locations researched/Investigated 1739

The number of location Shaun Underwood has researched and investigated todate are Total-1739.

Here is the TOP FIVE voted by Shaun Underwood.

We are NOT going to say what went on within our investigations as we want you to get out there and see for yourselfs.

Marston Moor,York NUMBER 1

Royalist troops under the Marquess of Newcastle and Prince Rupert vs. an allied army of Parliamentary and Scottish troops led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Lord Manchester, The Civil War was going badly for Royalist forces in the north of England. The Marquess of Newcastle was forced to fall back on the fortified city of York, where he was besieged by Parliamentary armies under Sir Thomas Fairfax. Prince Rupert led a relief force of perhaps 7000 cavalry and as many footsoldiers north to the relief of the city. Fairfax broke off the siege and marched his men south to prevent Rupert from reaching the approaches to York. The ever-daring Rupert surprised the Parliamentary generals by marching around their position and reaching the city anyway.

Never one to pull back from a fight, Rupert now ordered his tired men out from York to surprise the enemy. They met a numerically superior force numbering perhaps 27,000 men. By the time the armies were in position it was late in the day, and Rupert, convinced that his foe would not attack until the morning, left the field in search of his supper. Lord Newcastle, perhaps more reprehensibly, retired to his coach for a quiet smoke. The Parliamentary army surprised the royalist totally by an attack which must have begun just as dusk was falling at 7pm. The fierce fighting lasted for several hours, eerily illuminated by a harvest moon. The royalist cavalry under the returned Rupert was ousted after fierce fighting, but it was the infantry that won the day (or night, in this case

The Royalists lost as many as 3000 men, plus their artillery train. York was forced to surrender to Parliament and the north of England was effectively lost to the king. Prince Rupert lost his glowing reputation of invincibility in battle, but Marston Moor made the reputation of another man; Oliver Cromwell made a name for himself for his role in defeating the Royalist cavalry.

 

The Castle Keep,Newcastle Upon Tyne.NUMBER 2

The Castle Keep of Newcastle Upon Tyne stands on a steep sided promontory overlooking the River Tyne. The site has been occupied for nearly 2000 years, with flint flakes and a stone axehead found in archaeological excavations testament to much earlier prehistoric activity.

The History of Castle Keep

From the mid 2nd century till the beginning of the 5th century the Roman fort of Pons Aelius stood on the present castle site guarding the river crossing. From the 8th century the site of the fort was used as a Christian cemetery.

The New Castle Upon Tyne was founded by Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror in 1080 and was a motte and bailey type. The castle was rebuilt in stone during the reign of Henry II, between 1168 and 1178. In this time the keep and the curtain wall, with a gatehouse (Bailey Gate) were added to the site.

During the reign of King John (1207 - 1216) an aisled hall was built in the bailey and during the reign of Henry III between 1247 and 1250 a barbican - the Black Gate - was added to the north gate. The town wall was completed in the mid 14th century and the castle became isolated within the new defences. By 1589 it was described as old and ruinous.

The Black Gate was a formidable addition to the exposed western side of the castle site in A.D. 1247 by King Henry III. It is essentailly a barbican : in this case an unusually designed outwork consisting of two parallel walls extending from a gateway with a secondary gate at the outer end. Two walls, one of which remains, projected across the Castle moat from a gate that existed in the curtain wall and the Black Gate stood across them at an angle of 45?.

It`s unique unusual position enabled the whole length of the western wall and ditch of the castle to be monitored from the Black Gate.

The castle site declined in military importance over time and excluding the Keep and Moot Hall, was leased by King James I in 1618 to his courtier; Alexander Stephenson who in turn let accomodation to various tenants.

The Black Gate is believed to derive its name from one such tenant by the name of Patrick Black. By the middle of the 19th century the Black Gate had been reduced to slum dwellings and accomodated 12 families and a public house.

The first serious rehabilitation of the Black Gate was undertaken by the Society of Antiquaries in 1883. They were leased the property and spent over sixteen hundred pounds repairing and improving it. The Society of Antiquaries still occupy the Black Gate to this day, using the building as a meeting place and library.

