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Haunted Pubs / Pub Hauntings

Dick Turpin said:
I was a frequent visitor to the Harlequin back in the day Vic. That’s when George used to own the pub. He later on bought the Shakespeare’s head. Haven’t been back in years so I don’t know if he is still running things there. His late night afters (some people refer to them as lock in’s) were legendary :)
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Pre/post match drinks?

I mainly used to go to the Plimsoll Arms/Auld Triangle.

The Harlequin was a couple of miles from where you used to live so perhaps a "local?'
 
Victory said:
Pre/post match drinks?

I mainly used to go to the Plimsoll Arms/Auld Triangle.

The Harlequin was a couple of miles from where you used to live so perhaps a "local?'
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It was more of a mates local really Vic. He lived round the corner in Myddleton Square.

I’m talking very late 80’s / early 90’s when I was a frequenter of the Harlequin. George, had the pub back then, and he was the brother in law to Lenny Maclean, who as you probably know, was an all-round east end ‘ard nut, and who played Barry the Baptist in the film lock stock.
 
Dick Turpin said:
It was more of a mates local really Vic. He lived round the corner in Myddleton Square.

I’m talking very late 80’s / early 90’s when I was a frequenter of the Harlequin. George, had the pub back then, and he was the brother in law to Lenny Maclean, who as you probably know, was an all-round east end ‘ard nut, and who played Barry the Baptist in the film lock stock.
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One of the nicest squares in London.

That's interesting about George.
I never met the late Lenny McLean but you'll know he was from nearby Hoxton, and a cousin of Frank Warren's.

I met his rival the late Roy Shaw though.
Quiet and polite, I had the impression he had a long fuse, but could truly explode .
 
Victory said:
One of the nicest squares in London.

That's interesting about George.
I never met the late Lenny McLean but you'll know he was from nearby Hoxton, and a cousin of Frank Warren's.

I met his rival the late Roy Shaw though.
Quiet and polite, I had the impression he had a long fuse, but could truly explode .
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My brother in law, is Lenny’s second cousin. He won’t admit it though as he thinks he’s posh ‘cos he moved to Loughton :D :D :D

I met Lenny Mclean on a few occasions Vic, when he popped into the pub to see George. Like Shaw, he was pleasant, polite and friendly, but like a bloody volcano ready to pop at any given moment. You had to be very careful on your choice of words if he was around, no bad language in front of the ladies etc.
 
Dick Turpin said:
My brother in law, is Lenny’s second cousin. He won’t admit it though as he thinks he’s posh ‘cos he moved to Loughton :D :D :D

I met Lenny Mclean on a few occasions Vic, when he popped into the pub to see George. Like Shaw, he was pleasant, polite and friendly, but like a bloody volcano ready to pop at any given moment. You had to be very careful on your choice of words if he was around, no bad language in front of the ladies etc.
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I can imagine what that was like.


Contains violence.

 
All this talk of the Harlequin has jogged my memory a little bit. I used know a guy who was a gentle giant. He must have been 6ft 5 at least, and you couldn’t have met a nicer fellah. Quiet, unassuming, polite and very respectful. Give him two pints of lager however and he’d turn into an absolute prat.

One night we’d been drinking in the area, and finished up in the Harlequin. Before we’d even been served he asked the barmaid (who was Lenny Maclean’s daughter) to get her t**s out. Oh my gawd, I literally bundled him out of the pub as quick as I could, which was a bit difficult due to the size of him and left my Myddleton Sq. mate to try to calm down the regulars.

To be fair though, the next day he walked back into the pub with the biggest bunch flowers he could afford, as an apology.
 
Dick Turpin said:
Some years ago channel 4 (maybe channel 5..?) did a top 100 scary movie moments show, and that first scene above was voted in the top 30 (I think)

Great scene, great acting. Scary character
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Pesci is a very versatile actor. Shame they didn't give him more work.
 
I took my brother and his wife up to the Lion Inn for a meal on Sunday night. https://lionblakey.co.uk/

We were eating and a couple of (very very) drunk men at the next table were talking to each other about how they were staying three nights in the pub. Presumably they were walkers, using the pub as a base, but the way they were carrying on I feared they may just be spending three nights in the bar. They then engaged the waitress in conversation, and talking about being in 'the haunted room', while the waitress was trying to reassure them that the ghost was very friendly. This is the first I've heard of said ghost, and I need to investigate further...
 
catseye said:
I took my brother and his wife up to the Lion Inn for a meal on Sunday night. https://lionblakey.co.uk/

We were eating and a couple of (very very) drunk men at the next table were talking to each other about how they were staying three nights in the pub. Presumably they were walkers, using the pub as a base, but the way they were carrying on I feared they may just be spending three nights in the bar. They then engaged the waitress in conversation, and talking about being in 'the haunted room', while the waitress was trying to reassure them that the ghost was very friendly. This is the first I've heard of said ghost, and I need to investigate further...
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Found this.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thelioninn/ghost-t276.html
 
Just trying to remember if I have ever posted this story before-don't think I have! Many years ago (in the 70's) when I was a young man me and a mate walked out one summers eve from the small town where we usually drank to a little village about five miles away, it was a lovely sunny evening and we got to the pub (The Gate at Ratcliffe Culey - not sure if it still exists) about seven in the evening and got ourselves a pint. The only other people in the pub were two elderly men at the bar talking to the landlord, we weren't really listening to what they were saying but the landlord suddenly turned to us and said to us 'you can hear him can't you?' When I listened I could hear someone walking about upstairs and doors opening and closing so I said yes and he said 'you can go and have a look if you want but there's nobody up there - it's the ghost'!
 
