Middleton, Greater Manchester 12th Century

“Heavy footsteps, violent stone throwing, dark tales of a druid temple and buried dismembered body parts…” Becky Keane, 2015.

Yes, yes, it’s another haunted pub. But cut me some slack, they’re my favourite! We’re off to Middleton, in Greater Manchester, for this dreaded drinkery. The foundations, on which the pub is situated, are thought to date all the way back to Saxon times and, supposedly, during the Iron Age, a Druidical temple stood on this spot. This area is old old. Many a dark sacrifice may have taken place in the Druidical temple, so who knows what angry or vengeful spirits may continue to linger.

Speaking of spirits… once built the building served as a refectory for monks brewing various ales during the Middle Ages, probably in the very cellar that still serves as alcohol storage in the pub today.

Speaking of spirits (hehe)… the main resident ghost of Ring O’ Bells Inn is known as the ‘Sad Cavalier’ or just Edward to the landlords. He has been spotted by patrons dressed in his Royalist costume, but often can be noticed through less visual methods such as footstep sounds on the stairs and upper floors, glasses moving on their own, peculiar moans and grunts. The landlord once experienced a hurtling rock to his shoulder in the cellar… whilst all alone.. at midnight no less!

What’s his story? Well, tradition claims that the Sad Cavalier was the son of Lord Stannycliffe of Stannycliffe Hall in the 1600's, his family were die-hard Royalists and unfortunately (for them) Middleton was a very Parliamentarian area with the locally loved Old Boars Head pub becoming the Roundhead's headquarters. A group of Royalist resisters, including our Sad Cavalier Edward, would meet in secret in the cellar of the Ring O’ Bells Inn.

The cellars were reportedly linked to Middleton Parish Church by a secret tunnel, which would become the Royalist’s escape route if discovered. One day a betrayal took place, and Lord Stannycliffe’s son was reported to the Roundheads whilst in the Ring O’ Bells Inn. And so he took his leave through the secret tunnel in the cellar, only to be met by Roundheads awaiting him in the church… uh oh. They, supposedly, killed and buried him under the flagstones of the cellar, and apparently remains there to this day. Excavations have taken place with historic helmets and pikes being discovered under the cellar floor, dating back to the 1600's, but no human remains were found at that time.

They did try again, however, and skeletons of several bodies were unearthed from deep under the cellar. Belt buckles, weapons and other material indicated they were from the English Civil War, of which our Sad Cavalier dates back to.

But the worst is yet to come. Forget Civil War betrayals, there are rumours that the building was home to a husband and wife, landlords of the pub in the 17th Century, who did a bit of murdering themselves…

The story goes that the landlord and his wife murdered over 60 of their wealthiest guests by tipping them out of a mechanically charged bed into a vat of boiling liquid. They’d then help themselves to their riches, trinkets and treasures. Although I wouldn’t call it making an ‘honest’ living, it was certainly a way of keeping the pub’s bills paid.

Have you been to Ring O’ Bells Inn and experienced any ghostly happenings? Let us know below!