The Haunted History of Castle Keep

There have been many tales of activity emanating from the Keep for many years. These range from the sounds of footsteps in the narrow corridors that appear to be empty on investigation, strange unexplained mists that have been seen visually and caught on camera, cold spots that appear and disapear without reason and people being touched by unseen hands. The Castle Keep of Newcastle Upon Tyne stands on a steep sided promontory overlooking the River Tyne. The site has been occupied for nearly 2000 years, with flint flakes and a stone axehead found in archaeological excavations testament to much earlier prehistoric activity.
The castle site declined in military importance over time and excluding the Keep and Moot Hall, was leased by King James I in 1618 to his courtier; Alexander Stephenson who in turn let accomodation to various tenants.

The Black Gate is believed to derive its name from one such tenant by the name of Patrick Black. By the middle of the 19th century the Black Gate had been reduced to slum dwellings and accomodated 12 families and a public house.

The first serious rehabilitation of the Black Gate was undertaken by the Society of Antiquaries in 1883. They were leased the property and spent over sixteen hundred pounds repairing and improving it. The Society of Antiquaries still occupy the Black Gate to this day, using the building as a meeting place and library.


Whorlton Castle and Gate House. North Yorkshire.Number 3

Whorlton Castle is a late 11th century earthwork motte and bailey fortress, founded by the de Meynell family. The low motte is encased by a wide, deep ditch and a counterscarp bank, with the ditched kidney-shaped bailey and an attached burgus to the east. Standing at the west end of a spur, with steep slopes to the north and west, the castle was described as ruinous in 1343. In the mid to late 14th century, Sir John or Sir Philip Darcy founded the stone castle when adding a tower house and gatehouse to the motte. The rectangular three storey gatehouse stands partially within the ditch and its entrance passage was protected by inner and outer portcullises. Projecting from the north west angle, is a spiral stair which is only accessible from the inner ward and the roof line on this side, is from a late 16th century, a two storey house. Standing on the north-west angle of the motte platform, are the remains of vaulted cellars from the demolished tower house. 6 miles north is Castle Hill.Shaun Underwood has spent the better part of 17 years investigating this GREAT HAUNTED location. Shaun Underwood is a leading paranormal investigator for this site as a 17 year on going case for this location. Shaun has seen and felt many paranormal types of paranormal Acitvity,Take a look at the the famous pictures taken back in 2007/8 by Shaun Underwood.Lets us know what you think!!

Pictures were taken with seconds each other!

Lammerside Castle.Number 4

Lammerside Castle is situated on the west bank of the River Eden, at the foot of a small slope. Very little is known of the history of Lammerside; the name 'John de Lambyrsete' occurs in 1403 but without mention of property (CPR 1403 p. 280). The tower lies within Wharton Hall deer park which was certainly in existence by 1576 (Blackett-Ord); it seems unlikely that Lammerside was occupied after its creation. The upstanding remains of the tower, almost two storeys high, represent a reduced form of the original, as noted by authorities 2 and 3. In the north wall of the tower, part of a newel staircase is exposed. The room adjoining this side of the building measures 13.8m by 4.1m; the turf-covered banks which define it contain faced stone in places. There are no internal partitions visible; this and the survival of a small part of the eaves-line suggest that the room was a single storey hall. On the south side of the tower an area measuring 9.7m by 7.8m internally, enclosed by banks up to 2.6m wide and which contain faced and bonded stonework, may be the remains of a courtyard. Surrounding the tower there is evidence of other, less substantial buildings. To the east are the remains of four possible building platforms, the most definite of which measures 18.5m by 7.4m. There is another group of at least three rectangular building platforms about 30m south of the tower. The other prominent features of the site are the hedge banks of the surrounding enclosures which border a trackway going N-S past the tower and are probably contemporary with the castle. The largest of the enclosures is D-shaped and takes in most of the hill slope to the west of the tower. Its bank and external ditch are 7.6m wide overall. Three other hedge banks adjoin the D-shaped enclosure and continue in fields to the far west of the tower. In the north-east corner of this enclosure is a square compound about 24m by 26m internally. On the eastern side of the N-S trackway is another large enclosure with less well-defined banks but of similar length to the main enclosure and apparently extending all the way to the river. There is a possible corn-drying kiln immediately south of the last enclosure described. It is 5.0m by 5.8m overall and 1.1m deep; there is an opening at the front but no stonework is visible. (PastScape–ref. Lax, 1993).

