#hauntedbath

To celebrate the release of Bridgerton today, I will be featuring a few of the locations used in the filming, I am working on a feature of a Bridgerton/ Paranormal nature, so watch this space!

This is Lady Danburys Home. The Holburne Museum - Bathwick - Bath Since 1916 the Museum has been housed in the former Sydney Hotel at the end of Great Pulteney Street. The original design for the Hotel, prepared by Thomas Baldwin in 1794, was a two-storey building which would serve the pleasure gardens, known as Sydney Gardens, laid out by Baldwin beyond. The gardens remain the only remaining eighteenth-century pleasure gardens (or Vauxhall) in the country. After Baldwin was bankrupted his design for the hotel was not implemented. Instead a three-storey building was designed by Charles Harcourt Masters. The foundation stone was laid in 1796 and the building was ready by 1799. Visitors entered the gardens through the Hotel. It has been used as a location for many films & tv series, most recently seen in Bridgerton as Lady Danburys house. Hauntings - Reputed to be haunted by a little boy.. Has anyone heard any other stories?

Bridgerton Haunted Locations.. Bath

To celebrate the release of Bridgerton Series 2, I am featuring some haunted hotspots on the sites in Bath where Bridgerton was filmed..

Mainly series 1, as due to the overwhelming success of the first season, filming for Season 2 was sneakily done in May last year just at the Holburne Museum (Lady Danburys House)

The Royal Crescent

The Royal Crescent features in a lot of the scene-setting sequences in Bridgerton used to transport the viewer to Regency London, right from the beginning of the first ever episode, errand boys deliver the latest offerings from Lady Whistledown, and couples promenade.

In S1 Ep4, the characters gallop on horseback along the Royal Crescent and Beauford Square at night on their way to duel at daybreak.

At the farther end of the Crescent, Simon and Lady Danbury take a carriage ride together where the Crescent can be seen in the background and No. 1 Royal Crescent, on the corner, was used as the frontage for the Featherington House.

Hauntings -

Sounding like a plotline straight out of Bridgerton this ghostly tale starts off as a love story between classical singer Elizabeth Linley and playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Elizabeth was born in Bath in 1754 and travelled the country with her family, singing.

Not only was Elizabeth a talented Soprano but was also the so called ‘Beauty of Bath’.

She had many admirers, the most persistent of which was Captain Thomas Mathews, who constantly harassed her, trying to force her to be his lover. Elizabeth, however, was not interested, and it was at this point she met Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Sheridan was born in Ireland in 1751 and moved to Bath in 1770. He got to know Elizabeth, who was friends with his sister, and quickly became her confidant.

One evening in March 1772, Elizabeth was at home at Number 11, Royal Crescent, and under the cover of darkness snuck out to meet Sheridan who was waiting for her in the horse-drawn carriage outside.

From there they journeyed to France where they secretly eloped, at the time they were both underage and didn’t have their parents’ consent, so they swore to keep it a secret.

Once back in Bath Captain Mathews challenged Sheridan to a duel, Sheridan was victorious and went to Elizabeth’s father to officially ask for her hand in marriage but was denied and they were banned from speaking to each other.

This spurred Captain Mathews to confront Sheridan again, resulting in another duel, which this time Sheridan lost; however, his life was saved by a miniature of Elizabeth that he carried in his breast pocket.

Eventually, once they had both come of age, after much persistence from Sheridan, and Elizabeth threatening suicide, her father agreed that Elizabeth and Sheridan could marry.

There is no happy ending to this love story though, as they were both unfaithful throughout their marriage and at the age of 38 Elizabeth died from tuberculosis, with Sheridan living until he was 64.

However, their spirits reunited, and they remain together in the afterlife, with the couple’s ghosts’ been caught haunting the Royal Crescent in a horse-drawn carriage, as they did the night they eloped.

Sounds of a ghostly horse and carriage can sometimes be heard.

#ghostsofbath #bathghosts #hauntedbath #royalcrescentghosts #royalcrescentbath #bathroyalcrescent #ghostofsomerset #somersetparanormal #bridgerton #ghosts #regencybath

The Spirits of the Theatre Royal

Baths Theatre Royal is said to be one of the most paranormally active buildings in the City.

