Investigation 2nd January 2005 Boardwalk
Snigg Hill Sheffield
Investigation Team Mick, Brenda, Gaz,
Richard, Steve, Mike and Dawn. We were met outside
the boardwalk by Domonic Wilson at 10pm and after the introductions
we were shown around the two Pubs the Boardwalk and Under
the Boardwalk. Once we were back up stairs we split into
two teams team 1 being Mick, Brenda, Richard, Domonic, his
mum and his Girlfriend team two being Mike, Gaz, Steve and
Dawn. Team one was to stop upstairs and team two was to
go down stairs. Both Teams were to set up trigger object
in a place that would not be disturbed this was 2 old coins
that was drawn around on piece of paper and to be check
at the end of the night. Both teams were equipped with Digital
camera’s Night vision camcorders and Emf meters. Temperatures
were to be recorded every hour by both teams.
Notes from Team one
Thermometers were set-up at both ends of the Public house
trigger objects were set up on the stage and a recorder
was set up on the stage to record any EVP'S (Electronic
Voice Phenomena). A night vision camera was set-up on the
stage to record team members sat at a near by table. The
camera would keep going out of focus for no apparent reason
while recording the team. Mick showed Domonic and girlfriend
the equipment we used and what it was used for. Mick also
took various random picture around the pub while Brenda
and Richard investigated the psychic energies. The upstairs
pub was playing havoc with any equipment requiring batteries.
While Richard was filming the side of the stage near the
speakers both he and Brenda thought they saw something move
in this area. Richard went of to film the back of the stage,
while Richard was filming Brenda saw something move halfway
between a chair and a chair ( a orb was seen on video footage
in this area at that time). Richard called Brenda to the
back of the stage because he said he saw something moving,
both Richard and Brenda thought they saw something moving
though the gap of and underneath the door leading to the
dressing room. There was a distinct cold spot at the back
of the stage and a slight difference in temperature. Brenda
and Richard entered the dressing room to investigate both
thought they saw someone walk across the room from the flat
to the stage area. On investigating the flat they felt a
strange atmosphere in the bedroom area. Back in the main
bar area orbs were witnessed every one then entered the
dressing room area. While in the dressing room area Brenda
picked up on a man with light brown or tan trousers with
bracers work shoes/ boots cream shirt and Cap, he walked
from the flat to the stage area. This man has also been
witnessed by staff members. Brenda also picked up on a girl
who had lost the lower parts of her legs and was in great
distress and suffering from shock. Back in the flat Richard
and Brenda picked up on lots of spirit energies including
the same girl which was a lot stronger. In the dressing
room Brenda described what the room looked like in the past
with dark wallpaper red and brown with a lighter beige pattern
and upturned gas mantles. She also felt there was a bar
across the corner of the stage to flat. She also picked
up on a man rolling barrels from the flat towards the front
stage, in the past behind the bar barrels had been lined
up with tap directly into them. Brenda visited the ladies
where she witnessed a sickly sweet smell and a oppressive
feeling . She also witnessed exceptionally cold area in
front of the fire exit leading to the flat. While discussing
the flat the team all agreed on a very strong feeling of depression in the bedroom and lots of fluctuations of temperatures
in the flat and dressing room. While having a break around
midnight Mick tried to take a picture of Gaz near the stage
on the first attempt the batteries died the second attempt
with new batteries also died, a few minutes later using
the same batteries else ware Mick successfully took a picture
of Gaz.
Séance in the bedroom
While sitting in a circle for the Séance Brenda
asked for any spirits present to give us a sign that they
were there. We all sat quietly for a while, Mike and Brenda
saw something behind Mick at that point Mick’s mobile
started ringing after the séance Mick checked to
see who had called but the last person who called was his
brother on dec 28th no other calls had been received. When
every one was quite there was a bang in the living room
followed by further quieter bangs. Camera kept going out
of focus again especially when Brenda was in trance. Richard
picked up on a young woman, Mike and Brenda thought she
might be a teenager. When we joined hands and started building
up the energy Mick started getting static in his hair, Mike
and Brenda saw a light and shadow behind Dawn who was sat
in front of them. Brenda Channelled a young girl who was
very distressed and in pain called Ann Marie, She also picked
up on a name Thomas Riley which she believed was the girls
fathers name. There were also orbs recorded during the séance,
Mike felt at some time the building had been damaged.
