DARTFORD DISTRICT
HAUNTED HOSTELRIES
A listing of Public houses, Taverns, Old Coaching Inns, Tap & Beer Houses, Cafes, Tearooms, Restaurants, Hotels & B&Bs in the Dartford District are reported as being haunted by the visitors of the Past. Some have paranormal events & investigations..
There are places in this District where you can stay for a getaway with some haunted history, while checking out the surrounding haunted areas.
CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO GO TO THE BUSINESS WEBSITE.
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Please note that prices and availability may change, so check this information when booking. You are not guaranteed to see a ghost, so please don't be disappointed if you don't. Just enjoy your night anyway.
GofEPS is not affiliated with these places; it is just sharing the information. If you have any questions regarding bookings, please contact them.
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IF YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT A HOSTELRY IN THIS DISTRICT OR YOU KNOW OF ONE THAT IS NOT LISTED, THEN PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
1. PIED BULL INN
High St, Farningham, DA4
Bar & Restaurant
A Comfortable 17th-century coaching inn. It is situated on the old coaching road between London and Dover. It was opened in 1612 by Matthias Rage. Witnesses described it as 'a hospice with barn and garden.'
Between 1780 and 1819, it serviced up to six coaches daily.
In 1710, the licensee was granted a 500-year lease for the water in the garden for the horses.
Some time ago, the wall was moved, and an extension of several feet was added to the inn, so the new part of the Pied Bull, which incorporates these seats, was once part of the road itself.
**HAUNTINGS**
People sitting in window seats have frequently heard a phantom coach and horses outside the Pied Bull on the road. This phantom sound has been heard most frequently in daylight hours. Occasionally, during the wintertime and in darkness, the sound has been so close at times that people have been reported to hurriedly leave their seating near by the window as the coach and horses take the road where that part of the pub now stands.
There have also been reports of a ghostly coach pulling up outside the Pied Bull and passengers in early Victorian dress alighting.
2. ROYAL VICTORIA AND BULL HOTEL
1 High St, Dartford DA1
Accommodation- B&B, Bar & Restaurant
The 23-bed Royal Victoria & Bull Hotel in Dartford dates back to the 14th century.
Originally called "the Bull," it is the town's oldest Inn and has many period features, including the vaulted gallery in the main bar, which initially would have been around the carriage archway.
The 'Bull n Vic, as it is locally known, was a coaching inn and became one of the main stopovers for stagecoaches on the London to Dover run.
The courtyard was more extensive during the coaching days, with stables at the rear.
The 'Bull' in the name refers not to the animal but 'bulla' – a seal or papal edict secured by a seal. Indeed, the Inn's early name was the 'Holly Bull' – the holy seal or holly edict, so Dartford's Priory may have owned it at some point.
The Inn was rebuilt in 1703, with a gallery overlooking the yard into which stagecoaches and carriages would enter through an entrance twice as wide as it is today. The landlord glazed over the open yard in 1826 to provide a sheltered corn exchange.
Famous guests have included Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick, who lived and died here. Her Majesty Queen Victoria is also said to have stayed on the night of November 29, 1836.
The Royal Coat of Arms is displayed over the courtyard entrance, and she then permitted the Hotel to use the Royal Victoria prefix.
Hanging in the Hotel is a picture of a girl, a memorial to a little girl called Winifred. The story goes that this child, aged around 8 years, died at the Hotel of Tuberculosis some centuries ago.
**HAUNTINGS**
There are reported to be two young female ghosts, one of whom makes no secret of her presence and is believed to be Winifred. According to hotel staff, she will smash bar glasses if she can't get her way. She is said to loathe noise and change, so there were many reported breakages when the Hotel was refurbished.
Other reported sightings include a cigar-smoking Cavalier and a phantom black dog that likes to warm guests' feet.
Keep an eye out for the elusive phantom butterfly known to appear and disappear.
One employee reported noticing what is called a partial apparition. It looked like a part of a figure moving up the stairs. The image was in the form of a body from around the waist up to the top of the shoulders, moving up the stairs at a walking pace, after which it faded, disappeared, and reappeared further up the stairs before disappearing once again.
Other guests reported doors creaking and opening without cause, low-sounding clicking noises, and the slight thudding of what seemed to be footsteps keeping them awake.
Pictures were taken while in one of the rooms in the old part of the building and caught orbs, strange flashes, glowing spots in areas where a camera flash would not rebound off anything and a strange-looking object in one of the end windows, which turned out to look like a young girl with long back hair and not just the one picture though, in another one, it showed her facing away and the outline of her being more pronounced. Another photo was taken of what looked like two small eyes resembling a cat or dog.