The Skirrid Mountain Inn

The inn's own tradition dates it to 1110, which would make it over 900 years old, and some believe parts of the structure go back to the Norman period. Documentary proof of that early date is thin, but the building certainly feels ancient: thick stone walls, a dark oak staircase and low beams. Local tradition holds that Owain Glyndwr rallied his troops in the forecourt before battle, and the mounting stone he is said to have used still stands outside. As with much of the Skirrid's story, this is oral tradition rather than confirmed record.

The darker claim is that between the 12th and 17th centuries the inn also served as a courthouse, with the first floor used as a court of law and a condemned man's cell that is now a store room. The tale goes that two brothers were tried for sheep stealing and one was hanged from a beam in the stairwell, setting a grisly precedent. Over the centuries, the story says, as many as 180 (most versions say exactly 182) prisoners were hanged from the same beam that runs above the staircase, and rope scorch marks are still pointed out on it today.

The most notorious name attached to the inn is Judge George Jeffreys, the "Hanging Judge" of the Bloody Assizes that followed the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Legend says he sat in judgement here and ordered many of those executions. It should be said plainly that no documentation of Jeffreys at the Skirrid survives, if it ever existed; the connection rests on local legend and the inn's long-told story rather than the court record.

The Skirrid Mountain Inn has been a fixture of the ghost-hunting circuit for years, and the phenomena reported there are remarkably consistent from one account to the next. Witnesses have claimed to see glasses fly across the bar, to hear eerie laughter coming from empty rooms, and to feel sudden drops in temperature. Slamming doors, loud footsteps on the old stairs and hushed voices are all said to be regular occurrences, and the smell of lavender is reported in Room 3, where Fanny Price is said to linger.

Several events companies, including Haunted Happenings, Haunted Rooms and Paranormal Eye UK, run overnight investigations at the inn, and describe the main bedroom as one of the most oppressive spots in the building. The inn's reputation reached the trade press as far back as 2002, when the Morning Advertiser reported on the ancient inn's links with the notorious hanging judge.

The sceptical view is worth airing. The hanging beam, the courtroom and Judge Jeffreys are all legend rather than documented history; as the ghost-hunt companies themselves acknowledge, any records that might have supported the claims either never existed or have long since been lost. The 1110 foundation date is the inn's tradition rather than a matter of record. None of which stops the Skirrid being one of the most atmospheric old pubs in Britain, or the reported experiences of guests being genuinely unnerving.

The Skirrid Mountain Inn is a working pub serving food, so the easiest way to visit is simply to call in for a drink or a meal and take a look at the beam, the noose and the mounting stone outside. It sits in the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney a few miles north of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, at the foot of the Skirrid, with the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons on the doorstep. Check the inn's website for current opening times, as they vary seasonally.

You can stay overnight at the inn itself: there are three en-suite bedrooms, two with four-poster beds and one cottage bedroom, and Room 3 is the one associated with Fanny Price. Organised ghost hunts, including ghost-hunt-and-dinner packages and shorter mini ghost hunts, are run at the inn by several operators through the year, particularly in the autumn.

The building is old, with steep stairs and uneven floors, so accessibility upstairs is limited. Abergavenny is the natural base if the inn's rooms are full.