The Berkeley Arms is housed within a 3
storey building that dates from 1467, with the cellar walls being from around
the 11th century and is full of oak beams, open fires, along with a ghostly
tale as you would expect from a building of this age.
According
to the Tewkesbury Historical Society , the
pub was once known as Dr Dees; it may have previously been known as the Queen's
Arms. In the 1980's a sealed up room was opened up and the floor was entirely
covered with old books from the 19th century.
There
have been several publicans throughout the years and one of these is said to
still pop into the pub from time to time. Ruby & Philip Jones took over the
pub in 1969 and it became very popular. It is said that Ruby Jones took no
nonsense during the 23 years that she and her husband ran the pub. Ruby banned
one patron called Bobby, amongst others she also banned. Several years after
Ruby passed away, Bobby's wife Sue worked at the pub, and she was discussing
the fact that Ruby wouldn't have liked the fact that Bobby now came into the
pub and his wife was working behind the bar, when all of a sudden, several pint
glasses flew off the shelf and hit Sue on the back of her legs, but the glasses
didn't break. It shocked Sue but she said the reason the glasses didn't break
was due to Ruby not wanting to waste money on replacing smashed glasses!
Upstairs
in the living quarters, there is a man seen on the staircase, who wears dark
clothing and has been seen walking through walls and closed doors. Rumour has
it that this man was killed in a duel over a card game played on the premises.
You can visit the Berkeley Arms virtually here
