THANET DISTRICT
HAUNTED HOSTELRIES
A listing of Public houses, Taverns, Old Coaching Inns, Tap & Beer Houses, along with Cafes, Tearooms, Restaurants, Hotels & B&Bs in the Thanet District, reported as being haunted with the visitors of the Past. Some have paranormal events & investigations. or fancy spending the night away in a haunted place. Here are places in Kent where you can stay for a getaway with some possible spooky happenings. you can stay overnight while checking out the surrounding haunted areas
CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO GO TO THE BUSINESS WEBSITE.
Please note prices/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. We aren't affiliated with these places, just sharing the information, so any questions regarding bookings, please contact them, not us.
IF YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT A PUB IN KENT OR YOU KNOW OF ONE THAT WE DON'T HAVE LISTED, THEN PLEASE LET US KNOW
THE CROWN INN
Ramsgate Road, Sarre, Birchington CT7
Accommodation, Bar & Restaurant
Built-in 1492 the "Crown Inn" is steeped in history. A condition of the license was, that it must always sell cherry brandy, made to a 17th century Huguenot recipe, at the pub - hence its more popular title of the ''Cherry Brandy House''. Open all day, every day, the "Crown Inn" has much to offer, from fine food and accommodation to a wide selection of ales and wines and the friendliest of welcomes. (No Cherry Brandy now though, apparently.)
The Grade II listed ( October 1963) building boasts an impressive history. It is thought to have started life as a coffee house.
The façade of the inn are the names of famous individuals who have visited, including Rudyard Kipling, Ellen Terry, Charles Dickens and Sir George Robey and it's told that Charles Dickens wrote part of Pickwick Papers there.
It is one of the many pubs throughout southern England to have a priest hole from the period when Roman Catholics became persecuted and pursued their beliefs. One staircase can be accessed only from a bedroom that, is said to have once used to conceal smuggled goods.
In August 1989, it was closed for a six month £500,000 refit. The work included the addition of 10 letting rooms, dining room, kitchen and a complete upgrading of the pub's existing facilities. To ensure none of the characters of one of Kent's most historic pubs is destroyed brewers Shepherd Neame have taken photographs of the bar areas to help them return all its ornaments to their old positions after the work is finished.
A feature of the pub is its autographed photographs collection of stage and screen stars of the 1920s and 30s.
A smuggler was said to have been killed in the pub, in the early 1800s. His ghost seen on numerous occasions. With seafaring clothing of that period, surrounded by a strong odour of rum.
THE ARTILLARY ARMS
36 West Cliff Rd, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11
Bar & Snacks
This end of terrace pub, Grade II listed (October 1972) with leaded bow windows, showing scenes of soldiers and guns from the Napoleonic Wars in France. Previously known as the ''Ash Arms'' and dates from early 19th Century,
It became fully licensed in 1867 and may have existed as a beerhouse before that date.
Used at some point as both an officers' mess and a brothel.
The house changed the name to the "Artillery Arms" by 1881, the Honourable Artillery Company that began as a guild of archers in 1537. The Company is considered one of the oldest and most senior regiments of the British Army and displayed inside the inn, is a collection of military caps and helmets. A sad story of a publican there in 1934 Mr Albert Drapper, Age 24, who was formerly in the Royal Navy had taken a trip to France. He ''hailed the taxi-cab at the Gare du Nord, and told the driver to take him to the Gare de Lyon, the main station for the south of France. The taxi-cab was crossing the Place de la Republique when the driver heard a shot. Turning around, he saw Mr Drapper, huddled in a corner with a revolver in his hand'' He had shot himself in the head and died 3 hours later at the hospital. no further details reported of why he did it. (there are Ancestors, who can be contacted, who know the story of his final days)
The resident ghost is said to be a man in early Victorian style military uniform. He manifests leaning against an external wall and watching people passing by.
