An unassuming Somerset hotel is said to be one of Britain’s most haunted pubs. The Choughs in Chard featured in an episode of the TV series Most Haunted in 2004 – and you can watch the full show below.
The creepy High Street pub, named after a type of crow, dates back to the 16th century. Early in his life he survived a fire that swept through Chard in 1578.
The historic hotel has over 400 years of stories to tell and its walls witnessed one of the bloodiest battles in the West Country. Legend has it that the pub is said to be home to a number of spirits, including the ghost of a young girl that many people claim to have seen walking around the building.
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Speaking on Most Haunted, historian Richard Felix said: “It has a very, very interesting story, the main part of it is 1685 and the Battle of Sedgemoor. That’s when Judge Jeffries came here and led the bloody assizes and there was some report of 12 men from Chard being tried at the old courthouse up the road and they were all hanged – some of them tortured, some of them hanged, pulled and quartered in great agony.
“Judge Jeffries is said to have stayed here at the hotel at the time of the assizes. This building was also a school for a time, and it was reputed to be a brothel.
“Who knows how many different atrocities have been committed at the pub.” You can watch the most haunted episode below.
Pub owner Jason Baker told Most Haunted in 2004 that strange things were found in the building, including a small coffin with a dead bird inside, and the headstone of a woman named Winnefrid was used as part of a stone wall. inside the pub. Mr Baker said: “When we first moved in, our eldest daughter used to play in her bedroom and we couldn’t figure out why she was playing hide and seek by herself.
“She used to tell us that she was playing with a friend, but there was no one there. She would often leave and talk to someone, but there was no one else there- low.”
On the TV show, Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding revealed: “The ghost of a girl called Elizabeth was seen walking through a hotel room and has been known to play with children who live here. Apparently she committed suicide in 1845 by drinking poison because she didn’t want to end up being a prostitute like her mother and sister.”
The Choughs, High Street, Chard
Speaking on Most Haunted, then-owner Marie Baker said: “Shannon, our eldest, wouldn’t come down our back stairs, which lead to a back room. She said she saw someone ‘one with a sword.’
Historian Mr Felix added: “There is a report that someone was stabbed to death in one of the bedrooms. On many occasions people sleeping in this room saw a dark, hovering shape in the corner of the room and moving across the room towards the foot of the bed.”
Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding also revealed apparitions were also seen in the bar. These sightings included the ghostly figures of an elderly couple.
Owner Mr Baker said: “We had what appeared to be people walking behind the bar, and you couldn’t really see them but you could smell them and hear them. We also had people walking around would appear in the doors and then disappear.”
Owner Marie added: “There’s something going on here – I’m not sure what, but there is something.”
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Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-26 07:00:00
