Newstead Abbey

  
 

 Field Trip

  
 

Following research that Newstead Abbey is reputedly haunted, in September 2003 PICOUK visited the location for a day trip.

  
         
  We started with an extensive tour of the gardens and grounds. We discovered Devils wood in which there are two statues, which represent a Satyr family, a mother and child (however the child was missing and we found out about it in the guide book) and the other of the father. These statues seem to have a striking resemblance to the Christian description of the devil and one must wonder why they would be located in the Abbey’s grounds. Whilst looking at the only remaining wall of the Priory Church we came across the tomb of Boatswain the favourite dog of Byron, which was buried in 1808 after it, died from rabies. The monument stands on the spot where Byron believed that the alter of the priory church was located and is inscribed with the following: -

 
We then entered the house and went into the Great Hall on the first floor via the grand staircase, after looking at the rooms on this floor we ascended a spiral staircase to Byron’s rooms. There are three rooms, a dressing room that has been stripped down to the bare brick and has little or no furniture in here we took the photograph on the left on which an orb can be seen just above the floor. This is the room where Byron was reputed to have seen what has been described as the black abbot. 

NA082.jpg (21119 bytes)NA091.jpg (21459 bytes)NA092.jpg (20726 bytes)
NA094.jpg (21938 bytes)NA095.jpg (23313 bytes)

 The next room although slightly smaller than it was in his time (Wildman who occupied the house at a later date installed the fireplace in this room) is Byron’s bedroom and is furnished as it was when occupied by him. It contains the bed he brought with him from his undergraduate days at Trinity College Cambridge.

It was noticed after we had taken the first photograph in this room that the picture contained an orb. We continued to take a series of  pictures in the same location and to our amazement all contained orbs. The camera, a Sony Cybershot, had previously been tested along with other cameras in a dusty environment and had failed to produce one orb.  

In this room Byron claims to have seen a white pillar of mist and experienced a black mass jumping onto his bed. 

Normally, we would discount such pictures as being contamination or moisture which has often been attributed to producing orbs on digital cameras. However, in another room, further on in our tour of the Abbey we found an old album containing  a photograph of Byron's bedroom.  This photograph was taken long before the age of digital photography. 
To the left of the main bedroom is a small room called the Pages room, this is sparsely furnished and would have been occupied by a manservant.  This photograph shows one orb that would be just inside the door from Byron’s bedroom. 

NA087.jpg (14938 bytes)
After going through several more rooms, up and down stairs we entered the Plantagenet Room, which is laid out as a Victorian sitting room.  This photograph is one of several taken in this room but is the only one on which there are orbs. 

 

NA102.jpg (18679 bytes)
We walked round the cloisters and visited the Cloister Garth where the monks would have gone for quite reflection and took this photograph from the doorway into the chapel an orb can be seen at the top. Did we have company on our tour or were we just in the right place at the right time in order to take these photographs.

NA104.jpg (20150 bytes)

Back