Grovely Woods

Saturday 24th May

Grovely Woods

Just outside Salisbury is the village Wilton (The ancient capital of Wessex) and here can be found the very ancient and atmospheric woods of Grovely. This is a place I have been desperate to go to since I stumbled upon a pdf file about the woods and its ghost and legend of the handsel sisters. The Handsel sisters are 4 supposed witches that came to their final resting places in the woods where 4 huge beech trees now grow.

A small group that consisted of myself, Sharon, Maria, Loretta and James which made up the investigation team for the night and we decided to set off after 9pm so we weren't disturbed by dog walkers.

Once we had travelled down this very rough bridle track we parked up and set off down a narrow lane towards the woods which was exceptionally windy. Once off the track you enter the woods and immediately in front of you is a Roman road which just stretches out in front of you and disappeared into the darkness. Almost straight away the feel of the air and area around us started to change. How can I describe it to you? I am a rational person and I do not seem to get spooked by much and have found myself along the way in some very eerie places but just like Atworth Church this place just grips you with fear though unlike Atworth church it is everywhere and magnified by about 1000.

We started off down the Roman road. At first the feeling of the darkness closing in wasn't so bad but I expect its because the entrance of the woods was still visible and you can sense that even though its behind you. We walked and talked as we went and slowly the feeling of being watched and followed got stronger and stronger. I kept telling myself not to let the fear get a grip but I must admit I was practically shouting this to myself within my own head. My friend Sharon who is also a member of phoenix was feeling very spooked too. Maria asked me which side of the woods do you feel less comfortable with? I thought about it then said I think its the left hand side. I then realised I had been avoiding even looking in this direction and mainly looked to my right. She agreed but can not offer any explanation to why this is.

If I was thinking rationally, It was a very windy night. Things were constantly falling from the trees and you could hear this all the way around you. Also because the woods are very dense, the blackness can give you the impression that it is closing in on you. Especially if you are claustrophobic. Having said this, We all sense when we are being watched and also if someone has invaded your personal space. This woods gives you a feeling of oppression and invasion. You feel someone is close behind you then just out of your peripheral vision. Almost like your being toyed with.

The more we walked and the further into the woods we got on this Roman road the more and more uncomfortable I became. Usually on an investigation I try to open up and take in everything I can with my senses. This time I found myself closing down and did not want to know what spirits were with us this evening. All I can tell you was it felt like there were many.

We eventually found the track the took you down to a site where the Handsel sisters are supposedly buried and this is where you find the sacred trees and though it felt like an eternity it is only 10 minutes from the entrance to the woods. We came across the first of the trees. This tree is magnificent in stature and presence. Its arms are vast and give the appearance of great power. This tree has evidence left of offerings people have left for the sisters that are said to lay at rest here. We spent a few minutes here, taking pictures and laying an offering of red carnations. We moved onto the next tree that felt completely different. It felt like a dead cell. What I mean by that is there is no presence or energy about the tree unlike the first one. The woods around this tree felt lifeless too. We left a offering here for this sister and moved onto the 3rd tree. This tree felt lively and friendly. I said to Maria "do you think this is the youngest of the sisters?" She agreed with me as this energy felt young and energetic. Jovial and friendly. At the time I thought that there was only 3 trees but I have since found out that there are in fact 4. The first tree on the other hand stood with a authoritative and stern presence. You would assume this meant the first tree was the eldest sister and the middle tree was the second eldest. We left an offering at this tree also and went back to the first of the 4 trees.

We decided to call out to invite the spirits to come forward. I volunteered to call out first (though I wasn't very sure if this was a good idea). I firstly called out to any spirits and then the sisters inviting them to join us. We did hear a few odd things but with the wind getting so fierce it was very difficult to tell for sure what the sound were or where they were coming from. Maria then started to call out. Loretta and Maria also recited the Witches rune to see if that would encourage the 4 sisters to come forward. We heard what sounded like a chime and we thought we heard a female voice sort of call out but again we cannot be sure because of the strong wind that night.

