The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire
The Ancient Ram Inn is a place that is remarkable for its age alone. The former village inn of Wotton Under Edge, Gloucestershire has survived intact for 872 years, avoiding fire, demolition, and redevelopment. It is the oldest building in Wotton. It boasts the most ancient wooden window frame in Britain- and has the oldest surviving board for the game, Nine Men’s Morris, which someone carved into its stone inglenook in 1540. However, the former pub is home not only to its elderly owner but also 20 ghosts, earning it the title of most haunted house in Britain.
The site of the inn may have been in use for thousands of years. In 1997, the ancient bone fragments of children and an iron knife were discovered under the kitchen, leading to speculation that the inn covers an old pagan burial site. However, without full archaeological investigation, there is no way of substantiating this. What is known is that the Inn was built in 1145 when William FitzRobert, heir to Lord Berkley was the first rector of Wotton. The Ancient Ram probably started life as the house of the local priest.
By the end of the reign of King John in 1216, much of Wotton had been destroyed by fire- all except the Ancient Ram. It now became a kind of hostel for artisans and labourers building the Church of St Mary the Virgin in the centre of the village. Later weavers occupied the attic, and the inn eventually became a pub.
In the twentieth century, it changed hands frequently, and by 1965 was in decline, crumbling, riddled with deathwatch beetle and fast losing customers. Declining and unprofitable, the brewery put it up for sale. It narrowly avoided being demolished as part of a road-widening scheme. But in 1968, John Humphries purchased it.
Before Mr. Humphries moved in, there are few documented accounts of hauntings. Guests who stayed in what is known as The Bishop’s Room were said to have fled the premises in terror during the night. But little more is known. However, Mr. Humphries claims to have been dragged from his bed on his very first night in the inn. His daughter also stated that she once awoke to find a chest of drawers hovering above her before she, her mother and sisters decamped to a caravan.
Since then, Humphries and assorted ghost hunters have identified the spirits of a witch, a high priestess, a murdered woman, several crying children, a monk and an incubus and succubus as sharing the premises with him. How true all of this is can only be speculated. But as one reporter said, its the history and survival of The Ancient Ram that makes it exceptional. It doesn’t need the ghosts.
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