Chester, Cheshire 1155

“Built in 1155, the interior of the hotel reflects its heritage – as do the ghosts that roam the bedrooms and the cellar…”

Am I researching more haunted pubs as an excuse to visit more haunted pubs? Yes, but this is our website, so sue me. Joking (I’m not joking) aside, old pubs have such a special place in my heart. If I hear a pub is from 1100s, then I am down.

The Pied Bull Inn in Chester was built back in 1155 and is considered the oldest continuously licensed premises in Chester, which I think is quite a feat! The building served as a coaching inn and has seen many, many travellers walk through its doors seeking refuge from their long journeys up and down the U.K. You can see an impressive wooden staircase in the pub today, which originates from 1533 when the hotel was known as the Bull Mansion. 1784 saw John Paul run a coach service from Chester to Birkenhead, which continued it’s reputation for being a restful place for even more travellers. With the sheer number of people spending their nights in the Pied Bull Inn, it’s no wonder there’s speculation of a ghostly visitor or two…

John Davies

One of the most commonly named ghosts staying at Pied Bull Inn is the spirit of John Davies. Being known for his clumsiness (hard relate), John worked at the Bull in 1690 when it was a coaching inn. He needed to enter the cellar one day, and so traversed the stone staircase down whilst carrying a knife.. which I’m sure he needed for work purposes, not nefarious purposes… A mistaken step, a stumble, and John flew down the staircase in a crash and a thump. Do you remember the knife he was holding? Yeah…

The next day his body was discovered in a pool of blood at the base of the staircase. He may have survived the fall itself, I’ve fallen down stairs many times, but the knife plunging out of his chest robbed him of existence. Since this accident, not many staff members enjoy descending into the cellar, especially in the dark. I imagine the knives are kept well away from staircases, too.

Staff have reported experiencing gusts of chilling wind at the base of the stairs accompanied by the feeling of being watched. Some have even gone as far as claiming to momentarily seeing the lifeless body of John laying in the cellar. Customers have, on occasion, seen John in the Inn’s lounge, relaxing in an armchair with a book in hand - nice to know that you can still ‘chill out’ in the afterlife.

Stable Hand

Believed to be around the same time as klutz John Davies, another ghost occupies the Pied Bull Inn - a stable hand with a gnarly burn. Working in the stables of the coaching inn, another bout of clumsiness would see the stable hand knock a lit lantern onto a pile of dry hay.

The conditions made it impossible to stop the fire from growing, and valiantly try as he might to control the fire, the stable hand unfortunately perished in the blaze. There has been reports of a boy, with burns on most of his body, roaming the corridors of the Pied Bull Inn.

There is, however, a different tale for the burnt stable hand that is not as brave or heroic… "A stableman fell asleep in the stables attached to the pub and burnt to death in the fire caused by his lit pipe and he still makes his presence felt in the ground floor rooms," Mary Ann Cameron, author of Chester: A City of Ghosts, explains. Are there two burnt stable hands? Or is one story more true than the other?

Chambermaid

A phantom chambermaid, very original, dressed in an apron and frilled hat. This maid has been seen cleaning rooms 7, 8, and 9. Apparently, no one has ever been able to interact with this spirit, she goes about her chores as if stuck on a loop. Could this be more of a time echo than a ghost?

Room 9

Something a little more sinister than our chambermaid lurks in Room 9. A few customers have reported spotting the figure of a man in the corner of Room 9, as well as some brave customers taking photographs to discover strange lights and outlines of people.

‘Apparently, a couple staying at the pub once decided to take some photographs of their room. When they developed the film later, they discovered one image of the wife standing by the fireplace with a blue misty human size shape beside her.’ - Carmella de Lucia, 2016

Have you ever dared to spend a night in the Pied Bull Inn? Have you experienced anything… odd?