It was built in 1805. and is a Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture".

It has a capacity for an audience of around 900.

The Theatre Royal was built to replace the Old Orchard Street Theatre, funded by a Tontine and elaborately decorated.

The architect was George Dance the Younger, with John Palmer carrying out much of the work.

It opened with a performance of Shakespeare's Richard III and hosted performances by many leading actors of the time including Dorothea Jordan, William Macready and Edmund Kean.

A major fire in 1862 destroyed the interior of the building and was quickly followed by a rebuilding programme by Charles J. Phipps, which included the construction of the current entrance.

Further redecoration was undertaken in 1892; more extensive building work, including a new staircase and the installation of electric lighting, followed in 1902.

Despite performances by casts including Sarah Bernhardt, the ballerina Anna Pavlova and Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the theatre was rarely very profitable.

During World War II Donald Wolfit, Irene Vanbrugh, John Gielgud and Sybil Thorndike appeared, with shows including Noël Coward's Private Lives and Blithe Spirit, a performance by Ballet Rambert and light entertainment such as Charley's Aunt, but audiences declined.

In 1979 the theatre was bought by a trust and, following public donations, it underwent refurbishment, with the rebuilding of the stage and the installation of a new taller fly tower for scenery and lighting.

In 1997 a new 120-seat theatre, known as the Ustinov Studio, was opened.

Further restoration work to the main auditorium was needed in 2010 and in 2005 a children's theatre known as The Egg was opened.

Hauntings -

The most well known spirits of the Theatre are that of a Grey Lady and the famous story of the Tortoishell Butterfly, which is said to be an omen of good luck and appears usually around December for Panto season.

But on reading an intriguing book by Malcolm Cadey on the ghosts of Bath, I have discovered a lot of eyewitness accounts of some very unusual and in some cases disturbing phenomena at the theatre over the years..

In the 1970's Margaret Royal decided to create a ghost walk starting from the Garricks Head and heading into the most haunted parts of Bath, telling the various stories she had uncovered on the way.

It was on this that it was discovered that the Theatre Royal and the Garricks Head shared the same spirits, as the Theatre is between two houses, Richard (Beau) Nash lived in both, the Garricks Head was his original house, of which part of it was then built into the theatre.

On the other side was his second house where Popjoys Restaurant was in later years and where Juliana Popjoy lived, she was his final mistress before he died there in 1761.

The other principle spirits there are a man in a red wig, tricorn hat and long coat, and the Grey Lady, but whether the grey lady is the same spirit or not? as there maybe two...

Some of the eyewitness accounts, mainly by staff of the theatre over the years, include a terrifying black shapeshifting mist that manifested in front of several people, changing form in front of the terrified witness then either discipating or shooting up into the ceiling.

The man on the foyer, which had had lots of sightings, but strangely only by people who are actors, not staff.. this is the man in the tricorn hat, red wig, long coat with brass buttons and breeches, but since that area was altered in the early 1980's he had no longer been spotted.

This spirit is also said to be seen in the Garricks Head, but who is he?

There could also be the spirit of a cleaner who worked there and likes to mess with things in the bar and at one point was leaving mysterious 'cleaned' areas..

In 1948 the spirit of a man was seen in evening dress.

There was also a chilling account of a young scruffy and ragged girl seen who would be crying, the witness reported that the crying would get louder around them as well, causing an audible phenomenon as well as visual..

Two of the most astonishing accounts where that of two occasions where the spirit of a soon to be or recently deceased person sppaered to people that knew them..

One account was from one of the nights of the Bath Blitz in April 1942, where a firewatcher was working at the theatre, his account tells of the bombs raining down all around and the explosions close by, at one point there was a let up in the bombardment and he saw a blue light flash at a window.

He looks out and sees his friend, making gestures at him, he thought it curious, but then he was gone, the bombardment continues and then a little later he gets a phone call and is told that sadly his friend who was working at the Francis Hotel just around the corner had died, killed instantly when the hotel took a direct hit from a bomb..

Another similar chilling tale is that of a female worker, who thought her friend had come to see her at work, she was conversing with her and chatting, then a little later mentioned she had come in to someone, who proceeded to tell her that the friend in question had actually died that morning, before the time the lady had seen her..