There is also a female ghostly manifestation, that is said to appear on a short flight of steps, from the ground floor. She is said to be seen sitting on the top step, wearing either a long white dress or nightdress and a cotton cap.
THE HOGS HEAD
St Peter's Park Rd, Broadstairs CT10
Bar & Restaurant
Situated on the Broadstairs & St Peters boundary, St Peter's is an area of Broadstairs. Historically once a village, in its own right, until after 1841, when it became part of Broadstairs.
There was a farmhouse on this site, which became an inn. Eventually demolished and the land sold off.
Albion was the description for Britain during the Roman period of occupation when, the locals knew it as Albus, Latin for white. After the chalk cliffs along the south coast.
This building dates back to around 1855.
It is believed this pub closed around 2009 but opened again, with the name as "Little Albion Inn.'' to distinguish it from the towns ''Albion Hotel''.
In July 2018, the name changed to Hogs Head but then closed again, due to noise complaints and the Landlord left the premises.
It re-opened on 7 October under the temporary management of Mike from the adjacent Four Candles micro-pub opposite, for the locals during the festival period and reverted to its original name. it has been made tidy, uncluttered and decorated with a plain interior in the bar, with the smaller side room not in use and if it became popular again, he would keep it open and it has remained open.
There have been reports of unexplained patches of damp, frequently appearing on the stone floors of the pub. These are said to be in the shape of a man and a child. (no history found, behind this happening). However, it has also been reported, when these shapes have been seen, cakes, biscuits, cream cakes and even a large pork pie have disappeared. other unexplained happenings are, electric kettles have switched on and started to boil and a vacuum cleaner, which has been left unplugged for days, abruptly turns on.
(no current website)
CAPTAIN DIGBY
Whiteness Rd, Kingsgate Broadstairs CT10
Bar & Restaurant
The land was where stood a former pilgrims 'Bede House'. Lord Holland built some buildings on the coast at Kingsgate Bay in the Isle of Thanet. Holland, father of Charles Fox had built a house here in the 1760s and also several follies nearby.
To the north of his house, is The Captain Digby Inn, originally built between 1763 and 1768. This was a place for drinking and entertainment for Lord Holland's guests, with lodgings away from the impressive Holland House, some hundred yards to the south.
The name Captain Digby comes from Robert, a nephew of Lord Holland who commanded a warship of the English fleet in 1759.
It is recorded that when Lord Holland died he left a sum of money so that Captain Digby's health could be drunk every year by the customers. Another order in his will was money to provide every young woman, within the parish, about to give birth with a bottle of wine. Sadly both these provisions seemed to have lapsed through the years!
The Battle of Botany Bay happened nearby in 1769 when Revenue men ambushed Joss Snelling and his gang as the smugglers unloaded their booty. Snelling and four others escaped through an opening in the cliffs. A riding officer was shot on the cliffs and taken to the pub where he died from his wounds.
Beneath the inn is a large subterranean cavern reputed to have been used by local Kingsgate smuggler, Joss Snelling, and his infamous gang.
Up to a few years ago, one could reach the beach below by going through a trap door in the cellar.
By 1797 the ‘Kentish Gazette' records that the tenant, Mr Herbert, welcomes numerous guests from all the Thanet towns arriving by a horse at the ‘Noble Captain Digby'. his infamous words upon people leaving were "Haste ye come back again!".
On 18th October 1816, the larger part of Captain Digby fell over the cliff in a severe storm. A gentleman's magazine of that date reports, "The Noble Captain Digby fell into the sea, except part of one wing where a servant boy slept".
The last remains of the ‘Noble Captain Digby', a flint gazebo situated right on the edge of the cliff, fell into the sea below during the winter.
The flint rubble was used to build flower planters in the gardens at ‘The Pavillion' on Viking Bay, Broadstairs.
After the storm, Captain Digby was rebuilt in the same style. Yards away from the original site, in the stables of the original House.
