Tired of London, Tired of Life - A website about things to do in London

***

***

For more regular updates, visit Tom's Britain, a new website about things to do in Britain.


***

8 May 2009

Have a drink with a ghostly Grenadier

The Grenadier in Belgravia is difficult to find. It's only a couple of hundred yards from Hyde Park Corner, but situated as it is in the private Wilton Mews, it can sometimes put off pub-seekers before they arrive.


It's also reputedly one of London's most haunted pubs, having been used during the Napoleonic wars as an officers mess and as a drinking and gambling den, in the cellar, for the lower ranking soldiers. Apparently, even the Duke of Wellington once drank here.

The hauntings come from the legend that a junior soldier who was playing cards here was beaten to death, or almost beaten to death before he fell down the stairs, and subsequently returned to haunt the establishment. Legend has it that customers frequently feel chills in the bar, and one former policeman turned to find a cigar smoking itself in thin air beside him. Apparently there is even a crucifix in the cellar to warn off bad spirits. September is the big month for hauntings, so pop by then.

Footsteps, silent spirits and more have been sighted. For more information, visit http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub384.html, or for more on the ghosts click here.

Click here to see the location on a map.

2 comments:

  1. my dad used to be a tour guide in the 70s and always used to finish his tours here. he took me here a couple of years ago and i've been trying to find it ever since. thanks for bringing it back to my attention!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's certainly a bit of a maze round there.

    ReplyDelete