A ghostly woodsman is also said to hunt the woods and Maria suggested calling out for him. I'm afraid to admit that I said the last thing I wanted to see right then was a ghost with an axe appearing in front of us and if one did I would be the first to run which I think the others found very amusing. I felt even here at the 4 sacred trees that I shouldn't have my back to the woods. I just couldn't find a place where I felt safe. Loretta also said she sensed a spirit near us but standing behind us. I said maybe we are all facing the wrong way subconsciously on purpose. I tried to open up a little while we were at the 4 sacred trees and asked Maria if she felt the spirits in the forest where elemental rather than ghostly spirits. She agreed. Elemental's are what you call things like faeries, elves, wood nymphs etc. They can be quite fierce in nature and if they felt we were invading this sacred place that could explain why we were feeling so spooked all the time. Maria and her team have been to Grovely a few times. They have said on the first time they went they felt like Sharon and I was feeling but on subsequent visits the woods felt more friendly. If they have been a few times then the elemental's would recognise them and welcome them. As Sharon and I had never been before then it would explain why the elemental's were watching and following us so closely.

We decided to head back and soon found ourselves on that eerie Roman road again. As we walked back towards the car I got that sense that the woods were closing in on us again and Maria always verified what I was thinking because she would say, I always feel here that the spirits get playful and come close and even though I had not said out loud that I was sensing something coming closer she had just verified that she felt it there too. As we got closer to the entrance of the woods the feeling that the spirits had come closer for one last chance to play.

Once out of the woods the feeling changes almost straight away back to normal. I glanced back at the woods when we had left a safe distance between us and felt quietly relieved that it the investigation was over.

I have to thank Maria and her team for making this investigation possible for me. I can say both Sharon and myself thoroughly enjoyed the whole terrifying experience and though I am very ashamed at just how spooked I was I think I kept Maria, Loretta and James giggling at my expense this time

Below is the story in full of the Handsel sisters and the Burcombe woodsman as well as an ancient rite that involves Grovely woods to this day

A well known ancient right that involves Grovely woods is the Oak Apple Festival where villagers from nearby Great Wishford can legally gather firewood on the 29th May. This special day is still celebrated by the villagers and perpetuates the ancient rite to collect firewood from nearby Grovely.

Early in morning of May 29th the villagers gather and make their way to the forest where an oak bough is removed decorated then hung from the tower or ST Giles Church.

In order to maintain their charter, the villagers must proclaim their rite at a special ceremony in Salisbury Cathedral. They must repeat the ancient rhyme "Grovely, Grovely and all Grovely. They then make their way back to the village of great Wishford and continue the celebrations with dancing and general revelry.

Grovely Wood hides several dark secrets that can cause a chill even when you’re stood amongst its spectacular carpet of bluebells which sprout in April.

One such story is that of the Grovely witches which is only remembered by a handful of locals. However, anyone standing in the wood on a still afternoon or evening when the wind agitates the tops of the trees can often feel an unsettling presence. If you walk into Grovely Wood from the Wilton end (via a small stretch of forest and then a dirt track) you will pass a gate and find yourself on the ancient Roman Road. Ten minutes walk along the road you will find four, large gnarly trees in a row to your left and about fifty yards off the road. They are quite an eerie site as they differ from any other tree growing in that part of the wood. Their origin is said to hark back to 1737 when a virulent outbreak of smallpox in Wilton was responsible for 136 burials. Four of these were never interred on consecrated ground. These bodies belonged to four sisters accused of witchcraft. The Handsel sisters were four Danish itinerants that the villagers blamed for the contagion and it wasn’t long before the population were convinced of their alliance with the devil. The sisters were unceremoniously marched to Grovely Wood and murdered. None of them were given an official hearing and, unlike the witch trials of a century earlier, they were not burnt at the stake as was customary. Their skulls were caved in with commonplace implements and they were buried far enough from one other so they could not ‘insinuate’ with each other as they had in Wilton market square. Some say the gnarly trees were planted to mark the graves, others say the trees sprung mysteriously from the unmarked graves so the village would never forget their murder. Whatever the truth, sightings of the witches have been recorded since that time and anybody visiting the gnarly trees should investigate the rear of the first tree which has a hollow where offerings and money are still left. Remove these at your peril.

The story behind the other Grovely Wood spectre is a little more sketchy. The Woodsman or ‘Burcombe Woodsman’ is a swarthy figure that is said to appear after the crack of a twig. His presence is attributed to two stories: the murder of a poacher who was hung from a tree for his nefarious activities and a watercolour artist, lodging at Burcombe, who was accidentally shot in the wood during a deer cull.