Around 13 years ago my wife and I experienced something that still baffles us to this day. Her brother and his family were residing in a wing of a large country manor house near Preston Candover and had asked us over for a party at their local pub after which we were to stay at their place.
On arrival back from the pub we had a chat and a nightcap after which we retired. The wing was arranged in an 'L' shape with the family bedrooms at the end farthest from the main house, living room and dining area in the center and the large spare room at the end abutting the main house (connected to the main house by a panelled over door), myself and my wife were spending the night in this room. It must also be stated that we were the only people on the whole estate at that time as the owner and his family were away for the weekend... Apart from us four, the house was deserted.
All was fine and we eventually got to sleep until around 2:00am when I was awoken by my wife who had, for several minutes, been experiencing what I can only describe as the sound of people working (moving heavy furniture, banging and a general bustle) and at regular intervals the sound of heavy mesh doors opening and closing and what seemed to be a lift motor whirring. The noises became louder and louder to the extent of causing the light on the ceiling of this single-story wing to start swinging violently. Not wanting to alarm my brother-in-law and his wife, all we could do was to sit it out until, as the sun rose, the phenomenon vanished. I still vividly remember sitting in the corner of that room in a state of shock watching the ceiling lamp swinging until it eventually stopped.
At around 8:00 we heard the distant sound of my brother-in-law making tea in the kitchen at the other end of the wing. Surely they must have heard the noises? Eventually, he knocked on our door and in a cheery fashion asked if we had slept well and whether we wanted toast and a cup of tea? Immediately, we responded with a full account of what we had experienced to which he responded that his daughter was scared to enter the room as she had experienced something when she was using it as a bedroom, she now had to sleep in a very small room at the other end of the wing.
I asked him what was behind the panelled doorway and he explained there was an old fashioned metal lift that was put in during WW1 to move beds between floors when the manor was a hospital for casualties.
Had we actually heard the sounds of casualties being admitted during some crisis during WW1 or WW2?
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