In 1823 Richard Hill licensee and his wife were in court for a conspiracy to defraud the revenue, by taking in Contraband. They had several times, offered bribes to the coastal blockade officer to ignore, the illegal landing of contraband goods and on the 24th of July, they offered him £3, to assist in landing 20 tubs, which he consented to, and at the moment gave the alarm, when the whole cargo fell an easy prey to the coast blockade. After a trial, Mr Justice Bayley pronounced judgment. - ''I shall relieve Elizabeth Hill at once, on account of the state of her health; the Court is not disposed to inflict any personal punishment, but Richard Hill her husband, must enter into his recognizance in £100, for her good behaviour for five years.— Richard Hill, you had the benefit of a license from the Magistrates, and yet you were guilty of this very serious offence. You are to be imprisoned in St. Augustine, near Canterbury, for six months in the House of Correction, and pay a fine of £50.
A dreadful storm in January 1857 caused an American ship, the Northern Belle, to anchor off the North Foreland but the intensity of the gale sent waves crashing over the vessel, she was pushed onto the rocks. Miraculously her crew, who had lashed themselves to the rigging, were rescued and taken into the "Captain Digby Inn" at Kingsgate where they made a swift recovery. (see the next pub, The Northern belle for more details)
The present-day building has undergone several alterations, such as the restaurant, which was added in 1973.
It is said that the revenue man, who was murdered by Snelling and his gang here, still haunts within the pub, along with a manifestation of Snelling himself, that witnesses have described as being a fat old man, surrounded by a Putrid odour.
THE NORTHERN BELLE
4 Mansion Street, Margate, CT9
Bar & Restaurant
Previously known as the Waterman's Arms. Tucked away in a quiet back street, just a short walk from the harbour and said to have been around since 1680 and Margate's oldest alehouse.
When it was owned by Sherpherd Neame it was described inside as a series of small rooms with a narrow bar, low beams hung with small pewter pots and a wooden floor, Simple pleasures available, of pub games and a local community spirit.
It had been run by landlords Ray and Sharon Summers for some five years before they handed the keys back to brewer Shepherd Neame in April 2021, it was then run for a short time as the Cambodian kitchen but It closed in October 2022.
Now the Northern Belle, is back thanks to investment from Neville and his partner Lee, who have been in Thanet since 2014 and have both been coming to Margate since they were children.
They have been involved in project management and property management in Kent and London, have invested in the building with some friends, to reopen the pub, upstairs accommodation and kitchen area , after a four month renovation. official relaunch took place on September 15 2023
The pub was yet another known for being used by smugglers.
An American ship called the ''Northern Belle'' sank just off the Margate coast, on January 5, 1857. It had set out from New York, crossing the Atlantic, only to run into trouble at Thanet, so close to its destination of London. At 3 am, on a bitter-cold morning, it became apparent that a ship was in some peril, in local waters near the little harbour of Broadstairs. The ship was cast ashore, on a dangerous ledge of rocks below the Foreness Point, at Kingsgate, between Broadstairs and the coast of Margate. On seeing the plight of the Northern Belles crew, the Coastguard had sent a warning to Broadstairs, despite the severe conditions prevailing, the Mary White and Culmer White lifeboats were hauled overland by a horse-drawn trailer, to a point where they could launch safely. No lives lost, thanks to heroic rescue efforts, in blizzard conditions. Another ship, however, sank en route to the scene, the Margate lugger "Victory" lost with its crew. The Victory had set sail to help the stricken ship, struck by a tremendous sea and capsized. All 9 of the crew perished within sight of hundreds of the town's people, watching from the shore and cliff top.
After the event, the Watermans Arms became the "Northern Belle". and timber salvaged from the shipwreck was used to renovate the pub. The original wooden beams and davits, which became bar posts, are still visible today, having been used as part of renovations past - lending the Northern Belle an extra edge as Margate's most historic hostelry.
During the Second World War and the Cold-War years, the pub was used by American airmen.
