‘Our pub’s haunted by the ghost of a Civil War soldier who was gruesomely killed in the chimney’

Owner Dee Knight-Barrett says George is believed to have been messing with the pub’s beer pumps (image with the help of AI) (Picture: Cover Images) A ghost thought to be haunting a Warwickshire pub may be the spirit of a soldier who met a grisly demise in the boozer’s chimney. The owners of the Rose & Crown have been plagued by flickering lights, slamming doors and disruptions to their beer pumps. Dee and Norm Knight-Barrett reopened the pub in Ratley earlier this month, giving it new life after it was closed for the previous two years. But when renovations began, they got the feeling they weren’t alone. The couple believe the ghost of a Civil War roundhead soldier is stalking the corridors and rooms of the old building. As a popular village story goes, the ghost, who has been affectionately named ‘George’ by the couple, fled from the Battle of Edgehill and hid up the chimney in what is now the pub. He was tracked down by his comrades and, in a fit of anger, they piked him to death whilst he was still up the chimney, and now his spirit lingers on in the pub. Dee said they first became aware of George when a villager paid them a visit during the refurbishment work. ‘She asked us ‘have you met the ghost yet?’ and I said we hadn’t. She used to work here and told us about the mischief the ghost got up to, things like slamming doors and hiding keys. George the Ghost posing outside the Rose & Crown with landlady Dee (image with the help of AI) (Picture: Cover Images) ‘I didn’t take too much notice of it, but then a few weeks later we started to notice things, like all of a sudden doors would slam, including doors that were hooked open to the wall. ‘There was all the renovation noise going on and I don’t think he liked that very much. ‘Things calmed down a little bit, but towards the end of the renovation keys started to go missing. The back door key to the kitchen vanished, and I asked Norm and our chef, Emma, if they had touched it, but they hadn’t.’ After a few days of not being able to find the keys, the group gave up and got some more cut – only to find the old keys in the garden, a couple of metres away from the back door. ‘When we finished the renovations, he calmed down. Norm bought him this little roundhead helmet from eBay which we think appeased him a little bit. ‘I think he’s just joking with us now, because last Saturday we were really busy and we had an extra pair of hands, Millie, who was helping us out. ‘The Staropramen pump had been working absolutely fine, no problem, pints were being poured perfectly. All of a sudden it just stopped working, there was no beer coming through. Millie went down to check on the barrel, this was fine. Norm then checked to see if there was a blockage in the line, there wasn’t. ‘When Norm was down in the cellar he noticed the gas for the pump was turned off. None of us had turned it off and this was stopping the beer coming up, so we think this was George back to his old tricks.’ The old fireplace, where George is said to have been killed, has been dedicated to him – with the helmet now placed in this corner of the pub. ‘I think he was active when we first started renovating because he was like ‘You’ve come in here, you’re making a load of noise and you’re trashing the house – I’ve had it quiet for 16 months’. ‘Now that it’s all nice and warm again and there is a good atmosphere, I think he’s happy again – now he just wants to joke with us. ‘The light on the end of the bar, which may or may not be George, flickers. It’ll stay on for ages and then all of a sudden it will start flickering – you need to unscrew the bulb to stop it. ‘I think it’s him just having a bit of a game really more than anything, he’s not a malicious ghost.’ Ghost stories in this part of Warwickshire are plentiful, and being in close proximity to Edge Hill is a main reason, believes Dee. ‘There is one ghost up at Edge Hill that is sometimes seen walking around with his beheaded head under his arm. ‘It’s absolutely brilliant to have these ghost stories, they give extra character to the place. Tourists come in and they’ll sit out in the garden and they’ll want a bit of a chat with you and then you tell them about the ghost – all of a sudden their ears prick up.’ But does Dee really believe in the supernatural? ‘I’ve always believed there’s something out there, I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but I don’t think when you come to the end of your life, that’s it.’ As a final word, Dee explained what she would say to George if he was sitting in front of her. ‘I hope you like what we’ve done with the place, George, hopefully you’re at rest now and happier now that you’ve got a steady custodian in the building again. ‘But, if you’re going to keep playing tricks, could you not do it in the middle of service?’ Arrow MORE: Lily Allen leaves fans triggered with savage Halloween costume Arrow MORE: Sweating Donald Trump lashes out at reporter telling him he is ‘way out of shape’ Arrow MORE: 13 horror films for the movie fan who has seen everything to watch this Halloween News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.