Robert Bard – författare

In this book author Robert Bard takes readers on a spine-tingling journey around Kent to some of its most haunted locations. He discovers tales of ghostly apparitions, unexplained events and paranormal phenomena. Among the places investigated is Pluckley, which was named in the Guinness Book of Records as England’s most haunted village. Its twelve spirits include a screaming man who fell to his death and a spectral highwayman who haunts a spot named Fright Corner.Other haunted sites are Rochester Castle, with its thirteenth-century White Lady; Chislehurst Caves, with sounds of children’s laughter, footsteps and sightings of a woman dressed in white; and Bilsington Priory, with its hooded monks. Hever Castle, once home to Anne Boleyn, lays claim to her spirit, and Dover Castle is a popular spot for organised ghost hunts, where reported apparitions include a headless child, a woman clad in red clothes and a soldier who prowls the underground tunnels. Ghostly episodes from Canterbury and Chatham also feature, together with Blue Bell Hill, where drivers have reported colliding with phantom pedestrians.Illustrated throughout, Paranormal Kent will appeal to those interested in the supernatural and local residents who want to discover their county’s haunted heritage. Are you brave enough to read on?

During its 600-year history 50,000 souls were executed on the gallows at Tyburn somewhere near where Oxford Street meets the Edgware Road. Many thousands of victims remain buried nearby in anonymous graves. Many of the condemned made their final journey from Newgate Prison, three miles distant. The condemned travelled in a cart seated on his or her coffin, stopping frequently for refreshments. Sometimes the condemned survived hanging. What was it like to be hanged? This book examines contemporary accounts.Most of those executed at Tyburn were from London’s underclass. An exception was Earl Ferrers on 5 May 1760 who wore the same white suit with silver trimmings that he had worn at his wedding. He travelled from the Tower to Tyburn in his own carriage but the crowds were so thick that the journey took nearly three hours. In addition to Tyburn, this book identifies a number of London’s lesser-known places of execution such as Shepherd’s Bush Green, Cricklewood, Hampstead Heath, and the City of London.

The county of Berkshire has a rich and varied past which is reflected in its historic churches. In Churches of Berkshire, author Robert Bard explores a selection of the most interesting churches across the whole of the county. The buildings range from churches in the county town of Reading and Windsor with its historical connections to royalty, to market towns, villages and remote locations, and represent the many different architectural eras and styles to be found in Berkshire. The book covers a cross section of churches throughout the county, both well-known and those waiting to be discovered by a wider audience.This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Berkshire over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.

The town of Barnet grew up in the twelfth century to the north of London. The town’s alternative names of Chipping Barnet or High Barnet are recognition of the market that was established there at the same time and the town’s elevation. Today the town and the integral area of Hadley adjoining Barnet are part of Greater London. This was the site of the Battle of Barnet in 1471, which was one of the key battles of the Wars of the Roses. Barnet’s position along the old Great North Road brought a large number of inns to cater for travellers, including Ye Olde Mitre Inn which was first recorded in 1553 and still stands today. Evidence of the lives of everyday folk through the centuries can still be discovered beneath the surface of today’s Barnet and Hadley, from numerous blue plaques for the rich and famous to workhouses, hospitals and almshouses.With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked-away or disappeared historical buildings and locations, Secret Barnet and Hadley will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this distinct area of North London.

In the Middle Ages Watford was a small Hertfordshire market town, well placed on trade routes near London. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the arrival of the canal system and the railways brought industries to the town. New housing was built and the town expanded to accommodate the rising population. Beneath the surface of today’s Watford, evidence can be found of the town’s past, from the importance of religion and churches in the town’s history and how crime was dealt with to workhouses and hospitals which have now disappeared. Some historic yards and buildings remain and Cassiobury Park was part of the Earl of Essex’s estate, and the numerous famous names have been associated with Watford, not least Elton John.With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked away or disappeared historical buildings and locations, Secret Watford will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this town in Hertfordshire.

