Around 1350, a hunting lodge was built on this land at the gateway of the Windsor Great Forest and it is recorded that King Edward III and King Richard II spent some time here. King Henry VIII first met Katherine of Aragon here, and in 1629, King Charles I granted William Trumbull I as "Keeper of Easthampstead Walk" and the lodge was integrated into a newly built mansion. In the 1860's the old house was demolished, leaving only a stable block which is still standing today. It was in 1858, that the 4th Marquis of Downshire began building the current mansion in Jacobean style. During WWII, the British Army made use of the Park, which attracted a salvo of German bombs down the driveway in 1941. The Park was sold to Berkshire County Council after the war. During the sale, a great fire destroyed the gable roof. The Mansion was subsequently used as a Teacher Training College. From the 1970's onwards the Park then became an education centre until 1994 when it solely became a delightful conference centre. It is reported that residents from the past still remain today, the spirits still living as they did centuries ago. In the main entrance hall of house an apparition of a lady has been seen, and she has also been seen on the staircase adjacent to the entrance. A former butler who died in the fire at the house has been seen on the 2nd level of the house, floating. A maid who fell into one of the vats in the kitchen was taken to bedroom 201, and occupants who have stayed in this room and seen and felt strange happenings. Along the main corridor on the main floor, oriental music has been heard as well as dragging noises. In the basement people have seen the figures of two soldiers guarding the door and staff have heard a baby crying on the 2nd floor. Civil War soldiers have also been seen on the driveway.

This was my first visit to Easthampstead and one which I had been eagerly anticipating for some time. This glorious manor house which has now been converted into a conference centre had provided previous investigations with a great deal of unexplained activity and the hope was that this night would be no different. The investigation began with the usual walk around with medium John Crowdey who accurately connected with a vast array of the supposed spirits and activity which takes place in the building.

Vigil one began in Sandys Room where I was joined by John who took the group for a short séance where apart from the occasional noise and feelings of coldness there was little activity to speak of. I then left John with the females of the group and took the male team members along to the Trumbell Room and an adjoining room to see if we could have any more luck. Many of the group did feel that they were being antagonised by a dark energy in the adjoining room, although this could have been explained by the disorientation of the darkness in the room as we were all moving around and could have simply been misinterpreting our own movements. This was however also apparent when we were joined by the other half of the group who said they experienced similar sensations in the same section of the room. Beyond that there was very little activity to speak of.

My second vigil took place in the Cellar and Basement area, which mainly consisted of a long corridor with small rooms along each side, and I started by getting the team to link hands in the centre of the corridor while asking out for activity. Some of the group suggested seeing movement at one end of the corridor, an area known for the activity of two supposed army medics who had been seen before near the doorway at that end of the basement. We continued with the linked circle for a while however there was no discernable activity, after which I decided to split the group up along each part of the corridor. Again all remained quiet and we made our way back to the base camp to prepare for the second half of the investigation.

The penultimate vigil of the night took place in Rooms 201 and 202 where again the lack of activity was frustrating, so I decided to ask which members of the group wished to spend a little time alone in Room 202 which was renowned for a distinct presence which has disturbed and unnerved many guests who had stayed in the room over the years. Only one of the team attempted the solo vigil, where they reported nothing out of the ordinary, while I also spent 15 minutes alone laying on the bed and I felt more than comfortable throughout this time. The remainder of the group attempted some glass divination in the room next door, but all in all it was another quiet and uneventful vigil.

My final vigil took a team to the Education Block where the spirit of a butler had been seen on many occasions. By this time the group I was with had lost much of their energy and enthusiasm as it had been a quiet night for most of the teams, and this vigil was no exception. As we made our way back to the base camp to wrap up the event I reflected on my frustrations that the evening had been unusually quiet throughout, but also accepted the reality that it is more likely that nothing will happen on an investigation considering the fact that only a handful of accounts are often recorded over the decades. The remote chances of us experiencing the unexplained in just a short period of time in the building is something which we tend for forget, especially as Easthampstead had been such a hive of activity in the past.