and spooky location. Unfortunately not everyone wants to open up their homes or businesses for the group to investigate or the owner just doesn’t believe in ghosts and spirits, after all, “Seeing is believing”. It takes a lot to change some peoples' scepticism about things paranormal. People want to believe. Not only would proof positive give them a confirmation of life after death, but would cement those who have a deep faith in the power of the soul. None of us want to believe that this is all there is.
But unexplained noises such as knocking, footsteps or muffled voices, electrical appliances turning on and off by themselves and other mysterious happenings can be signs of an active spirit. Some people in haunted settings have a feeling that they're not alone, or they get inexplicably cold. In the most extreme cases, people feel they've been touched by something or have seen objects move, even when there's no one there.
Spirits are most common where there was a violent history or a sudden death. Many spirits don't believe they're dead and often feel the need to communicate something. Most spirits look like a ball of light or a misty vapor, not a floating bed sheet or transparent human form. They use digital or film cameras, which are more sensitive than the naked eye, to record ghostly manifestations. The best times to see ghosts or spirits are during a new or full moon or solar storms, because geomagnetic fields are stronger then, allowing spirits to absorb energy in the atmosphere and become visible.
The bad news is that there's no surefire way to get rid of ghostly houseguests. Blessings, exorcisms and the like don’t always work. Be wary of people who charge money to get rid of a spirit. "The spirit believes you are in his house," he says. "Imagine if someone walked into your house and told you to get out. What would you do? The spirit won't leave unless he or she wants to."
Above all, be respectful of spirits. If you treat a spirit with dignity, generally you'll have no problem. "If you're mean or offensive, or if you belittle them, they'll respond back equally."
How to engage spirits in your home:
Sometimes, getting spirits to reveal themselves is as simple as talking to them and letting them know you're interested in communicating.
Try recording. Using recording devices (to capture ghostly voices) or surveillance equipment, like video cameras, can make ghosts more interested in interacting. "They know you're serious".
Check your attitude. If you're looking to attract spirits as some sort of parlour game, or if you're sceptical, you're probably not going to have much luck. "If you were a ghost, would you go to someone who only wanted you for their own ego?"
How to get along with spirits:
Calm down. "Sometimes, spirits aren't that different from 12-year-old boys". "They're having fun spooking you." It's no longer fun if you aren't scared.
Try talking to it. Give your spirit a name. If the spirit performs pranks that are dangerous, like turning on a gas stove, explain why it can't do this. "It may be that your spirit is trying to get your attention" "Acknowledging it may be enough to get it to stop."
If you have an angry spirit, it's likely because someone in your home has the same kind of energy. All over the world, people from all walks of life believe that the spirits of the deceased can return to the living world. Spanish nations celebrate Dia de Los Muertos every autumn to welcome the souls of the dead back to the world for a brief and joyful visit with friends and loved ones. The existence of otherworldly beings in the ancient castles of the British Isles is commonly accepted by those living there, people throughout history have told stories of frightening encounters with ghostly figures, and even now hundreds of different locations are considered by their residents to be 'haunted.' Ghost encounters vary in their details from case to case. Although many people report actually seeing a full-body apparition a ghostly or shadowy figure of definitely human shape, More commonly, people report strange occurrences in their homes, such as hearing strange noises, or having sensations of being touched or grabbed by some unseen entity. Some also report simply unusual occurrences in a location, such as lights turning on and off at strange times, doors and windows were opening and closing, or objects moving without any obvious cause. People have told stories of their encounters with things they can't find explanations for and can't dismiss them as imagination or commonplace. They happened and they were real. When they discussed them with other people they found many occurrences were similar. Somewhere down the line all these encounters have become the knowledge base for the paranormal. What most would call facts about ghosts are based on what the majority of people have experienced and gathered up and then shared with others. There are some real ghost questions that can have more than one answer and for others, perhaps, an answer hasn't been found yet. That is what makes the paranormal field so exciting, there are so many opportunities open for exploration. There are plenty of houses in North Wales haunted by the enduring recollection of tragedies enacted in them.