It now appears that the standing remains here are in fact the remains of a simple building (one of many in the original manorial complex) that was later converted into a gatehouse by the Wharton family after driving the Warcops off their land. The walls are thin and there are a number of original windows at ground floor level. The only sign of any fortification or security here, is the presence of a door with a large draw bar tunnel....and even this may have been moved from its original location. If you look at aerial photos of the remains, the small rectangular earthworks that can be seen just in front of the ruins are now thought to be the footings of the original fortified building here....possibly a very narrow tower of some sort.

There are also slight earthworks a little further to the South of the upstanding remains, which are now thought to be the site of the original hall, again destroyed by the Whartons when they drove the Warcops away. The whole site is surrounded by earthworks, possibly indicating the presence of a barmkyn or curtain wall surrounding the whole complex....very well defined on the Western side, with a ditch around three feet deep on the outside, and an earthern bank another two or three feet high on the inside. There are also the remains of a park pale running along side the line of the earthworks, rabbit warrens further along the river and the earthwork remains of a road running down to the River Eden to the West, along with the rubble remains of a bridge that would have spanned the river....all destroyed by the Whartons of Wharton hall nearby. It sounds as if the poor Warcop family were not only at odds with the Whartons, living some two miles to the North, but also with their neighbours the Cliffords at Pendragon some mile and a half to the South. (Matthew Emmott, 1-7-2009, pers. corr.)

Middleham Castle, Number 5

It always been good to seek friends among the rich and powerful. In feudal times, being friendly with William the Conqueror stood Alan the Red in good stead, as he was rewarded with the lands around Middleham. He got Richmond too.

Alan the Red is thought to have established the first motte-and-bailey castle at Middleham, on a hillock known as 'William's Hill' to the west of the present building. Alan granted his lands to his brother Ribald, in whose family the property remained until 1270.
The stone castle we see today was probably begun in the late twelfth century. No records exist indicating who built it, but comparison of architectural styles suggests a date between 1170 and 1180.

Middleham was a very substantial construction, and the keep was considerably larger in area than those of similar castles.
From 1270, the lands passed through marriage to the mighty Neville family, and it is thought likely that Ralph, 1st Lord Neville was responsible for adding the stone curtain wall, corner towers and the chapel on the eastern side of the keep.
Among the most famous inhabitants of Middleham castle were Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Warwick, by his strong support of Edward IV during the Wars of the Roses, was given the nickname 'Kingmaker'.
It was to Warwick that the king sent his youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to be tutored in courtly manners and the art of war. While at Middlham, Richard allegedly took a fancy to Isabella Neville, one of Warwick's daughters
Isabella ultimately married his brother, George, Duke of Clarence, while Richard married the younger daughter, Anne Neville. The Duke and Duchess made Middleham Castle their home, and their only child, Edward of Middleham, was born there in 1473.


Many of the improvements to the castle are thought to date from Richard's time there, befitting the great nobleman he had become. Once crowned king of England, he spent relatively little time at Middleham, but it is 'his' castle, and his emblem, the white boar, that is on the flag which is still flown above the keep.
Following Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth, Middleham (and all Richard's other lands) was seized by the new Tudor king, Henry VII.
No longer used as a royal residence, the castle began to fall into disrepair, and passed from royal ownership in 1604. Used to house prisoners during the Civil War, Middleham was sold in 1662 to Edward Wood, in wh
ose family it remaned until 1889.By then, the castle was a ruin and much of the dressed stone had been removed from the outer walls for use in other buildings. In 1925 the castle passed to the Office of Works, and since 1984, has been under the guardianship of English Heritage who occasionally host reinactment plays depicting the life of Richard and the Nevilles.

Touring the castle remains today requires a little imagination to visualise it as it once was. The wooden staircase follows the route of the original stone one onto a platform overlooking what would have been the great hall.
In the cellars and kitchen below, all that remains of this formerly grand structure are the column bases that supported the floor.
A staircase in the south-east corner leads to the viewing platform which gives good views of the village, the site of the original motte-and-bailey castle and the countryside beyond.
Back on the ground, it's possible to see where the chapel block once stood, and looking closely one can see the remnants of the latrine shafts used by those living on the floor below the chapel.

A comprehensive guidebook, containing illustrations of how the castle might have looked, can be purchased from the kiosk near the gatehouse. For up-to-date admission prices, opening dates, events and days out at Middleham castle, visit the English Heritage webpage.
For more on the town itself, see our Middleham article