The Croft Hotel dates back in parts to Tudor times, is Grade II listed, and as you would expect, is packed with period features a beamed ceiling and an inglenook fireplace create a wonderful ambience. Often referred to as "The Jewel of The Severn" Bridgnorth occupies one of the most spectacular inland town settings in England. In 1642 King Charles I described the view from Castle Walk as "the finest in my domain". The town has two main areas: 'High Town' includes the main shopping street and is perched dramatically on top of one hundred foot sandstone cliffs. The lower part is known as "Low Town" and straddles the River Severn. The two are linked by a series of historic winding steps and a unique cliff railway. The northern terminus of the Severn Valley railway is a short stroll from the Croft Hotel. The northern terminus of the Severn Valley railway is also a short stroll from the Croft Hotel. Bridgnorth is named after a bridge over the River Severn that was built further north than an earlier bridge at Quatford. The earliest historical reference to the town is in 895, at which time it is recorded that the Danes created a camp at Cwatbridge, and subsequently in 912, Æthelfleda constructed a mound on the west bank of the River Severn, or possibly on the site of Bridgnorth Castle, as part of an offensive against the Danes. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror granted the manor of Bridgnorth to Roger de Montgomerie. The town itself was not created until 1101, when Robert de Belesme, the son of Roger de Montgomerie, moved from Quatford, constructing a castle and church on the site of the modern-day town. The castle's purpose was to defend against attacks from Wales. On Robert's attainder, in 1102 the town became a royal borough. Later, in 1546, the town was incorporated by James I. It is probable that Henry I granted the burgesses certain privileges, for Henry II confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had in the time of Henry I. King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in 1227 Henry III conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse. These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI granting in addition Assize of Bread and Ale and other privileges. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295, and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The burgesses were additionally granted two fairs: a yearly fair on the feast of the Translation of St. Leonard and three following days was granted in 1359, and in 1630, Charles I granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week in Lent and two following days. The town was disfranchised in 1885.
In 1978, Bridgnorth twinned itself with the French town of Thiers, and later in 1992 it also twinned with the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen, Germany that had already twinned with Thiers a few years earlier. On August 21, 2003, Bridgnorth was granted Fairtrade Town status. In 2005, unverified German papers dating from 1941 were found, outlining new details about Operation Sealion, the military plans of Nazi Germany for an invasion of Britain. Two quiet Shropshire towns were mentioned in the documentation—Ludlow and Bridgnorth. Some experts believe that it was Hitler's intention to make Bridgnorth the German headquarters in Britain, due to its central position in the UK, rural location, rail connections and now-disused airfield.
Most people go on holiday to relax, but some prefer to be scared. For those who think a good night's sleep is the least important of a hotel's attributes, there are plenty of hotels across the U.K. that claim to have resident ghosts. Things that go bump in the night are, of course, more likely to accumulate over the years given all the people who have lived (and died) in the hotel, so historic haunted hotels are always popular.
Though there seems to be a concentration of ghost sightings around historical places and historical hotels, apparitions have been reported in every type and age of property imaginable. Many haunted hotels are proud of their ghostly residents and use them as a promotional ploy to bring enthusiastic ghost hunters to their properties. Often the rooms of these haunted hotels known for their hauntings are often booked up months in advance. Other hotels for whatever reason do not like to discuss the ghosts living on their premises.
Though there is no guarantee you will have a paranormal experience, staying in a haunted hotel can often be reward enough! The U.K. has a much longer tradition of hauntings than say the USA, and no wonder. Civilisations have inhabited the United Kingdom since before the Roman Empire. Thus, it would only seem natural that ghostly phenomena have been occurring here for thousands of years. Many old castles and historic mansions dating from the medieval period to the early 1800's have been restored and turned into luxury hotels. Most all of these hotels seem to have a resident ghost or two on premises who are famous for their hauntings.
Two ladies staying in room 12 complained of hearing bells ringing all through the night and hands tugging at their feet. Another guest staying in room 2 awoke to find a figure standing at the bottom of his bed. A ghostly lady dressed in black has also been seen walking through the dinning room.
There are many strange antidotes and old wives tales associated with the warding off of unwanted spirits in the UK.
It is said Chalcedony and Obsidian worn on the person will protect against ghosts. Certain metals such as silver are also protective. Also salt carried in your pocket will keep ghosts at bay. Placing an iron rod on a grave will prevent ghosts from rising out of the ground. Placing an iron horseshoe at the entrance to a building will stop ghosts from entering. Iron nails taken from a tomb and nailed into a doorway will prevent nightmares. When a person dies in a home all doors, windows and cupboards should be unlocked so as to allow the ghosts free passage out of the house and avoid any future hauntings. Corpses should always be carried out feet first so the ghost of the corpse will not return. During the funeral all furniture in the house must be rearranged so that if the ghost returns it will not recognise the place and leave. Also one must not speak ill of the dead or the ghosts may come and haunt them.
Could the old Croft Hotel really be haunted or is there a less sinister explanation to the ghostly sightings and paranormal phenomena that had been experienced there? We were about to find out.
Members attending the investigation
Lorraine Ellis, Tim Cowell, Mike Griffiths and Jimmy Ellis.
The Investigation
We began the investigation with our usual baseline test using an EMF detector and a K-2 meter.
