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Location History: Although not the largest of Burghs, Jedburgh (population c4000) is Roxburghshire's county town and only Royal Burgh.The Castle Jail, with a commanding view over the town was built as a reform jail in 1820 on the site of the original Jethart Castle which was demolished in 1409 to keep it out of the hands of the English. The jail now houses a museum of social history, re-opened in 1996 following major refurbishment of its displays. Jedburgh Castle, which stood on the site now occupied by the recently-refurbished Jedburgh Castle Jail was one of five fortresses ceeded to England in 1174 to provide the security for the ransom of William of Lyon. It was later the scene of Malcolm the IV's death in 1195. In subsequent years the castle was much favoured as a royal residence - Alexander III was married at Jedburgh Abbey and the wedding feast was held at the castle but in 1409 it was demolished. The castle today was built in 1832 and although its then purpose was to serve as the county jail it continued to be called the castle. This area was known for its own type of trial..known as “Jedburgh Justice”. In this system, those accused of more serious crimes were hung and then tried. As a Jail it held accused and convicted criminals, from the more violent to debtors imprisoned by their creditors, vagrants, drunks and other petty offenders. Most of the major criminals were kept there in safe custody while they awaited their hanging or transportation. Some prisoners awaiting transportation to Australia could have spent up to six weeks at Jedburgh prior to their journey. Debtors tended to have the more comfortable time, having the best accommodation and sometimes even special rooms of their own. The “Bridewell” was named after houses of “correction” where imprisonment was to be a reformatory punishment. Vagrants, prostitutes and other petty criminals were sent here to “mend their ways”. The Bridewell block had no dayrooms and was unheated due to the belief that cold prisoners were more likely to reform than those kept warm. These prisoners were also kept in complete solitude, only being allowed to meet during short periods in the exercise yard. For the most part, prisoners at the goal had a diet of oatmeal and a halfpenny worth of milk for breakfast and the same for supper and two pints of broth and a penny roll for dinner. However, prisoners in the bridewell were given less milk and vagrants were given no dinner. In 1886 Jedburgh Castle Gaol was closed and the prisoners held within transferred to Edinburgh. The castle was, for a short time used for police cells and then sold in 1890 to the Burgh for the sum of 800 pounds. Information Obtained from: www.Jedburgh.org : www.aboutbritain.co.uk Jedburgh Castle Booklet, printed by Jedburgh press .
Reported experiences: There is a story amongst the locals of a piper heard playing on the castle battlements. The sounds of children crying have been heard in Section C which is the women and children block. The staff at the jail, on our request, wouldn't divulge any information, apart from stating that no-one likes it there alone, especially in the mens block and at night.
Investigation Preparation: The group used the main museum/reception part of the building as their base. Section A - The Male Prisoners and Male Prisoner day room. A torch and a motion detector failed to work in this area whilst setting up the equipment. It was noted this area was not currently in use, it had quite a few broken windows and was slightly open to the elements. There was no electricity supply in this part of the jail so the positioning of a locked off camera was out of the question. This whole area was tested using the EMF, Canum and Negative Ion Detecter Meters. There were no readings noted. Temperature in this area was recorded as 14 - 16*C Section B - The Bridewell An infra red locked of camera was positioned at the bottom end of a corridor on the upper floor. The ground floor was monitored by a CCTV camera and an EVP recorder. An infra red lamp was also positioned in this area to make the resulting footage much clearer. The whole area was tested with the EMF, Canum and Negative Ion Detectors. Again there were no readings. The temperature in this area was recorded as 14 - 16*C Section C - Women and Children prisoners A night vision camcorder was situated near the doorway, to survey the corridor leading to the cells and the stairway. The ground floor, after setting up the equipment, was sectioned off from the group and it contained an Infra red camera with sound, which had been trained on a trigger object placed on a nearby table it also encompassed the surrounding area. Again this section was tested with the EMF, Canum and Negative Ion Detector, no such readings were picked up. The temperature in this area was recorded as 14 - 16*C. It was also noted there were radiators in this area The group also had four Night vision Camcorders, which would be carried throughout the investigation and would be used by various members of the group. There were also two digital cameras used to take many pictures throughout the jail. The group were finally ready to begin the investigation at 11.00pm Investigation: Group 1 - Anne, Trudy and Val Upper floor Section C - Women and Children The group spent some time in the main corridor before moving into one of the cells. They sat quietly in one corner with the camcorder