So with two similar cases of hauntings of this nature, it begs the question, does the area of the theatre have a portal of some kind? for these two types of phenomena to happen, with the deceased people having nothing really to do with the theatre other than. that there friends were there at their time of passing, or just after....

The Theatre is such a hotbed of paranormal activity, it would be really interesting to know if there are any more sigtings or activity in more recent years.

The book Paranormal Bath by Malcolm Cadey has all the full eye witness accounts and is an amazing and chilling read..

Available on Amazon.

The Electricity Obsessed Spirit of Milsom Street.. Bath History - Milsom Street was built in 1762 The buildings were originally grand town houses, but most are now used as shops, offices and banks. As a fashionable Georgian thoroughfare, Milsom Street is quoted in several of the works of Jane Austen, including Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Hauntings - For many years several of the shops have reported a presence of a spirit in their premises which seems to have an obsession with lights and saving electricity! This spirit is said to turn off lights at random on window displays and within the shop. Its not just the lights at the window displays, but lights in other parts of the building even if there are staff members present too.. It will also close doors and turn televisions on and off..! The spirit is thought to be that of a former occupant of the premises who was thought to be a bit strange in life as he had an obsession with turning lights off and closing doors...! I have also heard stories of a presence in Jollys stockroom as well.. also apparently there was a funeral directors in Jollys and in the basement there is a room known as the body room, which must have been the morgue, this is said to have a presence..

Roman Baths - Bath This is the most famous part of Bath, but are there any ghosts lurking around the ancient springs and underground tunnels of the Baths? History - The Roman Baths are a well-preserved thermae in the city of Bath, Somerset, England. A temple was constructed on the site between 60-70AD in the first few decades of Roman Britain. Its presence led to the development of the small Roman urban settlement known as Aquae Sulis around the site. The Roman baths—designed for public bathing—were used until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th Century AD. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the original Roman baths were in ruins a century later. The area around the natural springs was redeveloped several times during the Early and Late Middle Ages. The Roman Baths are preserved in four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and a museum which holds artefacts from Aquae Sulis. However, all buildings at street level date from the 19th century. It is now a major tourist attraction in the UK, and together with the Grand Pump Room. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the baths may have been a centre of worship used by Celts, the springs were dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. The name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, leading to the town's Roman name of Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis"). The temple was constructed in 60–70 AD and the bathing complex was gradually built up over the next 300 years During the Roman occupation of Britain, and possibly on the instructions of Emperor Claudius, engineers drove oak piles to provide a stable foundation into the mud and surrounded the spring with an irregular stone chamber lined with lead. In the 2nd century it was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted building, and included the caldarium (hot bath), tepidarium (lukewarm bath), and frigidarium (cold bath). After the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the first decade of the 5th century, these fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up and flooding. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests the original Roman baths were destroyed in the 6th century. About 130 curse tablets have been found, many of the curses are related to thefts of clothes whilst the victim was bathing. The baths have been modified on several occasions, including the 12th century and the 16th century, when the city corporation built a new bath (Queen's Bath) to the south of the spring. Anne of Denmark came to Bath twice for her health. The spring is now housed in 18th-century buildings, designed by architects John Wood, the Elder and John Wood, the Younger, father and son. Visitors drank the waters in the Grand Pump Room, a neo-classical salon which remains in use, both for taking the waters and for social functions. Victorian expansion of the baths complex followed the neo-classical tradition established by the Woods. Hauntings - There are no recorded stories of hauntings in the Roman Baths, not that can be found in the public domain so far as I have looked.. Although people who have worked there have said about an eerie feeling late at night, with one entry on Trip Advisor saying they had their hair pulled whilst there. There have been several sightings of Roman soldiers in the area, including in the basement under the Gainsborough Hotel, just across from the Baths, where Roman artefacts have been unearthed. An early Roman military presence has been found just to the North-East of the bath complex in the Walcot area of modern Bath. Not far from the crossing point of their road There are about half a dozen altar stones dedicated to various gods by men from nearly every Roman legion stationed in Britain, and almost an equal number of tombstones recording their earthly remains. There is, however, but a single inscription which mentions a Roman auxiliary regiment, on the tombstone of a retired cavalryman (RIB 159 infra). The presence of these military men here in a thriving Spa-town, where veteran soldiers and retired statesmen would