Down Stairs
Mick went down to the small room and gents toilets while
filming and recorded a door banging when no one was around.
In the downstairs bar area Brenda picked up on a man and
woman, the women had dyed black hair and a chest condition
pleurisy or pneumonia before she died. Richard saw movement
towards the end of the bar near the entrance. Brenda went
down stairs and saw movement in the small room. When we
checked the trigger objects a glass fell to the ground on
it own. Both trigger objects had moved these were two coin
on a piece of paper which had been drawn around, one coin
on each piece of paper had moved approx 2mm. Nothing was
found on the EVP recording.
List of Experiences handed to us by Chris's Wife at the
end of the Investigation.
1 Hand driers in gents toilets going off on it own
2 Fan assisted ovens in flat switching it self on and off
3 Foot steps often heard in area from side of stage into
dressing room
4 People touched by something in area between mixing desk
and dressing room 3 people experienced this.
5 A figure in pale trousers and brown shoes as been seen
by at least 3 people in different areas upstairs and down
only from the knees down though.
6 A figure seen walking into the display cabinet at the
bottom of venue-we don't know if there's a old stair case
behind the cabinet that leads down stairs.
7 2year old Alicia talking about 'boardwalk May' stood at
side of stage on flat side. This happens on numerous occasions
8 Figure seen on stage during a performance two weeks ago
sat on drum riser.
9 Doors opening and closing on there own
10 Strong smell of cigar smoke on two occasions back stage
11 Very oppressive atmosphere occasionally
12 Staff talking about ghostly happening one night after
a show a glass smashed in kitchen behind bar.
13 Cook downstairs got so used to something touching her
in the kitchen she had a name for him.
14 Downstairs bar owner saw figure in cellar walking towards
loading door.
Notes from Team two
Upon arriving and on first walkthrough Mike experienced
a
great deal of energy in the area behind the speakers to
the right of main room
upstairs, and around the rear of the stage area, Again a
great deal of energy was felt in
the first dressing room. The walkthrough then progressed
to lower bar area
and cellar, the activity downstairs was spread out considerably
but seemed
to have most energy to the bottom left corner of seating
area in lower bar
and also in the small room down near the gents toilets,
The small room
contained a chair and a small toy horse and had a distinctive
energy Mike also
got the feeling that the room had been a through way to
the now bar area
previously. Incidentally the small room backed onto the
corner of the lower
bar where most activity took place.
We, as a team, started our investigation downstairs in the
bar area where we set up two Chinese coins on some paper
and drew around their outlines to get a starting
position, so we could measure any movement at the end of
the evening, These coins
were placed on the back service area of the downstairs bar
and not touched again until the end of the evening. (When
the coins were checked at the end of the evening one of
them had moved about 2mm to the left).
We also set up a thermometer on the bar area to record the
overall temperature of
the room .The first reading was taken a little after 10.00pm
and was at 13.6 degrees,
we then checked this temperature periodically. The temperature
noted at 11.00pm was 12.7 degrees and at the end of the
night it was 12.5 degrees.
The team explored the area individually. Mike investigated
the small room at the back near the gents toilets, where
he experienced a flash of light in the small room and
the closing of the gent’s toilet door, Mike returned
to the team to ask if anyone had
just passed through a door and no one had. The next anomaly
the team encountered
was at around 10.25 pm when there was a temperature drop
of 4 degrees in the
left hand side of the kitchen area. EMF readings were taken
of this area although
no vast changes were measured.
Shortly after the temperature change in kitchen area the
whole team
experienced a sound of a door moving and also a sound similar
to wet
footsteps coming from the area around the barrel room and
kitchen entrance. Although
on further investigation no Emf readings or temperature
change could be noted.
We contacted the 1st team (upstairs) to make sure that the
noises we heard had not been made by any of them, they confirmed
that no one had entered that area.
