The History of "The Golden Lion" and surrounding area

Originally the house of the Pulford family, this was a house of some status in the 17th Century. The earliest reference to a licence was in 1684. It had become an inn in 1700, was subsequently subdivided for a time as shops and became an inn again by 1740. The building was originally timber framed but was extensively rebuilt in brick. However, some of the timber framing has been exposed in the interior gable end wall.

 The population of Wrexham in the late to middle-ages is not known but it was probably only several hundred. Wrexham would seem tiny to us but settlements were very small in those days. The parish church of St Giles was built in 1492. Its famous steeple was completed in 1506.

In 1603 a grammar school was founded in Wrexham. In the 17th century wool was woven and fulled in Wrexham. After wool was woven it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of clay and water. This was called fulling. After it dried the wool was dyed. In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. There was no actual fighting in the town of Wrexham. At first the whole of Wales was in royalist hands but on the 9th November 1643 a Parliamentarian Army captured Wrexham. There was no resistance. In the 18th century Wrexham was known for its leather industry. There were skinners and tanners in the town. The horns from cattle were used to make things like combs and buttons. There was also a nail making industry in Wrexham. However in the mid 18th century Wrexham was no more than a small market town with a population of perhaps 2,000.

In the late18th century Wrexham was transformed by the coming of the industrial revolution. It began when the famous entrepreneur John Wilkinson (1728-1808) known as 'Iron Mad Wilkinson' opened Bersham iron foundry in 1762. In 1793 he opened a smelting plant at Brymbo. In 1801, the population of Wrexham was 2,575. By the standards of the time it was a small market town. Wrexham grew rapidly in the19th century. By 1841 the population reached 5,854.  By 1881 it was 10,903

In the early 19th century the old wool industry died out, however Wrexham's other industries boomed. In the 19th century coal mining in the vicinity prospered. Bersham colliery was sunk in the 1860s. In 1880 an explosion in the colliery killed 9 men.

In the 19th century Wrexham was famous for brewing. A German brewed the first lager in Wrexham in 1880. Wrexham also had a large leather industry. Other industries were steel and brick making.

Wrexham gained gas lighting in 1827. The first hospital in Wrexham opened in Wrexham in 1833. It was called the Dispensary but in 1838 it was renamed the Infirmary.

In 1849 Wrexham was connected to the rest of the country by railway. Wrexham gained its first newspaper in 1848. Market Hall was built in 1848. In 1863 a volunteer fire brigade was founded. (The corporation formed a professional fire brigade in 1895).

Wrexham Waterworks Company was founded in 1864 to provide the town with piped water. Also in the 1860s sewers were dug under the streets of Wrexham. (Although it was not until 1894 that all houses in the town had flushing lavatories connected to sewers).

The first cemetery in Wrexham opened in 1876. From 1876 horse drawn trams ran in the streets of Wrexham. The first public library in Wrexham opened in 1878. Overton Arcade was built in 1868. Central Arcade followed in 1891. Wrexham was incorporated (given a mayor and corporation) in 1857.

Wrexham was also given a new coat of arms. 

An unforgettable UFO event took place in 1980, the abduction

of police constable Alan Godfrey.

This strange case would occur in Todmorden, West Yorkshire on November 28th, 1980. Alan Godfrey was patrolling on the night shift, and shortly before dawn, he was searching for some cattle that had been reported missing. The livestock would ultimately be found later that morning, displaced to a field soaked by rain, without a hint of how they got there.

Earlier, Godfrey had given up his search for the cattle, and was ready to sign off duty, and head back to the station, when he noticed something a couple of miles ahead of him. It was something large... maybe a bus. He was used to seeing a bus that transported workers each morning about 5:00 AM, and thought that was what he was seeing. As he neared the bus, he was shocked to see an oval-shaped object. The strange object was rotating and hovering so low to the ground, that the bushes on the side of the highway were being blown around from the force of the rotation.                                             

Godfrey kept a sketch pad in his vehicle to document details of car accidents, and/or other incidents, and he stopped his car, and was preparing to make a drawing of this unusual object before him. Then he saw a burst of light... his next conscious memory was of driving his car again, further down the road.

He looked back to the spot where he had seen the UFO, and noticed that although the road was rain soaked from an earlier, heavy shower, there was a round, dry spot on the road, right below where the craft had been. He continued to the station, and after arriving, he began to realize that it was later than it should have been... he had lost about 15 minutes of time.

He contemplated what might have happened on the road that morning, but afraid of being laughed at, he chose not to make an official report at that time. But, later that morning, he was surprised to hear a report from a driver who reported seeing a UFO not far from the location of Godfrey's encounter.                                                                                           

Godfrey soon discovered that yet another unusual event had occurred that day. A police patrol from the Halifax department had witnessed a glowing blue-white object as it descended into the valley, heading toward Todmorden. They saw the object just shortly before Godfrey's sighting while they were on a stakeout. There were now two separate, yet related reports, corroborating Godfrey's sighting. Godfrey decided to make his report, after all.

Godfrey made his report, and was surprised that the police department released the report to the local press about a week later. A UFO investigative group from Manchester immediately began researching the case. Soon, the case would receive worldwide attention.

Godfrey was unable to recall any additional details of his experience at that time, other than some vague memories of seeing himself outside of his vehicle while the UFO hovered nearby. There was also physical trace evidence of his encounter: his police boots had split marks on the sole, as if they had caught on something. Speculation was that he was dragged into the craft in a hypnotic state.

Another interesting aspect of Godfrey's sighting was his admission of having a time lapse when he was young, but abduction researchers pointed out that this is commonly reported among abductees. Some eight months after the sighting, Godfrey did begin a series of regressive hypnosis sessions. At least some of these sessions were captured on video.

