"I do sometimes wonder, for all of the conflict and bluster between Farrant and Manchester, how each reflects upon their relationship with the other. It is clear there certainly was some form of acquaintance, friendship even, between them. They frequented the same pub and had a mutual friend in Anthony Hill. Also, David [Farrant] has told Kev Demant of the occasions he was invited over to Sean [Manchester]’s home for meals." - Trystan Lewis Swale (9 July 2015)
1. David Farrant and Seán Manchester became acquainted from early 1970 following Farrant's published letter in the Hampstead & Highgate Express in February 1970 claiming three sightings by him of a ghost near the North Gate of London's Highgate Cemetery. The two men were never friends.
2. They did not "frequent the same pub." It is understood that Farrant used a number of pubs in the Highgate area at that time, often flitting from one to the next in the course of a single evening. Seán Manchester was not a regular at any pubs, preferring a different kind of social activity. However, sometimes he did occasionally arrange to meet people to discuss matters concerning the case in restaurants or pubs in the evening, and Lauderdale House at Waterlow Park during the daytime.
3. David Farrant and Seán Manchester did not have "a mutual friend" in Anthony Hill. Due to the complexity surrounding the history of Anthony Hill, it merits further discussion at greater length.
4. David Farrant, despite what he might have told his colluding friend Kevin Demant, was never "invited over for meals" at Seán Manchester's home, and there is no evidence to the contrary.
5. Trystan Lewis Swale of Orchard Way, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was (a) not born when the Highgate Vampire case was making headlines, (b) has never met Seán Manchester, and (c) is entirely reliant on unsubstantiated allegations originating solely with David Farrant and nobody else.
Throughout most of the 1960s Seán Manchester ran a photographic studio by day and was a professional musician by night. What follows is based on his testimony, corroborated by Hill.
Anthony Hill did not introduce Seán Manchester to David Farrant in The Woodman pub or anywhere else. Seán Manchester was told that Farrant was in The Woodman one Friday night when he was performing with a jazz group, but it would have meant nothing to him. In any case, the name Farrant went by was "Allan" and that is how Hill would have referred to him if he did refer to him. Surnames were not used. The context of this history must be viewed through one important and often ignored fact: Hill's pursuit of the then recently married Mary Olden, a barmaid in The Woodman. Seán Manchester was aware of Hill's infatuation with the barmaid. He later learned that Mary Farrant, the barmaid, was married to "Allan," but he still didn't have a clue who Farrant was, as the latter was not a friend of Hill. He was, if anything, an obstacle to Hill's ambition, ie Mary, but not for very long.
Hill (himself married to a female also known to Seán Manchester) and Mary ran off together in 1968. Seán Manchester made clear his disapproval and there came a falling out between the pair. Moreover, Hill worked part-time for Seán Manchester in the darkroom at his studio. In the mornings, Hill was a milkman. He worked afternoons at the studio. Seán Manchester was inconvenienced by Hill's affair with Mary. They had run off together to Devon and Hill's employment was abruptly terminated. The schism did not resolve for some considerable time. When Hill eventually returned to his wife and Mary returned, pregnant, to Farrant in 1969, it was not long before things took an irrevocable turn which set into force a history most interested people are more familiar with today.
Farrant was made bankrupt in the summer of 1969 and also evicted from his London flat on the corner of Archway Road and Southwood Avenue. Mary returned to her parents in Southampton where she married someone with the surname "Coster" after divorcing Farrant. The children stayed with Mary in Southampton. The first, Jamie, was sired by Farrant; the second, Danny, was not. The children wanted nothing to do with Farrant. Then Jamie sought him out in the second decade of the new century. He now assists his father with the vendetta against Seán Manchester. Both Farrant and his son Jamie are idle, crude and vulgar. Danny wants absolutely nothing to do with Farrant.
Farrant, decades later, claimed he knew Seán Manchester (or knew of him) prior to 1970, but Seán Manchester was not part of that clique. Farrant had and still has no real interest in music, much less modern jazz which it is understood he absolutely detests. Seán Manchester was certainly not known to Farrant's tiny circle. Mary might have heard about Seán Manchester from Hill, but Hill, of course, was not involved in any of Seán Manchester's investigative pursuits and paranormal interests. Indeed, Hill was dismissive and sceptical about such things. Seán Manchester's encounter with Farrant came about solely because of the latter's correspondence in the Hampstead & Highgate Express which put the cat among the pigeons as far as his own research and hitherto private investigation at Highgate Cemetery was concerned. Seán Manchester nevertheless remained on friendly terms with Hill's wife. She resented Farrant's presence in her coal bunker, and gave Seán Manchester access to the cellar in which Farrant was ensconced. This occurred within days of Seán Manchester meeting Farrant at Highgate Cemetery so that the latter could point out where he had seen his "ghost," as confirmed on the front page of the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 March 1970. Seán Manchester's first impression of Farrant was that he was a tramp whose claims were unimpressive, confused and contradictory. In those early days, he put this down to the large quantities of alcohol Farrant consumed. As time passed, he realised Farrant was a charlatan.