Photos were taken by both Steve and Gaz showing orbs around
the bar
area and the seating area to the bottom left of the lower
bar.
At 11.15pm Mike picked up on a man sat in the corner area
to the lower left ,
the man was average height and dressed in cream or beige
shirt. We
used an infra red thermometer to measure a fall in temperature
over the next 1-2
minutes, while the ‘spirit’ was present the
temperature in the that area dropped from the room temperature
of 13 degrees down to 0 degrees and then rose again. Throughout
this period of time the room temperature remained the same
at 12.7 degrees.
After noting this temperature change the team went down
to the small room by the gent’s toilet. Whilst in
this room they measured the temperature and found that in
the chair itself the temperature was 8 degrees lower than
in the rest of the room.
At 11.45pm there was another presence in the corner of the
main room. This time it was
a man and a woman. The woman had shoulder length dark hair
and was sat
hunched over, with her back to the corner of the room, Meanwhile
Steve
measured a drop of temperature of 12 degrees from 12.7 degrees
to 0-
degrees. Just before we were joined by John the two rows
of small glasses on the bar shook briefly although no one
was near them.
Throughout the evening video footage and photographs were
taken which will be
examined fully and reports and images of anomalies will
be both documented
and provided. |
A brief History of the Premises
The Boardwalk, pub situated in Sheffield City Centre has
a reputation of attracting some excellent bands. There has
been a ‘Black Swan’ pub in Snig Hill since the
1700's but started off at No.1 and moved up the road to
its present location.
Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades"
for SHEFFIELD in Baines's Directory and Gazetteer Directory
of 1822.
List of Streets, &c. in Sheffield, in 1700,
Crich John, victualler, Black Swan Inn, Snighill
Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades"
for SHEFFIELD in Pigot's Directory of 1834.
Miscellany of trades
Inns,
Black Swan, Samuel Crich, 2 Snig hill
Durind WWII Sheffield had 130 air raid alerts .
On 12 December 1940 was the 'Sheffield blitz'. The bombs
dropped for NINE HOURS!!!! in 16 air raids. a third Sheffield
city centre was destroyed in that one night.
During the night there were 30,000 incendiary bombs, 50
parachute mines and 1,200 high explosive bombs dropped on
the city. Afterwards it was impossible to travel through
the city centre as most main roads were blocked with huge
piles of smouldering rubble.
Fourteen trams were destroyed. The Black Swan also took
a serious hit, the pub suffered damage, but continued to
trade as a single storey pub.
Soon after the pub was completely rebuilt with a concert
room. It became a mecca for local bands in the 60s. During
the seventies and early eighties, it was THE place to be.
It used to be called the BLACK SWAN and, indeed, had an
8 foot statue of a swan in flight outside its front doors
that was placed there after its rebuild. In the early
eighties the pubs name was changed to The Complete Angler,
but under pressure to change it back, the management gave
in and renamed it 'The Mucky Duck' (This is what it was
always known as in Sheffield, as this is slang for Black
Swan).
In 1996 or 7, Herbie Armstrong and his partners reopened
the pub as a modern music venue known as "the Boardwalk".
Herbie was a relatively well known musician, who appeared
in the charts in the 70s with the song "Please
let me stay", and played guitar with Van Morrison.
His friend was the guy who wrote "Under The Boardwalk",
and that's why they used the name for the venue.
There is a book you should still be able to get hold of
called "Then and now, the Sheffield Blitz, Operation
Crucible" by Alistair Lofthouse, ISBN 190158709-6.
It's full of anecdotes about the blitz with photos of the
damage with a photo of each place as it is today. There's
also a map at the end showing where many of the bombs landed.
If you go to the Local Studies Library, they also have a
captured German Luftwaffe target map used by the bombers
showing the areas they were aiming for. It's interesting
to compare the target map with the one of where the bombs
actually landed! There is a book called 1939 - 1945 Sheffield
at war. It was published in 1948
That shows pictures of places hit by bombs in
sheffield and it also contains a map of where all the known
bombs landed. It is 78 pages long so and full of stories
so you can imagine the damage that was caused. |