(UK Paranormal) Mike Driscoll Wendy Driscoll Samantha Marriott Louise Marriott Phil Dobson

2 x Digital Video Camera with nightvision 1 x Digital Video Camera 4 x Digital Still Cameras 5 x Dictaphones 1 x Minidisc Recorder EMF meter Thermometer Trigger objects - Rosary beads, wooden cross

We returned to the Bell Inn for our second visit primarily to carry out some EVP experiments in the sub-cellars below the main beer cellar. These have to be the most extensive cellar systems I have ever seen in a public house. They cover several floors underground and have many rooms and areas to be explored. I have to say that even without the possible paranormal connections it would have been a great evening just having access to these cellars.

The sub-cellars are accessed by means of a trapdoor in the floor of the beer cellar and down a rather precarious ladder and into the first of many rooms. Off to the left hand side are the Port Cellars - a tunnel lined with small alcoves on either side that are numbered.

These where used as means of tax calculation. Each alcove is a certain size and the tax man knew exactly how many bottles it would take to fill the alcove, so his calculations would take far less time than if he had to count each bottle singly.

Towards the end of this corridor the floor starts to get wet and wellingtons are needed as the water level rises to a depth of about 6 inches (the River Leen is apparently leaking through the walls!). A small turn to the left and a short trek through the ankle deep water brings us to a right-hand 90 degree turn and another short passage before this part of the cellars ends in a blank wall. Several old bottles are scattered on the floor, and there is an old (very old) dumb waiter in the left hand wall. The waiter is now full of bricks and other debris and has obviously not been used for years. About half way down this final passage (on the same side as the dumb waiter) is a short side passage that leads to a spiral staircase. The stairs were blocked by broken bricks and other debris. It was in this part of the cellar that we started our night’s experiments.

Whilst we stood quietly in this area all members of the team reported hearing a whistle and possible footsteps back towards the main entry room. Several minutes after that a second sound was heard that sounded like a small girl laughing, it could equally have been the sound of wind passing through the tunnel (although where it came from would be another matter). It was suggested it might be a pigeon but we could find no means of entry other then the trapdoor we had descended through.

A short question and answer session was undertaken with several recorders and video cameras running, which lasted just over 5 minutes. As we were about to leave the area Dobbo asked if we could stay for a while longer as he was feeling strange. He reported that the hair on his neck was standing up and his hands were “thumping”! He also informed us that he was getting the impression of a man in a flat cap and tweed clothing. A picture was taken at this point, of the short side passage and bottom of the stairs, as Dobbo was looking that way and also Mike had the sense of a small girl in the area. The resulting picture shows a mist around the stairs.

The group felt it was now time to move on and continue its tour through the cellars. As we retraced our steps down the flooded passage several pictures were taken. Interestingly every time a corner was turned and a picture taken the same mist seems to appear.

Back in the first room of the cellars we now moved to the left into the first room and had a second question and answer EVP session. Nothing of any note occurred at this point apart from 3 names coming to members. Dobbo felt that the man in tweed was called Connor and that the name of Dominique was also connected to him. Mike felt that the name Charlotte was connected the little girl he had sensed. After a short consultation the general consensus was that we should return to the water logged area for another short vigil.

As we waded back into the final corridor a piece of wood that was screwed to the wall (part of a door frame perhaps) choose that exact moment to fall into the water giving us all quite a start! The wood was rotten through and through and only its timing was unusual. But in the dark and below ground it made us all jump and question why it had fallen at that exact moment.

Dobbo felt that Connor was looking for his family, and that the names Sarah and Louise or Sarah-Louise were relevant. He also felt that Connor suffered with a chest complaint, like Asthma. As we stood in the dark two team members reported hearing a “whirring” noise from the direction of the redundant dumb waiter. This sound was heard twice and unusually caught on tape. The recording can be heard at the bottom of the page in the EVP section.

We returned upstairs to have a coffee and discuss events so far. We decided to have a look at the other cave/cellar in the building which is situated under the floor of the main bar at the rear of the building Access to this room (the Cathedral Room) is via another even more precarious ladder into what appears to be a purpose built space with a narrow slot in the floor that looks like the entrance to a crypt or dungeon.Stairs carved from the sandstone lead down into darkness and bend sharply to the right terminating in a small room that has been cut from the rock. Benches are cut into the walls on either side and a modern brick wall has been built through part of the chamber for some reason, probably to do with the foundations of the building above. The only light came from the single torch we had taken down with us. A quick EVP session was carried out and a trigger control set up (a cross on paper).

And we left the room carefully climbing the stairs. Mike was the first to the top and was lighting the way for the others when the torch blew. I can tell you it was bloody dark down there, with no means of light apart from the meagre amount coming through the trapdoor which did no more than give us a target to aim for on the way out. The room that already felt menacing now felt doubly so and I, for one was glad when we all finally reached the top of the ladder.

During the first investigation a couple of members of PSI decided to investigate the Cathedral room so Sam & Louise held the ladder and trapdoor while they climbed down. Sam decided to see what was down there – she saw three brick walls and the fourth wall (straight ahead) was sandstone, a doorway was carved into it leading down 4 or 5 steps to a circular room with a seat carved around the edge of the wall. Independently, Louise, again saw only three brick walls, with a large opening in the sandstone with a shallow set of four or five steps leading into an open space. On returning for the 2nd investigation we went down into the room and were surprised to see all four walls were solid brick and the room we both saw wasn’t there.

So back to the main part of the sub-cellars for the final session of the night. Starting in the main section we made our way through each room and level of the cellars with a question and answer EVP session in each room as we went. Nothing of any importance happened as we did this and the EVP results are still being checked. The team in general felt that this part of the cellars was devoid of any paranormal activity and soon finished up.

We returned to the Cathedral room to check the control and retrieve the equipment we had left there. On the way down the ladder Mike noticed the light switch! Wish he had seen it earlier. The control was just as we had left it.

All in all the Bell Inn is an interesting place, not least because of its age and apparent lack of any ghosts in the building itself. The deep cellars are another matter however, with the Port Cellars giving us a few moments to make us pause for thought.
UK Paranormal intends to return to the Bell with at least one medium in tow to see if we can find out any more.


Many thanks to Brian Rigby and his team for allowing us so much access to this piece of Nottingham’s history.



You can visit the Bell Inn's website at The Bell Inn - circa 1437 or, better still go to the pub and do the 'Cave Tour'.