Seán Manchester informed Farrant of nothing whatsoever when he spoke to him in the coal bunker. He merely asked a few questions which led to Farrant agreeing to show him where he had supposedly witnessed something ghostly and supernatural. It was the editor of the Hampstead & Highgate Express who told Farrant about the ongoing vampire investigation and put it to him in a brief interview, which was published on 6 March 1970. There was also the front-page revelations under the headline Does A Wampyr Walk In Highgate? that had appeared on 27 February 1970.
Anthony Hill had no affection for Farrant even though he took many of the incriminating photographs of Farrant at Highgate Cemetery, inside catacombs etc. Farrant disingenuously appealed in the media for someone by the name "Hutchinson" to come forward when he was seeking to overturn certain of his criminal convictions. He described "Hutchinson" as the journalist who took photographs of him in tombs, and that he alone could confirm that the damage was already extant.
The truth is that there was no "Hutchinson," only Hill whom Farrant did not want to be found, as it would have resulted in his credibility being shot to pieces. It was Hill who took the graveyard pictures of Farrant, save when newspaper staff photographers took pictures of him in Highgate Cemetery, which they did on a number of occasions. When David Farrant became homeless in August 1969, it was Anthony Hill who offered the now destitute Farrant his coal bunker (part of a large communal cellar where each tenant was provided with their own coal bunker) beneath his ground floor flat.
Hill's thinking was to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. He always regarded Farrant as his enemy and Farrant, in turn, as the man cuckolded by Hill, must have felt considerable resentment for his new landlord. It was toward the end of that year that Farrant decided upon a prank to fool the public and media alike. He did so in the presence of Hill, Hill's wife and various visitors during the relevant period. Some of these acquaintances agreed to allow their names and addresses to be used on fraudulent correspondence to a local newspaper. The author of the correspondence was Farrant who falsely attested to a "ghost." Hill agreed to the prank only in so far of it being an exercise to expose the gullibility of the media and general public. He wanted it to last no more than a few weeks. The problem for the pranksters was that there had been a history of unearthly manifestations being sighted in or near Highgate Cemetery. It reached back to not just the mid-1960s, but also Victorian times. This served to confuse matters as genuine correspondents writing to the Hampstead & Highgate Express mixed with fake ones in the early weeks of 1970 with Farrant boarding the vampire bandwagon, as he perceived it. At which point, Hill became exasperated and washed his hands of the whole business. Farrant was arrested in the cemetery on 17 August 1970 and thereafter did not return to Hill's coal bunker, his next place of residence being Brixton Prison. Hill is someone Farrant wants to airbrush out of the story for any number of reasons. Hill is content with him doing this because he has always avoided publicity and prefers to remain under the radar.
Hill, many years later, passed all his 1970 negatives of Farrant to Seán Manchester, and told him to do whatever he liked with them. Copyright was signed over when Seán Manchester took possession of the negative film showing Farrant cavorting about in Highgate Cemetery and pretending to be a ghost etc. Seán Manchester also acquired pictures taken at the vampire infested house in order to keep a record of what was going on, as this was a seminal moment, ie Farrant betraying symptoms of somebody demonically possessed. His diabolical lieutenant - John Pope - was already totally unhinged. Pope and Farrant were arrested at the house while attempting to summon a demon. Pope was later convicted of molestation of a minor. Farrant, in the same year, was convicted of numerous offences that included threatening witnesses with black magic and performing black magic at Highgate Cemetery, vandalising a mausoleum, desecration and offering indignity to corpses.
Anthony Hill did not introduce Seán Manchester to David Farrant in The Woodman pub or anywhere else. Seán Manchester was told that Farrant was in The Woodman one Friday night when he was performing with a jazz group, but it would have meant nothing to him. In any case, the name Farrant went by was "Allan" and that is how Hill would have referred to him if he did refer to him. Surnames were not used. The context of this history must be viewed through one important and often ignored fact: Hill's pursuit of the then recently married Mary Olden, a barmaid in The Woodman. Seán Manchester was aware of Hill's infatuation with the barmaid. He later learned that Mary Farrant, the barmaid, was married to "Allan," but he still didn't have a clue who Farrant was, as the latter was not a friend of Hill. He was, if anything, an obstacle to Hill's ambition, ie Mary, but not for very long.
Hill (himself married to a female also known to Seán Manchester) and Mary ran off together in 1968. Seán Manchester made clear his disapproval and there came a falling out between the pair. Moreover, Hill worked part-time for Seán Manchester in the darkroom at his studio. In the mornings, Hill was a milkman. He worked afternoons at the studio. Seán Manchester was inconvenienced by Hill's affair with Mary. They had run off together to Devon and Hill's employment was abruptly terminated. The schism did not resolve for some considerable time. When Hill eventually returned to his wife and Mary returned, pregnant, to Farrant in 1969, it was not long before things took an irrevocable turn which set into force a history most interested people are more familiar with today.
