This
building, dating back from 1308, was also known as Ye Olde Black Bear Inn as
well as the Black Bear Inn, has undergone renovations and has reopened.
Said
to be the oldest pub in Gloucestershire and the third oldest in the country,
this building has seen many changes in its 700 years plus history, so it’s no
surprise, that it is also said to be very haunted. What was once the stables,
was said to have been used as a hospital during the Battle of Tewkesbury in
1471.
There
were a set of medieval horseshoes that were found during earlier renovation
works. They were found in what was once the dining area. They were hung on the
wall in that room but there were witnesses who stated that these horseshoes
were flung off the wall by an invisible force and would fly halfway across the
room! It has also been said that any landlord that has moved the horseshoes to
another room, wasn’t successful in running the pub.
There
has been a Cavalier soldier seen towards the back of the building plus the
sound of horses’ hooves, cantering outside the pub. There
have also been sightings of a headless man, who is dragging chains behind him.
It has been thought that this may have been a Lancastrian soldier who was
executed further up from the Black Bear.
A
more sweeter sighting has been that of an old lady, all dressed in black, who
would sit in the corner of the smallest room of the pub. By all accounts, she
looked so solid that patrons of the pub would offer to buy her a drink but when
returning to her, she had disappeared.
In
what was the front bar, there was a leather ceiling but before it had
previously been renovated, there had been a small bar that experienced
poltergeist activity. Glasses and bottles would just fly off the shelves and
this would happen late into the night. When last orders were called, if a
drinker was taking too long with drinking up, an unseen force would knock the half-filled
glasses from the drinkers’ hands. Maybe it was a previous landlord or landlady
who wanted to quickly get rid of the stragglers so the current publican
wouldn’t lose their licence.
I look forward to visiting the Black Bear pub once it’s reopened and maybe to bump into a ghost or two!
If you've had a spooky experience in this pub, then I want to hear about it. Contact me here