A proprietor, Robert Edward Brockman, first recorded this ghost in 1869. A woman with a wispy white form, deathly pale, wearing a white shroud. Witnesses have seen her, many times over the centuries, drifting through the cellars, bars, and rooms above the pub.
A few who drowned on the Victory ship had used this pub and are said to haunt the inn.
THE GEORGE & HEART HOTEL
44 King St, Margate CT9
Licensed Restaurant
Formally the ''George Inn', then the ''George Hotel'', one of Margate's Oldest pubs was near to the 'Tudor House' and situated opposite Love Lane and King Street.
Before 1833 the pub was owned by the Symond's Brewery of Ramsgate but they sold the business and pub to Francis Cobb and Son, another brewery in Ramsgate that same year. (Cobbs were founded in 1673).
It was once a coaching inn and the livery stables which were next door, this then became Swinford's Yard in the mid-1800s and then Reeves Mineral Water Factory.
George IV portrayed in full Coronation robes were on the wall of the "George Hotel."
In 1943 part of King Street part was destroyed, when a bomb that hit Holy Trinity Church and the hotel suffered damage.
Further damage sustained in the 1953 Storm, the "George Inn" being flooded, and the water measured about 5 feet high inside the building.
Whitbread brewery took over Cobbs in early 1968 and closed the brewery and the pub is said to have closed around about the same time.
In 2006 the further damage occurred from an arson attack.
Parts of the stables were still standing till 2011, then the Mews cottages were built from the back of the "George" to the entrance of the College Centre, the site of Bloxhams Green.
The green, was later to become the site of Margate College and the area named after George Bloxham, who also ran the "George" pub in the late 1700s.
The inn closed again on Feb 2010.
Refurbished in 2016 and turned into an Indian Restaurant but today it is back into a traditional pub and restaurant after the former Indian restaurant moved to fort hill just down the road.
Previous tenants and owners have described, seeing a woman dressed in late 19th or early 20th Century clothing. (another report put a theory that it was an elderly female, who died in a bomb blast in WWII, but no records found of civilian bomb deaths in that area and clothing doesn't match) no information found on further info or names.
WALPOLE BAY HOTEL
Fifth Avenue, Cliftonville, Kent. CT9
Accommodation, Bar & Restaurant
The Walpole Bay was a prestigious Hotel built-in 1914, extended in 1927 and is since then is being lovingly restored to her former glory by the Bishop Family. Built by Louisa Budge and it stayed with her family until 1995 when her Grandson passed it to the Bishop family.
The Bishop family are planning the Hotel, to be a living Museum, eventually engulfing the entire Hotel with memorabilia, documentation and educational displays on the history of the Hotel and the Isle of Thanet with its 26 miles of sandy beaches, geological features and archaeological remains.
It is said that ''from the moment you enter The Walpole Bay Hotel, you step back in time to the ambience of a bygone era''.
It has spacious lounges, 2 bars, a flower-decked veranda, Edwardian restaurant, snooker room and 1920's Ballroom and its original sprung maple dance floor.
The Walpole's 1927 Otis Trellis gated lifts serve all five floors and are the centrepiece of their Museum. All the rooms have sea views. Room 308 has a proven track record in curing writers' block, so The Hotel has announced it is offering ‘novelist in residence' grants, in the form of complimentary accommodation.
The hotel is open as a museum during the day, or you can visit for lunch, afternoon teas or stay and have dinner and a bed for the night while checking out the other haunted areas of Thanet.
There is a long list of films have used the Hotel for a location, which can be found on their website and they have a Napery Gallery, art created by visitors on the hotels' napkins and displayed around the hotel. some done by well-known artists and also Hollywood director Arnold Schwartzman, whose father was once the head waiter and then Manager of the Hotel.
It is certainly a unique place to visit and stay! it is definitely on our bucket list!
There have been several Ghost investigations held at the hotel, Room 310 alleged to be haunted.