BlackPeter said:
Just trying to remember if I have ever posted this story before-don't think I have! Many years ago (in the 70's) when I was a young man me and a mate walked out one summers eve from the small town where we usually drank to a little village about five miles away, it was a lovely sunny evening and we got to the pub (The Gate at Ratcliffe Culey - not sure if it still exists) about seven in the evening and got ourselves a pint. The only other people in the pub were two elderly men at the bar talking to the landlord, we weren't really listening to what they were saying but the landlord suddenly turned to us and said to us 'you can hear him can't you?' When I listened I could hear someone walking about upstairs and doors opening and closing so I said yes and he said 'you can go and have a look if you want but there's nobody up there - it's the ghost'!
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According to the interweb it was destroyed by fire in 1952 resulting in the deaths of the landlord and 2 patrons. :oops:










Only kidding, it's still open. :p

the-gate-inn.jpg
 
catseye said:
I took my brother and his wife up to the Lion Inn for a meal on Sunday night. https://lionblakey.co.uk/

We were eating and a couple of (very very) drunk men at the next table were talking to each other about how they were staying three nights in the pub. Presumably they were walkers, using the pub as a base, but the way they were carrying on I feared they may just be spending three nights in the bar. They then engaged the waitress in conversation, and talking about being in 'the haunted room', while the waitress was trying to reassure them that the ghost was very friendly. This is the first I've heard of said ghost, and I need to investigate further...
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I'd emailed them just after I read this and they replied, "No, nothing to report at The Lion Inn."
 
DrPaulLee said:
I'd emailed them just after I read this and they replied, "No, nothing to report at The Lion Inn."
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Did you not refer them to Nosmo's post above? There was deffo something going on in 2008! (But I know that management may well have changed since then, of course. But the waitress knew all about 'something', unless she was just playing along with the two drunk guys).
 
WeirdExeter said:
True, a lot of the properly old pubs seem to have a well either within the building or very close by. Sometimes these old wells are not discovered until renovations take place:

Examples off the top of my head:

https://whatpub.com/pubs/EXE/273/well-house-tavern-exeter

https://whatpub.com/pubs/NDE/272/kings-arms-winkleigh
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Many breweries were located where there was a source of good water for brewing. Many breweries had their own outlet pub adjacent as well as other local hostleries etc. This often led to problems locally , the sad story of how Mr Pinch, the Brewer, inadvertently jeopardized the flow of hot water to Baths famous hot baths is a well known example of this. More details can be had from the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) on their shiny new(ish) website.
 
Eyespy said:
Many breweries were located where there was a source of good water for brewing. Many breweries had their own outlet pub adjacent as well as other local hostleries etc. This often led to problems locally , the sad story of how Mr Pinch, the Brewer, inadvertently jeopardized the flow of hot water to Baths famous hot baths is a well known example of this. More details can be had from the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) on their shiny new(ish) website.
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A Cheshire pub owner recently discovered a lucrative freshwater spring under his very feet -
(Safe Cheshire News link)
Gold rush for Macclesfield landlord after staggering find under pub

Doran Binder bought the Crag Inn in Wildboarclough, near Macclesfield, in 2016. He was, he says, at "rock bottom" at the time because of his divorce.

Not long after taking on the small country pub, he had to get the water tested as part of an annual inspection to make sure it was safe for the public to drink.

But despite fearing he was going to end up having to dig deep, the outcome couldn't have been more different.

For Doran soon learned that the aquifer that runs 27 metres below the pub flowed with some of the purest water in the world.


And with 700,000 litres of it - enough to fill more than a million bottles a day - he found himself sitting on liquid gold.
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We'll be pedalling along there soon for a taste! :wink2:

There are several pubs in the area with their 'own' water. Some will give you a pint of it, others charge.
This water sounds very posh indeed!
 
About a mile from here is a posh estate with 4 I think big new houses,
they are on the site of a very big pub called the Fernhill, it was owned
by Little Jimmy Clitheroe.
The pub was reputed to be haunted by Jimmy and since it has been
demolished Jimmy is said to have moved to one of the new builds,
I don't know anyone that lives there so cant check on any of this but
I did visit when the pub was open never saw a thing and I visited once
or twice when it was empty and it did have a feeling about it, the new
builds took ages to sell and often seem to come up for sale but why I
don't know.
 
