One evening in 1974 the then owners of the Holly Bush, Mr. and Mrs. Cadell, heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the stairs ‘They were slow and heavy like a man’s footsteps going up to the top landing’. At first they thought little about what had occurred until a few days later when the sounds were heard again by Mrs. Cadell. She went to investigate and at first found nothing but as she looked up to the banisters at the top of the stairs she saw ‘the head of a man, just like the Van Dyke cigar advertisement’. The man looked down at her then faded away. This was not the only sighting of the bearded ghost as he was seen again about a year later by a member of staff.

The building which the Holly Bush occupies was built in 1451 and even had its own tunnel accessed from the bar but no one knows where it used to go. It has a gruesome history including a murder and former usage as an undertaker’s parlour. In the eighteenth century John Turtle (or Circle), the son of a mayor, was a heavy gambler who was deeply in debt. William Weare visited John to demand payment of monies owed to him but instead of having the debt paid he lost his life. A fight ensued in which William was shot by John, had his throat slit and his body dumped in the nearby marsh. John was caught, tried and executed whilst William’s body was recovered and buried in consecrated ground. Could one of then be the bearded ghost?

The undertaker’s parlour was sited in what is now the car park, an area which dogs now avoid.

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See also - Hertfordshire - Elstree - The Holly Bush