Surrey was lightly populated for much of its history as it was heavily wooded with poor agricultural land and no major settlements yet it still contains a number of ancient and fascinating churches, both in the towns and in the countryside, including St Mary’s West Horsley which is the burial place of Sir Walter Raleigh’s head, the Evelyn family chapel in St John’s Wotton and the Lumley Chapel in Sutton. As transport links to Surrey improved, particularly with the arrival of the railways in the nineteenth century, the population grew as many families adopted the commuter lifestyle of working in London and living in Surrey. A large programme of Victorian church building or rebuilding was needed to cater for the new inhabitants of the towns and villages and London itself spread, its suburbs merging into Surrey. From being an architectural backwater, Surrey became a leading inspiration for new vernacular styles of architecture at the end of the nineteenth century and in the twentieth century the county town Guildford became the home of England’s most recently consecrated cathedral.This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Surrey over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.

The incredible true story of what really happened in the Channel Islands during the Second World War.The Channel lslands were occupied on 30 June 1940 when four German planes landed at Guernsey Airport. They were the only part of Britain to be occupied during the Second World War. The islands had been officially demilitarised on 19 June, but the War Office in London overlooked the necessity to inform the Germans. This led to a German air attack on 28 June, which resulted in thirty-eight civilian deaths.Hitler was extremely proud of the conquest of the Channel lslands, and saw it as a stepping-stone to the full invasion of the rest of Britain. The occupying forces were instructed to behave correctly. This would show the rest of Britain that there was nothing to be feared from life under the Third Reich.This book looks at the German Occupation, the unsavoury events that occurred on the Islands, and why at the end of the war a cover-up of these events was instigated by the British Government.

It is fascinating to think that many hundreds of generations of Londoners lie beneath the city without us knowing. Over many centuries burial grounds have been developed, built over and then forgotten, often beneath playgrounds, gardens or car parks. When modern development takes place, remains are disturbed and we are reminded of a London that has long since disappeared, particularly with recent archaeological discoveries across the city.In London’s Hidden Burial Grounds, authors Robert Bard and Adrian Miles seek to uncover many of the capital's lost graveyards, often in the unlikeliest of places.

Have you ever wondered what lies beneath your feet when you walk into an ancient church or through a graveyard? The mystery of what lies beneath. Did you know that some of London’s most famous cemeteries have catacombs? This book explores some of the most intriguing vaults, crypts and catacombs of London and where you can still find some of them. Some are even open to public view. Crypts were often built by rich and powerful families to lay to rest their family remains. Many of London’s church crypts have been converted into cafés and restaurants to meet London’s twentieth- and twenty-first-century needs, but others still retain their occupants.Authors Dr Robert Bard and Adrian Miles, an expert in the field of post-medieval burials and funerary archaeology, take the reader on an intriguing journey of discovery through London’s vaults, crypts and catacombs. London’s Crypts & Catacombs contains many unique photographs and is a haunting insight into the process and burial of our ancestors.

In this book, author Robert Bard guides readers on a spine-tingling journey to discover the paranormal and unexplained happenings that have occurred throughout Berkshire. From haunted sites to spectral figures and supernatural phenomena, here is an eerie exploration of the royal county and a collection of its chilling tales.Each of the chapters in Paranormal Berkshire focuses on a different location linked to ghostly occurrences and among the places featured are Windsor Castle, Old Windsor, Reading Abbey, Maidenhead, Ascot, Newbury, Hungerford, Bisham, Caversham, Cookham, Datchet, Slough, Thatcham and some of the smaller villages in the county. The author visits the traditional sites of paranormal activity and, with the assistance of the Oxfordshire and Berkshire Paranormal Research Group, reveals newly discovered material. He also participates in a local ghost hunt and provides a fascinating account of his observations accompanied by his own photographs.As well as detailing the nature of his own interest in the paranormal, and his experiences at the various paranormal sites, author Robert Bard also selects his own haunted highlights from his chilling exploration through the county.Paranormal Berkshire will appeal to those with an interest in the supernatural, and to local people who want to discover their county’s haunted heritage. Are you brave enough to read on?