The Golden Fleece

WildChild68 · Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Yorkshire, UK

Description: This is a picturesque, 'oldy worldy' little inn with a golden ram hanging above the door. It has a wooden frame and no foundation, giving it crooked ceilings and uneven floors.

Era: The building was first mentioned in the archives in 1503 and served as a coaching inn for generations. It is thought to be the oldest licensed premises in York.

History:
~ The inn gets its present name and distinctive sign from The Merchant Adventurers who owned it and who were responsible for the burgeoning woollen trade based on the River Ouse.
~ Richard Booth, the landlord of the inn in 1667, minted his own coin - as a number of York merchants were allowed to do at this time - showing the pub sign on one side.
~ After the Restoration an Effigy of Oliver Cromwell hung for some years in the pavement opposite the inn.
~ The yard at the rear is named after Lady Alice Peckett, whose husband John was the Lord Mayor of York and also owned this historic inn around 1702.
~ In times gone by, the cellar was used to store the bodies of people who were hung at Bale Hill before the families came to claim them.
~ In 1852 it was re-named the Golden Hart but then reverted to the Golden Fleece.
~ During WWII a Canadian Airman died here but it isn't clear whether he committed suicide by hanging himself, or fell out of a window while drunk.

Ghost ratings:
~ In the bottom bar patrons have been known to be joined by 'One Eyed Jack', a ghost dressed in 16th/17th century dress including a red coat and carrying a pistol, and who paces up and down the room. Mediums say he met his end here.
~ In a tiny alcove in the bottom bar a phantom grumpy old man has been seen by many visitors
~ The top bar plays host to the ghost of a young boy dressed in Victorian attire. He is supposed to be the spirit of a child who was trampled to death by a brewer's dray.
~ The figure of a little girl is said to appear and disappear in the kitchen
~ Upstairs in the function room a spectral woman has been seen walking through a wall as well as staring out of the window.
~ The ghost of an old lady has been seen in both the Shambles Room and Lady Peckett's Room. Could this be Lady Peckett herself?
~ A younger lady dressed in black has been seen walking past the window inside St. Catherine's Room. This has actually been caught on video by a guest staying in the Shambles Room when all the other guests were at breakfast
~ Roman soldiers have been seen in the cellar.
Lady Peckett has been clerely seen many times in the garden, accompanied by a sweet smell of perfume

Spooky experiences:
~ Overall people have reported doors banging and people running up and down the corridors and stairs, knocking on doors.
~ Mysterious lights have been seen inside the bottom bar from the road
~ Various members of staff have felt inexplicably sick, while several more, including the previous landlady, have felt a tightening round their necks when standing at the bar. It is known that a past landlord hanged himself behind the bar.
~ Candles get lit by themselves in the function room and there have been accounts of visitors' hair being pulled by invisible hands
~ The intense small of strawberries and lavender is repeatedly detected in the function room
~ In the Minster Bedroom there has been a lot of poltergeist activity; the bed moves and the bathroom door slams - in one instance bruising a guest's face.
~ Cold spots and temperature changes are common and people have heard the sound of a baby crying
~ Orbs have been seen coming from the bathroom in Lady Peckett's Room
~ Flashes of light and large orbs have been spotted in The Shambles Room
~ There is an unnaturally oppressive feeling in St Catherine's Room, as well as several accounts of an invisible weight forcing itself down on the shoulders of several guests.
~ Many complain of an unnatural sensation that they're being watched when in the room where the airman met his end.

Source ~ www.livingtv.co.uk