Louisa Cornell
A few miles from Abergavenny, in a town named Llanvihangel Crucorney, in the county of Monmouthshire, is the oldest inn of Wales. No one knows precisely how old it is, but its existence is recorded in documents from the year 1100. The inn is named The Skirrid Inn because of its view on Skirrid Mountain. Legend has it the mountain was struck by lightning and split in two the moment Jesus died at the cross.
The inn’s reputation for murder and dark deeds started early.
In 1175, the Skirrid Inn was the site of a massacre caused by William de Braose, a rather ruthless man. The right hand of the later English King John (1199), William sought revenge for the death of his uncle, Henry de Boase, who was murdered by noblemen from Wales. William invited three of them, along with a few leaders, to have dinner with him at the Skirrid Inn for Christmas. At dinner, he ordered his men to murder them. Uhm…Happy Christmas?
The Skirrid Inn was used as a courthouse for years to judge highwaymen and sheep thieves, a common practice in Britain for centuries. Eventually, the Inn was used by Judge George Hanging Judge Jeffreys (1645-1689) the most infamous judge in Britain. A Welsh judge and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, he was known for his cruelty and corruptions. He ordered at least 182 men to be executed at the Skirrid Inn in what is now known as the Bloody Assizes. These executions followed after the Monmouth Rebellion when a group of people tried to overthrow King James II.
At the top of the infamous oak staircase is a windowless room, thought to be a cell where the damned were held before their execution. On the first floor is a room said to be the local courthouse during the English civil war. If you dare, you can spend the night there, along with two other rooms on this level of the inn. The present owner has said: “Sometimes you go in there and you could be the happiest person in the world and come out and feel like crying.”
The rope marks on the oak beam in the stairwell are still visible. The people who were hanged at the Skirrid Inn were doubly unfortunate in that being hanged on the gallows had the advantage of an instant death. The hatch was designed to open and drop the condemned so quickly and with such force the neck would snap. At the Inn, there was no hatch. People were forced off the steps resulting in them having to suffocate to death slowly.
Are there ghosts, you ask?
Visitors claim to have seen apparitions at the inn. Some have claimed to have heard or felt something. The temperature is said to suddenly drop for no reason. People say they feel as if they’re being watched. Sometimes glasses are thrown all over the place. The owner claims to lose 10 to 15 glasses per week. Money occasionally flies through the inn. There are several reports of people who suddenly dropped to their knees, grabbing their throats. They said they felt as if a noose was placed around their necks. Faces are seen through the windows, even on the third floor, where no one ventures anymore.
Fanny Price
Fanny Price, a bartender and landlady in the early 1800’s, died in the inn’s smallest bedroom at the age of 35 of consumption. It is said she walks around the inn to this day as if she still wants to keep an eye on it. Her gravestone is visible just 300m away up the road. Before she’s seen or sensed there’s a strong smell of lavender perfume, “the kind you’d associate with your grandmother, that sort of musty, lavender smell.” (According to the current owner of the Inn.)
Henry Price, a relative of Fanny who might have been her father of perhaps her husband, also haunts the place. He has been seen marching up and down the cobbles outside the inn as if he’s a soldier. Sometimes, Henry spends time inside as well. He then scares guests by banging inside the chimney.
Other Ghosts
There is also the spirit of a man who is seen walking up the stairs. Ghosts move through the hallways and visit chambers. One guest had trouble sleeping because a spirit was spinning the toilet paper roll around in the bathroom all night. The toilet paper wasn’t unrolled, but the noise kept the poor guest wide awake. Once, a guest took his dentures off for the night and placed them on his nightstand. The next morning, he found his teeth on the other side of the room, in two perfect halves.
The surrounding woods are haunted as well. In 1700, the lord of the local manor house had an affair with a young servant girl who worked at the Skirrid Inn. His wife caught them and chased the girl into the woods. The girl’s body was found the next morning sitting against a tree, frozen to death. The woods of Abergavenny are now called the White Lady Woods as her spirit is often seen floating through the woods in a white dress.
For more on this fascinating place, might I suggest this interview with the current owner. Then you can decide if you want make the trip to Wales to check it out!
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/25/experience-i-own-a-haunted-pub