There has been a dwelling in Valentines Park since 1600, the foundations for the building that we see today was built around 1696 by James Chadwick, the son-in-law of John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury. In the early 1700's the house was owned by the Finch family, who subsequently built a number of other "Valentines" in Australia. In 1754 Sir Charles Raymond purchased the estate and reconstructed the house. His family crest can be seen bearing the date 1769 on the rainwater heads around the property. Raymond made his fortune as a Captain with the East India Company, also appointed High Sherriff of Essex in 1771 and created a Baronet in 1774. After Raymond's death in 1788 the estate was briefly owned by Donald Cameron until 1797 when it was split up and the mansion with 174 acres was bought by Robert Wilkes. Over the next two hundred years it was lived in by a number of other families, one of which was the Ingleby family around 1870. It is said that the spirit of the daughter of the Ingleby's still roams the mansion today and has been seen on numerous occasions. Mrs Ingleby also passed away in this very building and is renowned for having a great love of Valentines, perhaps she doesn't wish to leave? The Mansion today is mainly disused and the only visitors are the security guards that watch over the place. These guards have experienced strange happenings, including hearing heavy footsteps on the top floor only to find nobody there. Past visitors to the Mansion have felt uncomfortable in certain areas and cold spots are frequent, in fact some of the guards won't patrol certain areas alone.

Valentines Mansion is as much a paradox as any location I have visited over the years. A majestic country mansion viewed from the outside, but located on the outskirts of central London surrounded by the hustle and bustle of suburban city life. Situated on the perimeter of Valentines Park the mansion house is deserted and dilapidated, although plans are in place to completely renovate the mansion and grounds this year thanks to a significant amount of money raised by the council, together with a grant from the lottery fund. We were initially taken round the building by one of the security guards who revealed some of her experiences during 4 years of working there, for the most part alone. Valentines has all the ingredients of a typical haunted house, with boarded up windows, peeling wallpaper, uneven floors, creaking floorboards and dark mysterious corners. These ingredients would also increase the auto-suggestion and psychological effects of the investigation team during the night.

Prior to starting the vigils we setup the various experiments around the mansion, including trigger objects, a locked of stealth cam, motion sensors, dictaphones and a Negative ION detector. While setting up the motion sensors on the top floor we stopped in the corridor after Sharon had noticed that the SpiritChaser EMF meter was registering fluctuations. At this point we both heard a low humming sound or grumble similar to the sound your stomach makes when you've not eaten for while. We both looked at Kevin assuming that he would take responsibility, but he insisted that the noise was nothing to do with him. We stood for a short while asking out for the sound to be repeated and although we heard no sounds in reply the SpiritChaser EMF did register a couple of times to show both a negative EMF fluctuation as well as a positive reading. This was certainly interesting considering it occurred exactly after we had asked for a response.

We then completed the walk around with Stewart Keeys, our medium for the night, where he correctly linked in with a variety of the Mansion's former occupants. He initially connected with Charles (Holcombe) who he correctly linked with the date 1838 (the year he bought Valentines) as well as Sarah Oakes (his niece) who he correctly described as a kind and generous woman, always entertaining and taking a great interest in the welfare of the less privileged. Stewart also correctly described her passing at an old age, suggesting that it had been related to a bronchial or breathing condition - indeed Sarah (who he pronounced 'Sara') died of bronchial pneumonia aged 82. He then proceeded to explain that he was hearing the song Oranges and Lemons, specifically the part referring to the 'bells of St Clements' which he felt had significance. Clement Ingleby, who married Sarah, was one of the more prominent names in Valentines' illustrious history, and he correctly suggested that he was probably linked to Sarah as her husband. Finally Stewart connected with a former owner named Robert (Robert Surman purchased Valentines in 1754) who he felt was a negative character often disliked by those around him. This had all certainly been significant, as all of the information Stewart was relaying was very specific and historically accurate.