History- Some of the earliest records are found in a Saxon Charter, dated 956 AD, and in the Doomsday Book The parish of Bathampton is situated in Somerset, to the north-east of the City of Bath, and covers some 932 acres of which approximately 230 are known today as Bathampton Down – the hill which forms the southern most part of the parish. The area has been extensively quarried over many centuries – which has had much influence on the overall landscape and remnants of the quarries often referred to as Hampton Cliffs or Hampton Rocks. The Lord of the Manor who probably had the most impact on the parish was the famous Ralph Allen – business man, entrepreneur and local benefactor. He made his fortune reorganizing the postal service and put it to good use when he became involved in the building of Georgian Bath by opening local quarries and promoting the use of Bath Stone. During the building of the railway, however, four skeletons together with remains of pieces of metal and shot were found to the east of the above site and were believed to date to the Civil War. The line of the road from Bath, along Bathampton Lane, High Street and Tyning Lane is thought to be of Roman origin. Its course then ran on in a straight line from Tyning Lane across the meadows to the river where there was a ford leading to a trackway that passed uphill to Bathford. The Site of a Roman Villa, to the south of today’s High Street, was identified by the Rev. John Skinner in the 19th century and from his plans was believed to be under the present allotments. Geo-physics of the area has been inconclusive and it is now thought to be more to the east, under the adjacent area used as a playing field. The ground here has been greatly ‘made up’ which has prevented further attempts to identify the building by Geo-physics. Numerous archaeological finds have been found throughout the parish, including a Roman coffin and skeleton, silver coins in the vicinity of the Roman Villa and a nearby burial which revealed a brooch now in the Ashmolian Museum, Oxford. Other finds are held by the Roman Baths Museum, Bath. The George Inn is a Grade III Listed Building and was formerly a farmhouse dating to at least the 18th century or late 17th century. During the 18th and 19th century inquiries into unnatural deaths in the village were held here, and there are various reports as to where the body’s were kept, ranging from the cellar to a shed in the garden! Including that of Elsie Adeline Luke, whose skeletal remains were found in a cave at Hampton Rocks in 1893, two years after her disappearance, she was brutally murdered. Her murder remains unsolved to this day, she is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas in the village. Hauntings - The pub is reputed to be haunted, by the spirit of Jeane Baptiste De Barre, who died in the pub after loosing at a duel, he asked to be taken to a pub for his last drink and died there, he appears occasionally around the bar and is seen in the form of shadows. But as for anywhere else, with such a rich history there could be many unreported hauntings in and around the village.. Source - Bathampton Village History - See links below

http://www.bathampton-village.org.uk/history/?fbclid=IwAR3BgReOF0OUspXcrteJ5zVWn0y8AyyQnxGBvPX34b13kDWekxZY5__vaB8

A Victorian Villa with a Lady in Blue There is a beautiful Victorian Villa which stands within extensive grounds in an area close to the city centre Built possibly c1840, it appears for the first time on the 1844 map of Bath (House name and address withheld for privacy reasons)

During the 1930s & 1940's it gained the reputation of being haunted. The ghost of a lady was seen most frequently, wearing a blue dress and a bonnet, she had curly hair underneath her bonnet and she had a long nose and thin cheeks/ high cheekbones..

Whenever she did appear is was just fleetingly and to the observer she looked like she was bending down or dragging something which the witness could not see across the floor.

People in the house would also suddenly experience an extreme chill within the house, even when it was very hot weather outside. This was said to be associated with the spirit of an old man, who was never actually seen, so not sure how it was pinpointed as an old man?

The sounds of scratching outside bedroom doors was another phenomenon. as if something was trying to get into the room, although nothing ever made it into the rooms..

Research - On looking at the Bath Historical Directories, there is a lady who lived there called Louisa, in c1870, maybe its her? and a man lived there from 1875.

It would be interesting to know if this house still has activity...?

Source- Haunted Bath - David Brandon. Photo Credit - Lily Absinthe / Pinterest