The Minerva Inn

The Minerva Inn has stood in its current location on Looe St, Plymouth since 1572 and it is the "oldest licence premises" in the historic city of Plymouth. The Inn was originally built as a sea captains home and later served as a seaman's rest. The Inn boast's a Spanish Galleons mast built within the stairwell as was the custom at the time. The building has links with Sir Francis Drake between 1540 - 1596 as he was reputed to have lived no more than 30 metres away. By the late 18th Century was well defined as a "press gang haunt" where poor and well and truly intoxicated men where beaten and dragged to the Parade in Plymouth (located within the Barbican area) though a purpose built tunnel. The press gang window and the tunnel entrance still survive today. In 1899 the Minerva was sold to the Octagon Brewery Plymouth and the now familiar stained glass window synonymous with the Brewery and the head of the Roman goddess of wisdom will be seen and remain the pubs trademark to this day long after the demise of the brewery.  The Inn has a history of Haunting including a screaming man an Elizabethan lady, over 5 prostitutes and a young girl in Victorian dress.  We were pleased to be the 1st team ever to have carried out any form of investigation into the property.

Place: The Minerva Inn, Plymouth

Date: Saturday 9th September 2006

Timing: 2300 hrs - 0600 hrs

Moon State: Sep 9, 2006 2:00 AM
Name: Waning Gibbous
Percent of Full: 98%
Age: 55%
Rise: 8:18 PM
Set: 8:54 AM

Radio Channel: 2.4 GHz Channel 1

Temperature data loggers had been placed around the building and the bar area. The reading below was from Data logger 1 located in the bar area.

Data was captured from 21 August 2006 - 12 September 2006 there were no significant temperature fluctuations over the target period.

Teams:

JACKIE - TL, BRIDGET - TL, TRACY I - TL, PAUL I, JASON - SCRIBE, JANET - SCRIBE, TRACE - SCRIBE, DEP MEMBER, CAZ – EV MED, PAUL S, EDWARD
DEP MEMBER, GILL, LUCY, JO - MED, DAI, LESLEY BUNCE, GUEST 1, GUEST 2

Preliminaries

BJ, Dave and Kriss had already spent the majority of the day at the Minerva filming.  As stated previously temperature and humidity equipment had been sited on the 21st August 2006 for the event.  Ambient temperature was around 22° C
A full EMF and NID sweep met with negative results both on the morning of the event and several hours prior to the event going live.  A LIVE WEB feed was placed in the upper office rooms.

Wireless cameras were set up in the bar area looking out towards the main door to the Inn with the final camera looking into the Inn from the main bar area towards the toilets.  A control room was set up on the 1st floor with monitors covering the bar displayed and recorded to Hard disk recorder.  Studio Digital audio equipment (DAT) Was set in the bar with twin microphones.

All teams were equipped with laser thermometer and additional baseline equipment.

Mediums

Caz - HD Medium Day Visit

Movement of footsteps up and down the stairs, I felt that this had been heard by those living and or working in the pub. Also quickened footsteps, i.e. running up and down. Strange atmosphere at the back of the pub, felt it had something to do around the fireplace( bj you later commented on the picture flying off etc)

I did say to Kriss when we chatted, that when I was up in the bedroom, the one with the twin beds and had sat quietly I clairvoyantly saw a man standing in front of me he had a breast plate of armour and a helmet and what looked like a decorated sword strapped to his side( now as I said to Kriss, Sir F D? but did not say as it would or might have been commented that it would be a foregone conclusion, so who knows) but I know what I saw. 

Eyes beaming down on me when I was in the bathroom, not sure who it was now but someone else commented on this in the evening, I think it was Paul S but not sure. Someone was also following me along the corridor.Two accidental deaths. A lady who’s neck was broken due to a fall after an argument, date around 1875, name called out was Mary. Another death due to a fall involved after a brawl onto a nail which pierced the neck.

Caz - Night Visit

Spirit lights in the control room, while we waited. White and blue, nice energies though. 

Glass divination

It also felt that his involvement with the ladies of the night etc was fairly secret from those in official ranks etc, although also felt that there were those also involved in the sordid goings on, he could get these poor women to do whatever he wanted them to do, and whoa betide them if they didn’t comply.
He would be a perfect gentleman and wine and dine then once in the fold the women found it very hard to get out he had them well and truly under his thumb, and of course they would not get any money ( very little anyway) to feed family etc. 

A lady called Elizabeth seemed to connect readily at first, Beth for short, I felt she is grounded there, she had two children, one was his. So wanders around looking for her children and still very much within his influence, there seemed to be a feeling of her neck being broken as well, I felt a sharp pain around my neck when she was communicating. 
Henry comes and goes as he sees fit and has no remorse whatsoever, as far as he’s concerned he’s done nothing wrong.
Date although I am not sure was around the mid 18th century. At this point my hair was being touched and an icy chill down my left side. 
Also when divination saw a man near the bar but sat at a table where the bar now is, fine looking man with a bushy beard, and was told by thought that he was eating beef broth and ale after a long an arduous voyage. It may be on film as I was staring at the bar area at the time. 

Top room, Automatic writing

Wrote…. Help me, help me trapped and the name Elizabeth although only the Beth was visibly discernable. Jason had also written trapped as well. Same woman as before around late 20’s early 30’s. 

Jo picked up on a little girl then the girl seemed to be attracted to me, so Jo and I teamed up to communicate with her. Angelic looking girl around the age of 6/7 with blond ringlet hair, a frilled petticoat and lace up ankle boots, Victorian. Name of Izzy short for Isabella. Brother Matthias, Jackie felt Jewish connections. I can’t remember if I gave a surname. Girls father was a merchant man, worked away a lot so she did not see him often.

Hoegate connections were called out, I felt a home with another home being mentioned in London. A fairly wealthy family, mother travelled and died abroad, nanny looked after her, I did say a name but cannot remember it( it should be on tape) or Jackie wrote it down I think. She was connecting to me as I reminded her of her mother, dark hair. This little girl was a pop in, this can happen sometimes.

Conclusion

Independent witnesses unknown to the new owner had witnessed the young Victorian girl.  She is normally seen in the bar area where she enters via a now sealed door and appears to draw water or perhaps a beer in a jug before leaving the bar.  The male spirit Henry appears to be the infamous "screaming male" ghost often seen on the 1st floor.  Kriss spent a rather uncomfortable 30 minutes in the bar on his own.  During this time and when calling out Kriss heard  a large bang - the team have as yet failed to establish the cause of this noise.  It has been caught on camera and the footage is excellent.
The Minerva Inn is definitely worthy of additional investigation and we hope to visit again in the future.  Whilst technically we were left wanting it would appear that our mediums had a field day and Kriss certainly enjoyed his lone vigil. 

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