Stewart then joined me and Team 1 for our first vigil in the Cellar. We started by taking the baseline readings and Stewart tried to draw the energies forward to increase our chances of activity. It was then decided that we would attempt an experiment by asking 2 team members to sit alone in the adjacent storage corridors which ran off the back of the cellar - these both had doors which could be closed, allowing the investigators to experience all the thrills of a solo vigil while remaining in the cellar with the rest of the group. Alex and Liz were the first to attempt the experiment, and to their enormous credit they remained for more than 15 minutes without too much concern. Both emerged to describe feelings of claustrophobia but little significant activity. Sharon and I then took our turn, and it was certainly an interesting experience being sat on a chair at the end of a narrow pitch black corridor knowing that if any activity took place then the only escape route would be in the direction of the very place I was waiting for something to appear. Naturally my time alone was uneventful, as was Sharon's, but as an experiment it was intriguing to see how something apparently so nerve-wracking could be so easily overcome by all of the team. We concluded the vigil with an attempt at glass divination and table tipping, without success, but our time in the cellar had certainly been well spent.

For the second vigil I took Team 2 to the first floor rooms, specifically Room 13 and the Library. We started by attempting glass divination in Room 13 which was uneventful, and followed this with a linked séance while sitting at the table. One of the team later described the sensation of having something touch the top of her thighs, but there was no activity which the entire group could share. I then decided to split the group into pairs, leaving the ladies in Room 13 and taking the gents into the Library. I returned to Room 13 to join the ladies where unfortunately again all remained still, and after joining up with the rest of the team in the Library we moved to a smaller adjoining room for one last linked séance, this time whilst standing. Our continued attempts to bring about some contact were unfortunately unsuccessful, so we returned to base camp to prepare for the next vigil.

The third vigil saw me taking a team from Theobalds Park (one of our other investigation locations) to the top floor of the mansion, which is certainly the most imposing of the four vigil areas. Lisa, Dean, Stacey, Liz and myself started with an attempt at automatic writing using the planchette, and from the very start the group were getting clear responses to questions. They had linked in with the name Robert in an earlier vigil and suggested that this was the character coming through again. Indeed when asking for the energy to draw the first initial of their first name we received a clear 'R' letter on the paper. When asking for the first letter of the surname however the responses were inconclusive. Shortly after the girls had suggested seeing a shape or shadow by the doorway, which unfortunately neither Dean or I could verify. It may have been the way the light was being cast on the door, as the central area near the top did have some pale markings which could be misinterpreted as a head or facial features from a distance. Continuing with the planchette we were then given something of a shock as in response to my question as to whether Robert was still with us the pencil and board shot across the paper at speed towards Dean. This had the effect of causing that corner of the table (which was not the safest) to collapse sending the team into momentary hysterics. At this point Dean and I made our way down to the opposite end of the building where we stood in the furthest and darkest corridor trying to encourage someone or something to make themselves known. At this point it went quiet, although we could still hear the girls referring to the shape in the doorway, so we made our way back. We concluded the vigil with a linked séance around the now partially restored table in one final hope of something truly significant. We did not have to wait long until we got our response, although maybe not exactly what we were hoping for. While sitting around the table I asked for any kind of definite confirmation that there was an energy present and for the sign to be strong enough for all of us to experience. Literally seconds later the table we had all been precariously balanced upon collapsed again towards Dean. Was this just pure coincidence or had the timing reflected our wish for a definite response? I have to say that it was most likely that a small shift in pressure on the table, or the gradual build up over the minutes since my patch-up work on the wobbly leg had probably taken its toll, although it certainly did give us all something of a fright.

The night concluded with a final vigil in the Kitchen area in the basement which was for the most part uneventful. We attempted some glass divination without any success, after which I took the team to a small pantry along the corridor which was the darkest room available considering the morning light was already streaming in through the windows. Upon entering I noticed that a cupboard door was open, so I pushed this shut as best I could and we began with a linked séance. After a few seconds of asking out the door I had previously closed suddenly came unstuck and jerked outwards. Although this could be construed as a response, in truth it was not easy to close the door and upon trying to close it a second time it released on its own once more which suggested that it simply would not shut properly. The remainder of the vigil was quiet and relaxed, and as dawn was now well and truly upon us we retired to base camp to reflect upon the nights events.