Our History
A Georgian property, the pub first appears in Trade Directories for 1870 when Charles Milne was tenant. For many years the pub was the meeting place of Lodge 28 of the Nottingham Oddfellows Friendly Society, one of two lodges in the village. Edgar Daniels was tenant from 1925 until well into the 1960s and was in situ when, in the 1930s, a lion from a visiting circus was en-caged in the garden.
Troops were billeted here during World War II.
These days instead of a lion in the large gardens to the rear, you are likely to spot an army of petanque players throwing their balls about. Inside the free function room provides a venue for private functions and a meeting place for local groups and societies.
The optics behind the bar may not be the only spirits in the pub as there have been numerous reports of ghostly figures and paranormal activity.
Staff have felt a ‘presence’
Ghostly goings on have been reported at a village pub after the owners decided to carry out some renovations during the pandemic. Both customers and staff at The Red Lion, in Kegworth, near the Derbyshire border, said strange things have been going on since building work started last week.
Owner Adrian Cowley said the pandemic forced him to carry out renovations to make more space for customers, a process which may have awoken a ghostly being.
He said: “Having lived in the village for many years we were aware of the ghost stories surrounding the pub when we took it over last year.
“However, we’ve never seen or heard anything unusual until now.
“To comply with Covid restrictions we’ve had to carry out some structural alterations, and that’s when all this strange activity started.
“It’s almost as though we’ve disturbed something in the fabric of the building.”
According to Mr Cowley, local legend claims that the building is haunted by the spirit of a “Mrs Daniels”, a landlady who ran the pub for 40 years in the early 1900s.
The woman is said to have died on the day that she handed the pub over to the new landlord.
Landlady Vanessa Gage said she has “definitely felt an unusual presence” in some of the rooms since the building work began.
She said: “The pub is an 18th century coaching inn with a series of small rooms. To make it more Covid-friendly, we decided to open up two of the rooms to make more space for customer seating.
“That seems to have sparked this strange activity, glasses have been mysteriously falling off shelves, and I have definitely felt an unusual presence in certain rooms of the building.
“Whatever, or whoever it is, their spirit seems to be mischievous rather than malicious and, after all, every pub needs a good ghost story.”
One particular incident has been etched into the memory of pub regular John, who asked to remain anonymous, when his pint inexplicably “flew off the table”.
He said: “I was sitting and chatting in the bar when my pint just shot off the table.”
Bartender Beth witnessed this ghostly goings on, she said: “It was a fairly quiet night in the pub.
“I was clearing glasses and talking with the customers when there was a loud bang and John’s pint flew off the table, sending beer all over the floor and the seats.”
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