Farrant was made bankrupt in the summer of 1969 and also evicted from his London flat on the corner of Archway Road and Southwood Avenue. Mary returned to her parents in Southampton where she married someone with the surname "Coster" after divorcing Farrant. The children stayed with Mary in Southampton. The first, Jamie, was sired by Farrant; the second, Danny, was not. The children wanted nothing to do with Farrant. Then Jamie sought him out in the second decade of the new century. He now assists his father with the vendetta against Seán Manchester. Both Farrant and his son Jamie are idle, crude and vulgar. Danny wants absolutely nothing to do with Farrant.
Farrant, decades later, claimed he knew Seán Manchester (or knew of him) prior to 1970, but Seán Manchester was not part of that clique. Farrant had and still has no real interest in music, much less modern jazz which it is understood he absolutely detests. Seán Manchester was certainly not known to Farrant's tiny circle. Mary might have heard about Seán Manchester from Hill, but Hill, of course, was not involved in any of Seán Manchester's investigative pursuits and paranormal interests. Indeed, Hill was dismissive and sceptical about such things. Seán Manchester's encounter with Farrant came about solely because of the latter's correspondence in the Hampstead & Highgate Express which put the cat among the pigeons as far as his own research and hitherto private investigation at Highgate Cemetery was concerned. Seán Manchester nevertheless remained on friendly terms with Hill's wife. She resented Farrant's presence in her coal bunker, and gave Seán Manchester access to the cellar in which Farrant was ensconced. This occurred within days of Seán Manchester meeting Farrant at Highgate Cemetery so that the latter could point out where he had seen his "ghost," as confirmed on the front page of the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 March 1970. Seán Manchester's first impression of Farrant was that he was a tramp whose claims were unimpressive, confused and contradictory. In those early days, he put this down to the large quantities of alcohol Farrant consumed. As time passed, he realised Farrant was a charlatan.
Seán Manchester informed Farrant of nothing whatsoever when he spoke to him in the coal bunker. He merely asked a few questions which led to Farrant agreeing to show him where he had supposedly witnessed something ghostly and supernatural. It was the editor of the Hampstead & Highgate Express who told Farrant about the ongoing vampire investigation and put it to him in a brief interview, which was published on 6 March 1970. There was also the front-page revelations under the headline Does A Wampyr Walk In Highgate? that had appeared on 27 February 1970.
Anthony Hill had no affection for Farrant even though he took many of the incriminating photographs of Farrant at Highgate Cemetery, inside catacombs etc. Farrant disingenuously appealed in the media for someone by the name "Hutchinson" to come forward when he was seeking to overturn certain of his criminal convictions. He described "Hutchinson" as the journalist who took photographs of him in tombs, and that he alone could confirm that the damage was already extant.
The truth is that there was no "Hutchinson," only Hill whom Farrant did not want to be found, as it would have resulted in his credibility being shot to pieces. It was Hill who took the graveyard pictures of Farrant, save when newspaper staff photographers took pictures of him in Highgate Cemetery, which they did on a number of occasions. When David Farrant became homeless in August 1969, it was Anthony Hill who offered the now destitute Farrant his coal bunker (part of a large communal cellar where each tenant was provided with their own coal bunker) beneath his ground floor flat.
Hill's thinking was to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. He always regarded Farrant as his enemy and Farrant, in turn, as the man cuckolded by Hill, must have felt considerable resentment for his new landlord. It was toward the end of that year that Farrant decided upon a prank to fool the public and media alike. He did so in the presence of Hill, Hill's wife and various visitors during the relevant period. Some of these acquaintances agreed to allow their names and addresses to be used on fraudulent correspondence to a local newspaper. The author of the correspondence was Farrant who falsely attested to a "ghost." Hill agreed to the prank only in so far of it being an exercise to expose the gullibility of the media and general public. He wanted it to last no more than a few weeks. The problem for the pranksters was that there had been a history of unearthly manifestations being sighted in or near Highgate Cemetery. It reached back to not just the mid-1960s, but also Victorian times. This served to confuse matters as genuine correspondents writing to the Hampstead & Highgate Express mixed with fake ones in the early weeks of 1970 with Farrant boarding the vampire bandwagon, as he perceived it. At which point, Hill became exasperated and washed his hands of the whole business. Farrant was arrested in the cemetery on 17 August 1970 and thereafter did not return to Hill's coal bunker, his next place of residence being Brixton Prison. Hill is someone Farrant wants to airbrush out of the story for any number of reasons. Hill is content with him doing this because he has always avoided publicity and prefers to remain under the radar.
Hill, many years later, passed all his 1970 negatives of Farrant to Seán Manchester, and told him to do whatever he liked with them. Copyright was signed over when Seán Manchester took possession of the negative film showing Farrant cavorting about in Highgate Cemetery and pretending to be a ghost etc. Seán Manchester also acquired pictures taken at the vampire infested house in order to keep a record of what was going on, as this was a seminal moment, ie Farrant betraying symptoms of somebody demonically possessed. His diabolical lieutenant - John Pope - was already totally unhinged. Pope and Farrant were arrested at the house while attempting to summon a demon. Pope was later convicted of molestation of a minor. Farrant, in the same year, was convicted of numerous offences that included threatening witnesses with black magic and performing black magic at Highgate Cemetery, vandalising a mausoleum, desecration and offering indignity to corpses.