The hypnosis sessions revealed strange, yet remarkable evidence. He recalled that during the sighting of the UFO, the engine of his vehicle went dead, and his vehicular radio, and his handset were inoperative. He lost consciousness when the bright light overwhelmed him. His next memory was of being in a room similar to a normal house. In this room was a large black dog. A man with a heavy beard communicated with him telepathically. The man's name was "Yosef." A number of small, robotic creatures accompanied and assisted the bearded man. Godfrey stated that they were "the size of a five-year-old lad," with "a head shaped like a lamp". He was told that there would be another encounter at a later time. Godfrey also conveyed various enigmatic "dream" sequences, disjointed and without purpose. Even under regression, he could not recall being subjected to any of the usual abduction horrors, like invasive physical tests.

When the story of Godfrey's experience reached the media, his life was very negatively affected. He was called for questioning by the police force, which worried about his mental competence. Though deemed "physically fit," after a few years he was retired from the force, allegedly due to a physical injury he had suffered in an unrelated, previous incident, in which he intervened and thwarted a crime in progress.

 The area of Todmorden is known as an active area of UFO activity. There was also a truck driver abducted on the same road that Godfrey experienced his strange encounter. The Godfrey case has, and is the subject of much research and debate.

Number of group members performing this investigation

8 members of the group attended the investigation at the Golden Lion, Wrexham Kate, Andrea, Lorraine, Tina, Marie, Ray, Jim and Mike.

The Investigation

The view from the main road gives no indication as to the unique architecture that can be found within this 17th century former house, and later Inn. The stairs and landing areas can only be described as having the "Fun House" effect with it's uneven landing and bedroom floors that tilt alarmingly. It gave the feeling that we had all been transported back in time and we were on board an old wooden sailing ship in rough seas.

Jim the group leader decided to put a locked off night vision camera in the large empty bedroom on the top floor and another camera in the tunnel which is under the area of the bar. We immediately started go get orb activity in the top bedroom which was caught on tape. Lorraine and Mike along with a camera crew went to the top bedroom to try and get a response from any spirits that might be in there by knocking or tapping on the walls or throwing something. A K2 meter was also taken. 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 was placed on the floor and Mike invited any spirits that where in the room to make contact by standing in front of the K2 and make the lights flash. The K2 flashed regularly and to command, but whether it was paranormal we don't know for certain.

Lorraine had a cold breeze blow across her and the cameraman while looking into the Priest hole within the bedroom heard something thrown close to him. Although we checked the floor after with our torches nothing was found that might have made the noise that was heard. Flashes of light were seen crossing the ceiling rafters. Knocks and banging could also be heard on request, but again it doesn't mean it was paranormal because sound seemed to carry throughout the building and being next to road it would also be easy to pick up the sound of cars or any conversation outside.

Later in the night Sheila our Historian along with two cameramen tried again in the same bedroom and the K2 began to flash again, but because of the problems experienced with the buildings electrical wiring they stopped because it couldn't be proved for certain to be paranormal activity.

The group descended into the tunnel area, the tunnel was a dark eerie and oppressive area with some small dark rooms set into the tunnel walls which gave the feeling that someone was watching you from the darkness or was waiting to jump out at you. After asking for spirits to make contact Mike made contact with an angry Spirit who gave his name as Nathanial Liggett who claimed to have been a Parliamentarian Prisoner in 1640 and later gave the Parish Church as the building he was held captive in, along with others prisoners. He escaped but was recaptured and wounded and later died of his injuries, he apparently haunts the tunnels around the area of High Street.

The K2 was placed on the tunnel floor, it again flashed when Nathanial had been asked to stand in front of it and affect it. He was asked to knock on the walls or the floor boards above our heads. Thuds and bangs could be heard but once again just how reliable this is, is for you to decide. The smallest noise or sound reverberated throughout the building so any sounds heard no matter how spiritually genuine could not be counted as proof of paranormal activity. Jim had to leave the tunnel when he started to feel extremely nauseous.

Andrea, Kate, Lorraine, Tina, and Marie conducted a séance in the bar area with Ray assisting them. The name of Owen Williams was given and he apparently lived in the Borras area and was married with a daughter. However he admitted that he had murdered his wife and had been hung in Wrexham. He seemed to take a shine to Andrea and wanted her to ask any questions that we put to him. Andrea apparently looked like his daughter. The date of his death was not established because he gave contradictory dates. When the group switched to the Ouija Board it didn't give any sensible replies to questions asked so it was closed down.

In order to make further contact with the spirit of Owen Williams the group decided to try another table in the hope he might assist with table tipping. A strong smell of what was thought to be pipe tobacco was picked up by many of the investigators while sitting at the table, the area around an open fire place was checked but nothing could be found to cause the odour. Owen was asked if he smoked a pipe and if it was him that was affecting the group and he answered with a "yes" The table did move slightly and rock back and forth but nothing else happened even when one of the investigators attempted to provoke a response from him. The table eventually stopped moving and the investigation came to an end.

The Analysis

A very interesting and unusual building for us to investigate paranormal activity. Due to the poor state of many of the bedrooms with broken floor boards and the faulty electrical wiring, it proved to be a difficult investigation to conduct. Every sound could be heard throughout the building and many sounds heard from the road outside which didn't help us. Again plenty of orb activity caught on film.

The highlight of the night was the vigil held in the tunnel below the Golden Lion.

We would like to thank the Landlord of the Golden Lion for allowing the group the opportunity to investigate this location.