Wednesday 4 January 2017

The Incredibly HAUNTED Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge


Yesterday it was back to work in a sense, as we had to go to the auction at Wotton-under-Edge to pay for and collect a couple of items we had bought (bidding online at their post-Christmas sale). 'Wotton' is pronounced 'Wooten' by the way. We had a cup of tea in the cafe in the High Street we always go to, went to the Post Office (letter coming your way, Sharon) and did a bit of shopping. Wotton is a friendly place, quiet and welcoming.  It has a long history and above the town on the scarp is an Iron Age hillfort, Brackenbury Ditches, although I would think there was a presence there back through the Bronze Age and the Neolithic too.  A good site is always occupied and used in succeeding periods.

The history of the town dates back to 940, and the name probably derives from the Anglo-Saxon words 'wude' for wood (the scarp is still heavily wooded) and 'ton' meaning village. "Wudeton" becomes "Vutune" in the Domesday book and Wotton has strong associations with the manor of Berkeley and indeed the Norman castle still controls the landscape a few miles to the West of the town.

After being granted Borough status in 1253, it became a market town and indeed, a thriving wool town, and fortunately was bypassed somewhat during the industrial revolution when other towns closer to good road links were utilised.  The wool trade was especially prolific in Gloucestershire, as the county was famous for supplying the cheap red woollen cloth from which the uniforms were made for the British army.  

The ancient Ram Inn, however, is in a different class.  It dates from the 13th century and apparently housed workmen who were building the nearby church.  (See below).  This former Inn is still owned by a Mr Humphries, who has lived there for very nearly 50 years, since 1968, when he bought it from the brewery, and made it his life's work to save the structure.  Unfortunately it seems to be looking slightly the worse for wear these days, due no doubt to his increasing age.  However, he is still trying hard and you can have a ghostly experience there on a regular basis at £69 a head.  With MY experiences of things that go bump in the night, I am NOT signing up for that one!  

However, if you want to see a) what it looks like inside, and b) what happened when Derek Acorah and the Most Haunted team went there, follow the link.  The programme is about 40 minutes long, and a load of tosh in my mind - though I am not saying there is nothing paranormal there, only that for the programme, much of it was acting.  A Cotswold friend says it truly is as bad as the stories written about it, truly evil in parts, and some of the locals wouldn't even walk past it in her day.  In my experience, an atmosphere is one thing, and scary happenings another, but the "happenings" are generally not to be summoned up.  "It" comes to you . . . as I discovered that day at Breamore House.





As you can see, it didn't pay to fall out with the Church back in those days . . .




See?  Told ya!



I couldn't get close enough to make this legible, but all sorts of things have been written about it down the years.






Since Derek Acorah was there, things have gone downhill a bit and now the yard is all shut off from unwanted visitors.



There was also a notice in one of the windows about there being an official demand to do work on one of the chimneys.  Please check out this Petition Link and sign and share, to try and raise awareness about this amazing old building.  It gives a lot more of the history of it too, so is well worth checking out.



An interesting sign.  If you have seen the Most Haunted programme, the end shot definitely shows this sign saying '13th cent" NOT 10th, so someone has painted it over and aged it a bit . . .

Anyway, we were very glad that we decided to explore Wotton a bit (something we have meant to do on previous visits) as we would not have discovered the Ram Inn otherwise.  

15 comments:

  1. You had me at haunted! I do love places like this and reading about their history. Somewhere we wouldn't have heard of if it wasn't for you - so thank you.
    Sounds like he's starting to struggle due to age, I wonder if anyone will take over and keep it in the manner it is now.

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    1. He's 80 now, and just has his pension, plus whatever he can get from visitors paying to visit a haunted house. I hope someone will take over, but they'd need nerves of steel I think!

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  2. What a great building, allowed to go to ruin. A smart operator would restore that as "Britain's Most Haunted Pub" or somesuch, put in a few slightly sinister bits and pieces, and wait for all the goths and paraormal folk to turn up.

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    1. He's done that, and it's so haunted no-one wants to stay there!! Paranormal folk have been there already, and the Bishop of Gloucester, who came to exorcise it, made a swift departure . . .

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  3. It looks beautiful but sounds like it has a chequered history. Hope you had a good New Year.

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    1. It makes you wonder what has happened there in the past - evil deeds by the sounds of things.

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  4. I wonder if the Cat House looked like this when it was closer to its prime?

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    1. Quite possibly. Only friendlier!! Have you seen it recently? Taken back to the bare bones and stood there forlornly waiting whilst they do up the barn first.

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    2. Didn't make it down to Hereford this past September. Maybe we'll get down for the Malvern Spring Show, though more likely the Autumn one. Now I'm not working, money is tight. I'm hoping to free up one of my pension funds (the smallest) when I'm eligible and will use part of the funds to go back to college, and part will be invested in things like a mini orchard.

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  5. I love places like this but don't care to go too near.

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  6. You wouldn't have got me inside for all the tea in china Pat!

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  7. I have a friend who would have been in there like a shot - not me though. But what a shame to see it falling apart like that. Needs a ton of money spent on it

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  8. That's what we thought Sue. If your friend wants to stay there, she could go on a Ghost Tour first (£69 per head). See Haunted Hotels I think it was . . . Lord knows how much it would cost to restore it, but I think the ghostly inhabitants wouldn't be pleased!

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  9. An interesting history, but as you know, I am skittish regarding the paranormal--wouldn't want to linger there.
    The poor old building looks as though it is bulging from the inside out; perhaps if one wall was shored up another would immediately go wonky. It doesn't sound as though the TV program did the place any real favors--the history made more sensational than serious.
    Still, glad that you had an intriguing day out--you've surely earned a break!
    Looking forward to a letter!

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    1. We certainly DID need the day out, and relaxed after we had picked up our stuff from the auction. We drove down here on a whim, as Keith would quite like to live in Wotton and wanted to explore a bit more. I'm glad we did, though wild horses couldn't have dragged me inside this house, historic or not. The front aspect is wonderfully wonkey isn't it? I doubt it will improve with keeping.

      We are having a PROPER day out next week to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and are heading to Ludlow, which we haven't been to for several years now.

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