positioned opposite them. Trudy and Val both felt extremely sick. Val heard what sounded like someone brushing against a wall and at one point Trudy was convinced she had seen a shadow moving along the right hand wall. A few orbs were picked up in this area on camcorder and also a few were caught with the digital camera . The temperature was recorded as 10 -12*C Group 2 - Kevin, Austin, Russ and Stephen Upper floor Section A - Male prisoners The group stood in the corridor leading to the cells. A mist was seen on the right hand side through the camcorder, no explananation could be found for this at the time. Austin was filming around in the corridor, when he felt something knock the edge of his camera. There was nobody standing anywhere near him at this time, the other group members were positioned further along the corridor. The temperature was recorded as 10 - 12*C Group 2 - Kevin and Austin Upper floor Section B - The Bridewell They spent some time in here and even though nothing was heard by either of them at the time, later viewed footage produced a whistling in one of the cells. They moved from this area into Upper Section C they again spent time in the cells and main corridor but found nothing of interest. Group 1 - Anne, Trudy and Russ Upper Section A - Male prisoners The group sent most of their time in the main corridor and ventured into just a few of the cells. Two of the group members reported feeling cold but this was undoubtedly down to the many broken windows throughout this area. The only point of interest was, there were hundreds of dead butterflies littering the floor of the corridor and even the cells. This had also been noted by members of the previous group in this area and surprise was the main reaction of them all. Group 2 - Trudy, Russ, Kevin and Austin Upper Section A - Male prisoners The group went into this area to conduct an experiment in table tipping. Austin and Kevin went into one of the cells to get a small table for the purpose. Just after they enter the cell, a shadow very quickly comes out of the cell past them. This is caught on camcorder. During the table tipping experiment the table does not actually move but a camcorder picks up a few orbs moving around near the table and the group. The group move into one of the cells. Trudy can see flashes of light around the doorway, Kevin repositions his camera to where Trudy is pointing and can clearly see the lights through the camera lens. Group 1 - Anne, Val and Stephen Upper Section B - The Bridewell The group spend some time in the corridor before moving into one of the cells. They capture on camcorder a long orb that crosses over from left to right in front of Stephen, then it goes back across, then shoots up and off the screen. Another orb is also caught in this area it comes from Anne's left, grows in size and starts flashing before fading altogether. There were also other orbs caught in this area. Whilst having a break in the Museum/reception area, Kevin saw an orb, a bright round very clear light, that stood out from the wall. It first appears towards the top of the wall and moves down towards the floor for a few moments before disappearing altogether. The Whole Group Section C - Ground Floor - Women and Children The whole group relocate to this section. The trigger object is examined and is found to remain unmoved. The group decide to hold a vigil in this area, nothing of note happens but later viewed footage shows two orbs caught on camera around this time. The temperature remained 14 - 16*C throughout, it was noted there were radiators in this area The Whole Group Section C - Upper Floor - Women and Children During another vigil, a couple of orbs are picked up on camcorder and a clear whistling noise is also picked up in this area by two of the groups camcorders. Group 2 - Kevin and Austin Section B - Ground Floor - The Bridewell Kevin and Austin went down onto the ground floor and spent some time down there, investigating the corridor and the cells. They had nothing to report in this area. The temperature was recorded as 10 - 12*C Group 1 - Anne, Trudy, Val, Russ and Stephen Section B - Upper Floor - The Bridewell The group members spent some time in the main corridor. Anne saw a figure on two seperate occasions in this area at this time but found the experience unnerving and refused to discuss it. Trudy and Russ decided to go alone into seperate cells. Val, Anne and Stephen moved along to the bottom of the corridor and went into a cell further down. While standing alone in the dark cell, Russ felt the chain he had worn constantly for years, open and fall down his chest inside his t-shirt. In the same cell at the same time, a light was picked up by his camcorder on the information board positioned there. This light seemed to glow and pulsate, even slightly growing in size before disappearing altogether. As this light fades from view, Russ heard a stone being thrown towards him along the cell floor, this happened a few times and can be clearly heard on the camcorder footage. Trudy joined Russ in the cell and the stone throwing is then clearly heard by both of them. Austin, Kevin and Anne who are also alerted by the activity joined them in the cell. The stone throwing had ceased before they arrived but orbs were caught on camcorder. One of which, came from the information board, down along the floor towards Kevin, who managed to follow its path along the floor towards him with his camcorder.