The Investigation
Bryn-y-Parc is in a state of renovation so the owners supplied the group with extensions leads in some of the rooms in order to allow the group to place night vision cameras around the location. Alterations to a home that an entity holds dear, and may be quite protective of, can stir enough emotional energy for the spirit to make its presence known. With conscious spirit entities, the increase in phenomena that occurs when new home owners start to renovate can usually be traced to how the spirits attached to the home feel about the changes that are being made. Just like people, some spirits resist change and want to put a stop to things. They like things the way they have always been. This seems particularly true of ghosts who built a home themselves and/or spirits who put a great deal of love and care into the home.
It seems that many times spirits are responsible for people falling in love with a house at first sight and feeling compelled to buy it and fix it up or restore it to its former glory. Another reason why house renovations tend to lead to an increase in ghostly activity is because all of the commotion and all of the people in the house provide spirits with a lot more energy to work with. The energy emitted by the big power tools used in renovations can also be drawn upon by spirits in order to get our attention. Some of the other things besides home renovations that are strongly associated with ghostly activity support the idea that ghosts need lots of electro-magnetic energy in order to manifest in some way in the physical. This is why things like high EMF readings and changes in the Earth's magnetic field such as full moons, thunderstorms and solar flares are associated with ghostly activity.
The group leader Jim had done a baseline test in all the rooms prior to the start of the investigation. A baseline test involves the use of an electro-magnetic field meter or EMF Detector, these are great! EMF Detectors can pick up electronic fields over different frequencies, where there are spirits there are usually disruptions in the electronic field. One of the most popular tools we have is the K2 meter. The K2 EMF meter is a standard EMF detector, much like its competitors. Most EMF detectors use a needle that will move up and down when indicating electromagnetic energy. As there is an increase in the energy, the needle will move to the right, indicating the higher levels. The K2 meter uses lights to indicate the energy instead of a needle, flashing and then finally staying light at the level found with the meter.
The K2 meter was tested by Chris Fleming, psychic medium from the show Dead Famous on the Biography channel. He wanted to use the K2 meter in conjunction with information he was said to be picking up on from any ghosts or spirits present. He found the meter to be accurate in doing this, and soon the 'buzz' started in the paranormal circles about the K2 meter. We have been lucky enough to have had conversations with some spirits using the K2 meter during other investigations.
The group split up into two groups, the female members of the group started on the top floors while the male members including the group medium concentrated on the ground floor rooms. The medium started to firstly pick up on the elderly lady that had perished in the fire in 2002. He had been told this ladies name Kathleen Jones by the owner.
Our medium had sensed a violent assault had occurred on this lady some years ago which was confirmed by the owner. She also insisted on being called “Auntie Kath” and not Kathleen. Our medium described her as being a lovely person who would help anyone and made a point of saying “She was old, but she also liked helping other old people” apparently she helped the aged with supplying meals on wheels.
In room close to the kitchen area our medium picked up on a man by the name of Daniel Owens who said he had been born near Caernarvon around the early part of the 19th century. He had lived at Bryn-y Parc around the late 1840’s onwards. A family man with a wife, two sons and a daughter. Unfortunately for his wife they had employed a servant or maid by the name of Catherine who was only a young girl and an affair ensued which nearly broke up their marriage. Our medium again started picking up on what he described were a lot children moving around the rooms and thought it had probably been used as a school some time in the past, again this was confirmed by Tom Smith at the end of the investigation. Later, while on the top floor the medium also picked up on a little girl moving around but was unable to get a name for this child, again the lady of the house confirmed that this child had actually been seen or sensed in that room. The K2 meter flashed to orange and red indicating the probable presence of a spirit, unfortunately it only did it twice and no explanation was found that might have caused it to flash.
When the female members of the group set up the Ouija Board on the top floor they got the name of Glyn Baxter who said he was born in 1826, lived in the house in 1837 but passed over in 1855. He gave his wife’s name as Ellie Baxter. The words “Get Out” were spelled out so the Ouija Board was closed down. They decided to continue contacting Glyn Baxter by using a table tipping. Table tipping is a form of communicating with spirits or ghosts made popular during the spiritualist movement in the mid- to late 19th century. Similar to the use of the Ouija board, several people must gather around a table and join hands to channel the energy of the spirits around them. The table began to move and rock back and forward quite violently when of our investigators asked him to move the table.


We would like to thank the owners of Bryn-y-Parc, Tom and Sylvia Smith for their hospitality and for giving our group the opportunity to investigate their fantastic home and we would love to return for another visit when the house is fully restored.