It's said that spirits draw energy from their surroundings or electrical appliances in order to gather the strength to be able to move objects or to manifest themselves. Paranormal Investigators use a variety of equipment in searching for paranormal activity. One of these devices would be a K-2 meter. Ghost hunters utilize K-2 meters to measure energy that they believe ghosts emit. It is not hard to use one, but there are some things you should know. The purpose of the K-2 meter is to measures magnetic fields; it is calibrated for paranormal investigations. A K-2 meter picks up on magnetic fields; a spirit gives off magnetic fields, therefore, if there is a spirit in the area the meter will pick up what the spirit is giving off. You can then train the spirits, supposedly, to intensify its magnetic field, therefore lighting up the lights on the meter.
The device has 5 LED lights for the different levels of EMF (Electromagnetic Field) readings. Since spirits radiate magnetic fields this will make the lights remain steady and all five lights will spike and flash, as with other devices such as a cell phones, etc. this will light up the LED’s lights and remain steady.
When we use this meter in an investigation, we walk through the area holding the meter steady at arm's length, making sure to walk around slowly and trying not to jerk or shake it around. We watch the meter for changes, if the K-2 spikes that is an indication of activity in that area. Not every K-2 spike will this be a ghost, we always check for other possibilities such as a mobile phone that is to close to the meter, lamps, a ceiling fan, or electrical wiring. We move the K2 away from the source that maybe making the meter spike and see if we still get the same readings. If these are ruled out, and there is no logical explanation that is scientific based to conclude why the K-2 meter is exhibiting a higher frequency than average, then we can look to a paranormal explanation.
K-2 meters are becoming more and more popular especially after they have been seen on Ghost Hunters and other Ghost reality shows. Other equipment used for this investigation included, locked off night vision cameras, digital voice recorders and digital cameras. In theory, spirits can manifest. For most spirits, however, the ability to do this is severely limited. It takes a huge amount of energy to manifest. Ghosts or Spirits vibrate at a higher frequency in their realm than our own due to their lack of physical substance. Our realm having a heavier density and a substantially lower frequency of vibration causes us to lack the ability to communicate properly with these entities. This assumed fact has been established by the use of these electromagnetic field detectors, electronic voice phenomena and various other technology based methods. We set up our locked off night vision cameras throughout the premises. The group decided to split up with Lorraine and Tim entering the cellar to try and capture (EVP’s) Electronic Voice Phenomenon which catch voices caught on audiotape or other electronic recording devices for which there is no known physical source. They spent a long period of time with the lights switched off listening for any sounds that might seem out of place or not natural. The sounds that they caught included a laugh a growl and what sounded like a garbled conversation and the sound of tapping could also be heard emanating from an area containing cardboard boxes. On playing the tape back they could clearly hear the laugh but the other sounds would have to be enhanced on EVP software.
Critics of EVP recordings explain it away as highly subjective, susceptible to imagination, and mere natural phenomenon. They explain that if someone wants to hear something bad enough, they will, I disagree totally with this view.
Jimmy along with our medium sat in the restaurant and tried to communicate with a gentleman he had sensed earlier that evening while on a walkabout. The spirit that he was picking up on was that of a fireman dressed in a short dark tunic with a double row of brass buttons on the front and dark trousers and black belt. He wore black knee length boots which seemed to come to a point just below the front of his knees. This fireman apparently walks through a wall which is part of a recent extension and out through another door to what is a cottage situated close by. The fireman was also carrying a black bucket which seemed odd at the time. He was also picking up on two white horses associated with this gentleman. The name given for this man was Ben Wright; our medium was having pains in his chest and thought that Ben was giving him the feeling of how he had passed over from a heart attack in the 1850’s. The next morning David the owner was approached and told about this fireman. David surprised us when he said that the cottage was once the stables for the Bridgnorth Fire Department, but had been a cottage now for many years.
Jimmy could also hear tapping noises while sitting in the restaurant, they lasted for a few minutes; he described them as sounding like water occasionally dripping onto a hard surface. It was a dry and cold night outside so no explanation could be found inside or outside that would explain the sounds. The only other unexplained occurrence was the temperature in the restaurant room suddenly dropped off by nearly ten degrees in a matter of minutes even though a radiator close by was extremely hot to the touch.
The group then moved up to bedroom 12 which we had been told was allegedly haunted. Again our medium picked up on a lady in her early sixties, she was wearing a dark dress with a large white collar and her hair was pushed up into what looked like a bun at the back. The name he managed to glean from this lady was Nellie Chapman who although not the owner apparently managed the premises around 1880 to 1890. Nellie was separated from her husband because he was a drunk and never had any children due to a medical condition. Nellie died in 1912.
The final spirit our medium had picked up on at the Croft Hotel was a little bit more difficult to communicate with; in a small cellar area next to a fireplace which he believed was a once former priest hole he picked up on a Franciscan Monk who gave his name as John he was dressed in a brown habit with a rope cord tied around his waist. Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, ecumenical and Liberal Catholic Franciscan communities. No dates were given for this monk and little else was found out about this religious Friar so the group turned to the Ouija Board in a bid to communicate with these or any other spirits that wanted to make themselves known. Most of the communications on the Ouija Board were of a personal matter and involved members of the group; however, Nellie’s husband was given as Albert.


We would like to thank David & Linda Robinson for the hospitality shown to us during the night’s investigation.