Liston Churchyard, England Investigation

Liston is a small village and civil parish in North Essex, England, located one mile WSW of Long Melford, on the banks of the River Stour. Its parish church dates back to the 12th century, in parts.The closest major town is Sudbury, 2½ miles to the SE. Liston village consist of little more than the church itself, a few dwellings on adjacent minor roads, and the site of Liston Hall, half a mile W of the church; originally an 18thc manor house, destroyed by fire in 1870 and rebuilt, largely demolished in 1952 and now used for holiday accommodation.

Liston was held as a manor by a free man in 1066 and by Geoffrey Talbot from Hugh de Gournai in 1086. It was assessed at half a hide and 30 acres, with 30 acres of meadow and half a mill. A second manor, held by Ilbod in 1086 and by a free man in 1066, was assessed at half a hide and a virgate, and this also contained 30 acres of meadow and half a mill (presumably the other half of the same mill).

On May 29, 1945, officiated by the Rev. Alfred Clifford Henning; conducted a small ceremony and burial of a woman’s body found at the bottom of the former Borley Rectory steps. Also present was his wife Annette, his young son Stephen and Harry Price, closely associated with the history and investigations of the former rectory.

The remains included part of a jawbone and skull of a woman thought to be Marie Lairre. This person was suggested as a possible ghost nun encountered at the former site. The Rev. Henning was, himself, later buried here when he died on January 14, 1955.

Address: Sudbury, Braintree District, Essex CO10 7HS, United Kingdom

Hauntings: There are no specific stories or encounters at this church or churchyard, however since these remains were buried here by the Reve. Henning, and these remains were alleged to have been associated with the ‘ghost nun’ at the former Borley Rectory, it is possible that there could have been some paranormal activity associated with this grave.

The Ghost Research Society investigated Liston Churchyard on May 30, 2023 and the team members included: Paul Adams and Dale Kaczmarek., with help from Sylvia Shults and Isa Adams.

Equipment setup: The Ovilus V, a Melmeter with a telescopic probe, digital recorder, Samsung Galaxy S-21 Slim Ultra cellphone for pictures and a Sony Nightshot 4k camcorder were employed.

Experiments performed: We conducted an Ovilus V session there at the spot where Lairre’s remains were interred by the Rev. Henning back in 1945. We attempted a Phasma Box session, however a low battery was encountered even though the laptop had been full charged prior to our arrival here.

Personal encounters:

Dale Kaczmarek: I did not feel anything out of the ordinary. There was a lot of wind contamination and battery drain on the Phasma Box that prevented us from employing that device there. It was a solemn site and was very peaceful when we were there.

Evidence collected:

Groan liston.MP4 – while conducting an Ovilus V session at the grave site of Marie Lairre, a question was asked, “Can you tell us where they buried the lady?” The sound of a “groan” was picked up and recorded.

Jack liston.MP4 – while conducting an Ovilus V session at the grave site of Marie Lairre, a question was asked, “Can you tell us your first name?” Immediately, the device responded with, “Jack.”

Strange noise liston.MP4 – while conducting an Ovilus V session at the grave site of Marie Lairre, a question was asked, “How long ago was the lady buried here?” A “strange noise” was recorded.

Words spoken by the Ovilus V in dictionary mode: Jack, tools, got, class, race, ledge, crash, ran, V, wed, club, idle, maximum, Roger stars, blaze, cost, hold, quiet, pendant, form, show, wings, creature, famous, continued, preacher, wound, fresh, M, unholy and saliran.

Conclusions: While I believe that we only received one intelligent and immediate response on the Ovilus V, there were several random words that made a lot of sense to the location we were at including:

“V” there was Vivian Lynell grave nearby

“Penchant” there was a confirmation penchant buried with Lairre’s remains.

“Wound” legend has it that she was strangled.

“M” was the initial of the first name of Marie Lairre.

“Unholy” as she was allegedly the remains of a nun from Borley and that she intended to elope and break her vows of celibacy.

“Saliran” is translated from the Malay word for drainage. Was she buried in a well?

It was an interesting location and was another Harry Price and Borley Rectory connection.