Conclusion: Trudy and Val both feel sick at the same time - it seemed strange that both members had the sensation of feeling sick. The fact that Trudy had been feeling sick for a while before reporting it to the others, then Val saying she was feeling sick as well, rules out any possibility of suggestion as being a likely cause. The noise of someone brushing against a wall could have some significance, but we have to take into account the three group members were sitting against a wall at the time and one of them could have moved slightly, even though the sound seemed to come from the right hand wall and down near to where the camera was situated. Tests would have to be done by the group, with regards to how a sound may carry, within the confines of a very small cell. The shadow could have been caused by tired eyes adjusting to the dark conditions, the shadow as not picked up with the camcorder, so we have to discount it. A mist seen through the camcorder - Later viewed footage and a general consensus of opinion, puts this down to possible lens flare from another camcorder nearby. The group would have to conduct further experiments to support this theory. Austin camera being knocked as he was filming - This is very interesting because later viewed footage, clearly shows the sudden sideways movement of the camera. You can also clearly see on this footage the other group members postioned slightly further along the corridor. Interestingly when this happens to Austins camera, Kevin's camcorder picks up a few orbs at the same time. One which crosses from left to right and another which seems to come down from the ceiling above Austin and then goes off into one of the cells. Whistling in Section B The Bridewell - There were no broken or damaged windows in this area, this had already been assertained in the investigation preparation. As found in the initial tests, this area was sealed and the entry door was on a door return security spring. So it would not have been feasible to assume a bird may have got in this area and could have been a probable cause for the whistle. It is very interesting to note, when the group discussed this at a meeting after the event, it was discovered the whistling had been picked up in the same cell that the stone throwing and the strange pulsating light was filmed. Dead Butterflies in Section A - All group members found this very odd, even though in this section there were many broken windows where butterflies could have easily got in, the fact that there were so many in one place amazed everyone. The butterflies were also noted by members of the first group and surprise was expressed by all. All group members discussed this and all agreed the most butterflies anyone of them had seen this year, was not more than around half a dozen. The corridor and cell floors were littered with hundreds of them. Shadow coming from cell in Section A - The group were very excited by this and could not wait to view the footage tape of this area at this time. The tape when played in slow motion, clearly shows a bird flying out from the cell. It is astonishing, that this was neither felt or seen by anyone of the group members. It was very dark so that may account for no-one actually seeing it, but the fact it moved so quickly without making a sound or draught, when it was very close to the group members, is very surprising. Lights seen around the door of the cell - The fact that they can be seen by the naked eye is very interesting. Kevin also picks them up with his camcorder and the footage clearly shows the lights around the doorway exactly where Trudy is pointing. The group would need another opportunity to position a locked off camera in this area. Orbs picked up on camcorder in Section B - There were many orbs seen throughout the course of the investigation. So the group choose to note only those, which to their mind, looked very different to those caught in the past and could not simply be termed as dust. Due to the infrequency of these orbs and the fact they are not present just as someone walks past, the possibility of them having been dust is improbable. The group will have to conduct more experiments, to be able to say beyond doubt if they are dust or not. Kevin seeing a moving orb in the Museum - Again, its surprising this was seen with the naked eye. The group were on a break at the time and this bright orb was clearly seen. There were no equipment/torches, anything! on in that area at that time that could possibly have caused the light. We can entirely rule the possibility of this being a reflection from anything. Whistling in Section C Upper Floor - Again this area was in use, had no broken windows and the door was also on a door return security spring. Like in Section B it would not be feasilble to assume a bird could have gained entry and had been a probable cause for the noise. This whistling was picked up by two of our camcorders. It is very interesting that two seperate areas of the Jail, that could not possibly have contained birds, had provided whistling noises and the very place ( Section A ), where there was clear evidence of bird activity and which would have been a likely explanation, produced no such noises! Anne seeing a figure is Section B - Even though Anne was very unnerved by the experience and has refused to discuss this in detail. All possibilities have been considered. At the time of the sighting she was totally aware and alert, so the group do not consider tiredness as a probable cause. However there are no other sightings or sounds picked up by group members or equipment. Because there is no evidence, this experience has to remain questionable. It would be extremely interesting if someone else came forward with a similar experience, or sighting in that area. Chain opening - The design of the chain is such, it cannot be undone very easily and has certainly never opened on its own, in the mainly years it has been worn by this member of the group. On examination the chain was unbroken and had clearly been opened. Light on information board - This light was very strange it appeared suddenly, seemed to glow and pulsate even growing in size slightly before disappearing altogether. The possiblity of reflection from the camcorder was instantly checked out. No matter how much the camcorder was moved around, the light could not be reproduced. It is very significant that just after this light fades.......... Sounds of stones being thrown are heard - This is very interesting, it was heard by two group members and has been clearly picked up on the camcorder footage. No explanation can be found for this. When the others enter the cell the stone throwing ceases and then orbs are picked up in the same area. Interestingly starting by the board where the pulsating light was captured and taking a straight path down along the floor to a group member. The group experienced a very interesting and productive night at Jedburgh Castle Jail. Another visit would be warranted to check out the groups many theories and ideas. Many thanks to Shona and the staff at the jail and to Elliot for spending an entire night with us at this very interesting location.
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