Many other spirits are wandering the hotel and during investigations, unusual noises had been heard, along with strange feelings, good and bad felt, in the downstairs ladies toilets.
Whistling and a piano playing, in the ballroom area, were heard by an investigator.
Communication with the spirit was said to have been made on several occasions, throughout the investigations - A previous female owner of the hotel, maybe Louisa Budge herself, no doubt loving the fact, that the hotel has been kept as a museum, rather than modernized or demolished, like so many other old hotels have been.
JOLLY FARMER
3 High St, Manston, CT12
Bar & Restaurant
The Jolly Farmer is a rustic rural pub located in the heart of the community within the village of Manston, near the Kent International Airport.
History has it that the building has previously been a farmhouse and has been a pub since 1639, said to have been called the "Crown and Anchor" recorded in 1773, the pub changed the name to the "Jolly Farmer," some time afterwards.
It was once a Cobbs brewery tied house. Cobbs was founded in 1673,
It was used as a local by WWII pilots, based at Manston Airport.
Whitbread took them over early 1968 and closed the brewery later that year, no doubt taking away the competition!
Taken from a previous website ''A good mix of people who come from near and further afield to this destination food house. The Head Chef offers excellent traditional English homemade cuisine from tempting menus. With an excellent range of wines from all parts of the world to complement your meal or a tasty real ale if you prefer you are sure to have time to remember. Come and meet the staff and our friendly nook ghost, Ena, soon and check out the improvements for yourself. You are assured of a very warm welcome.'' (Currently unknown about the ghost Ena or any other activity)
Red Arrows jets, can be seen flying overhead some days if you’re lucky!
It has since been taken over by Debbie and Keith in September 2023 and is ran by manager Clare.
THE CHAPEL AKA THE BREWDOG AT THE BOOKSHOP
44-46 Albion Street Broadstairs CT10
Bar & Restaurant
(No current website link available. recent reviews show still open, sister pub to The Lifeboat Ale and Cider House) The town was originally called 'Bradstowe' (sometimes spelt ‘Bradstow'). The name evolved into Broadstairs, as a result of the broad "Chapel Stairs" which once led up from the beach to St Mary's Chapel.
The medieval chantry chapel sited alongside a shrine to Our Lady of Bradstow. The Shrine of Our Lady of Bradstow would have once stood alone and local legend has it, that it was a landmark for ships and they would lower their topsails in salute as they passed this spot. The shrine got destroyed by a tidal wave a few years after the storm of 1500.
In 1601, It was adapted for Protestant worship, then Following the reformation, The Chantry Chapel was suppressed by Henry VIII and became the private property of Sir John Culmer (one of the first Congregationalist pioneers ).
In 1691 the chapel became a public place of worship once again.
The chapel contains an early 17th century five-light stone mullioned and transomed window and a stone medieval arch to the top of an entrance immediately to the west.– Grade II listed (September 1974).
In 1825-28 the chapel was repaired and mostly rebuilt by local patron Mary Goodwin.
It now merges with contemporary buildings on a busy street.
Previous to the 'Albion second-hand bookshop', which still makes up much of its interior décor.
The beautiful arched windows upstairs, bathe the upper balcony in the light.
It opened in 2012 by Julian Newick (who also owns Lifeboat Ale And Cider House in Margate). He combined the bookstore, with a full bar.
This did cause a stir for some, an archaeological surveyor dispelled fears, that consecrated remains are still buried in 'the crypt' below the chapel. ''The crypt is, in fact, an air-raid shelter, according to the survey, although possibly constructed on part of the former tomb. All remains, would have been removed before construction'', says the report. He also uncovered a rotting pile of ammunition.
Just a Stone's throw from the Magnificent Viking Bay, the Chapel is ideal after a day on the beach. In the cold times, you can warm yourself in front of the wood-burning stove. A quirky place to visit.
Having spoken to the owner, although no paranormal activity recorded, he said the Staff there have reported uneasy feelings, when alone, so maybe an investigation is needed!