RaM said:
About a mile from here is a posh estate with 4 I think big new houses,
they are on the site of a very big pub called the Fernhill, it was owned
by Little Jimmy Clitheroe.
The pub was reputed to be haunted by Jimmy and since it has been
demolished Jimmy is said to have moved to one of the new builds,
I don't know anyone that lives there so cant check on any of this but
I did visit when the pub was open never saw a thing and I visited once
or twice when it was empty and it did have a feeling about it, the new
builds took ages to sell and often seem to come up for sale but why I
don't know.
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Fancy that, I'd never heard of Jimmy Clitheroe's ghost before!
He later moved to a bungalow in Blackpool. Google Maps has a photo -

Jimmy Clitheroe's Bungalow

I s'pose a bungalow would be easier for him to get around than would a house, and of course he had his mother living with him all his life.

He died of an accidental overdose on the day of her funeral. You'd think he'd be more likely to haunt the bungalow after that.
 
escargot said:
Fancy that, I'd never heard of Jimmy Clitheroe's ghost before!
He later moved to a bungalow in Blackpool. Google Maps has a photo -

Jimmy Clitheroe's Bungalow

I s'pose a bungalow would be easier for him to get around than would a house, and of course he had his mother living with him all his life.

He died of an accidental overdose on the day of her funeral. You'd think he'd be more likely to haunt the bungalow after that.
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Poor old Jimmy. :(
 
Well you would but I never heard of it,
I did visit this place a few times when it was semi derelict, it's not
mentioned in the link but it had a big theatre with a good sized
stage, if anywhere wanted saving this place did what a shame.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illawalla

The pipe line mentioned when to ICI at Thornton were they made
mustard gas among other nasty's, were the line goes nobody knows
well any that do aren't telling. There's another or was pipe line from
ICI to the salt mines behind our village one caved in swallowing a farm
lucky they knew it was coming and no one was injured.

https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/...industry-which-changed-face-lancashire-199501
 
RaM said:
About a mile from here is a posh estate with 4 I think big new houses,
they are on the site of a very big pub called the Fernhill, it was owned
by Little Jimmy Clitheroe.
The pub was reputed to be haunted by Jimmy and since it has been
demolished Jimmy is said to have moved to one of the new builds,
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Even ghosts like their creature comforts.

the new builds took ages to sell and often seem to come up for sale but why I don't know.
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Residents probably can’t stand the midget ghost lurking.
 
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RaM said:
About a mile from here is a posh estate with 4 I think big new houses,
they are on the site of a very big pub called the Fernhill, it was owned
by Little Jimmy Clitheroe.
The pub was reputed to be haunted by Jimmy and since it has been
demolished Jimmy is said to have moved to one of the new builds,
I don't know anyone that lives there so cant check on any of this but
I did visit when the pub was open never saw a thing and I visited once
or twice when it was empty and it did have a feeling about it, the new
builds took ages to sell and often seem to come up for sale but why I
don't know.
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I do find the concept of newly built houses being haunted very interesting.

Back in 2005 we looked at a new build on the eastern side of Essex, not far from Clacton on sea. It looked perfect for us on right move. Detached, about 6 years old, beautifully decorated, 4 decent sized bedrooms, ( 2 with ensuite) a fair sized back garden, and reasonably priced.

The only problem was the houses history. In the 6 years it had been built no one had lived in the property for longer than a year. One person was only in there for three months, which meant that whoever it was must have put the house back on the market immediately after moving in.

I assumed bully neighbours perhaps, but I met both sets of neighbours when I viewed the property and both sets were middle aged, nice, polite and friendly.

We didn’t take the house, I couldn’t feel anything odd about the place while walking around inside, but the history of the place put us off a bit.
 
There's a charity shop near where I live with a multitude of ghost stories (the convenience shop next door may also have some spectral overspill too). Before it was built the land was fields and farmland. I've looked at old ordnance survey Maps and there was nothing there beforehand. So where did the spooks come from??
 
Dick Turpin said:
I do find the concept of newly built houses being haunted very interesting.

Back in 2005 we looked at a new build on the eastern side of Essex, not far from Clacton on sea. It looked perfect for us on right move. Detached, about 6 years old, beautifully decorated, 4 decent sized bedrooms, ( 2 with ensuite) a fair sized back garden, and reasonably priced.

The only problem was the houses history. In the 6 years it had been built no one had lived in the property for longer than a year. One person was only in there for three months, which meant that whoever it was must have put the house back on the market immediately after moving in.

I assumed bully neighbours perhaps, but I met both sets of neighbours when I viewed the property and both sets were middle aged, nice, polite and friendly.

We didn’t take the house, I couldn’t feel anything odd about the place while walking around inside, but the history of the place put us off a bit.
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Do you know if the 6 residents had bought or could they have been renting from the owner?

6 owners in 6 years is certainly unusual..
 
A friend lives in a modernish bungalow, when I cat sit I have seen
what I at first thought was a young lad in shorts walk down the drive
through the kitchen window, went out thinking he may have lost is ball,
nothing there, after a few sightings I decided it was a ghost of a young
lad in football strip.
I asked the owners and they see it to but think it's a roman solder in one
of those short skirt type things don't know what they are called.
We did a bit of looking into history round there and found that not only
was the drive built on the line of a old Roman rd but there also used to
be a football pitch at the back of the house, so the jury's still out on what
we are seeing.
 
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