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Re: Vertical file of school info/Friday story



Although this has nothing to do with records, an interesting story about
Rosata, a ghost, is associated with an 800-year-old Gilbertine priory in the
UK. I personally have not seen Rosata's ghost, yet there are many, many
believers, and more than one ghostly apparition has been caught on film by
others. (British paranormal people have checked it out and confirm
paranormal activity there).  As the story goes, Rosata was a novice nun at
this 'double-house' priory; e.g., one housing both men and women (this alone
makes for interesting conjecture). Anyway, the young lass apparently became
pregnant by one of the young monks or friars, and this was much frowned
upon. Story has it that the monk was beheaded and buried out back of the
priory. Rosata reputedly was buried alive in the front wall of the priory.
Looking at the priory from the front, one sees 6 windows. However, only 5
are observed from the inside of the building. On the 17th of each month, her
ghost has been known to appear. I have not seen her, although the feeling is
she is a gentle ghost, simply mourning her lost love. I have spent time
alone in this vast priory, even at night, yet I have heard only occasional
thumps in the night, and they could be any one of a number of things.
Britons tend to be more superstitious than Americans, and on one 17th of a
month some time ago, quite a few of my fellow Americans dressed in sheets
and hid behind bushes around the priory. A young British lad, employed at
the priory, left his duties at almost midnight, and hopped on his bicycle
for the journey home. Much to his horror, these ghostly apparitions jumped
out of the bushes, frightening the living bijeebers out of the young lad. He
sped down the hill leading from the priory, and I am told when he hit the
speed bumps near the small river and some other buildings, that he flipped
off the bicycle in his haste, and hurt himself. However, he jumped back on
his bike and was gone in a flash.  Next morning his mother, who worked in my
building, approached me and chided me for frightening her son. Frankly, up
to that time I had no knowledge of the incident, but I thought it
uproariously funny, yet I dared not chuckle. Anyway, those who dressed as
ghosts were found out and admonished.   In many monasteries, manuscript
copying was done, yet I don't find any real indication that this was a major
activity at this monastery. As an aside, monasteries really became economic
units in many ways, and this priory was a successful one economically. Many
were not. This priory fortunately fell into secular hands fairly soon after
the Dissolution, escaping ravages of pillaging and the like. Fascinating
records about agricultural production and patronage of this monastery
remain.   For seven generations, it served as a residence for a somewhat
well-heeled family, who put it up for sale in the mid-1930's. The Crown
acquired the property, and it became one of the intercept stations for the
Y-Service in WWII. Its primary mission was to intercept German Luftwaffe
radio traffic, funnel that into Bletchley Park, about 40 miles away. There,
Alan Turing and his colleagues used computers to break the German codes,
giving the British what was code-named ULTRA intelligence.   Anyway, the
priory has a truly amazing history, and I apologize for digressing here.
Saint Gilbert of Sempringham is the founder of that order, and I imagine
Henry VIII would somehow look (down?; or up?) approvingly at this priory.
The latest I hear is that Roman ruins (and there are many in that part of
Britain) characteristic of an infirmary or medical establishment of some
sort has been found in front of this amazing building. I can't wait for this
building and site to reveal more of her mysteries as her saga unfolds.

Sharon Lee Butcher
Reference Librarian
AEDC Technical Library
100 Kindel Drive, Ste C212
Arnold AFB, TN  37389-3212
931-454-4430
Fax:  931-454-5421
sharon.butcher@arnold.af.mil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bunker, Kevin [SMTP:kbunker@SS.CA.GOV]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 2:47 PM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Re: Vertical file of school info/Friday story
>
> CA State Archives reputedly once had a ghost on this same site, but since
> an
> interim move to Roseville (some 20 miles northeast) and construction of an
> all-new Sec of State/Archives complex on the old building site, we seem to
> have lost the spectral guest...not sure if anyone ever attempted to
> identify
> the wandering apparition.
>
> But in the year I have been here on staff, there have been the rare,
> occasional sounds of moving/sliding boxes on shelves inside the stacks
> area
> when no one else is in the room. BOO! I usually just say nice things to
> the
> sounds and go on my merry way...
>
> Kevin V. Bunker
> Student Assistant
> California State Archives
>
> > ----------
> > From:         Casey Greene[SMTP:cgreene@ROSENBERG-LIBRARY.ORG]
> > Reply To:     Casey Greene
> > Sent:         Friday, June 22, 2001 8:38 AM
> > To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> > Subject:      Vertical file of school info/Friday story
> >
> > Good story.  At the Rosenberg Library, the ashes of our first Librarian,
> > Frank Patten, were said to be kept in the attic.  We supposedly have a
> > ghost that haunts our third floor, the spirit of a deceased maintenance
> > worker whose portrait used to hang in the staff room.  The current
> > manitenance staff swears that another apparition haunts our Library.
> > They have heard sounds when no one is in the building.
> >
> > There are enough haunted buildings around Galveston to merit the
> > descriptors "Ghosts" and "Supernatural" in our newspaper index.
> >
> > Casey Edward Greene
> > Head of Special Collections
> > Rosenberg Library
> > 2310 Sealy
> > Galveston, TX  77550
> >
> > A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
> >
> > To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
> >       In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
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> >
> > Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
> >      http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
> >
> > Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
> >
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
>       In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
>                     *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
> To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
>
> Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
>      http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>