Ye Olde Black Cross, Bromsgrove

Ye Olde Black Cross at 70 Worcester Road in Bromsgrove dates back to 1640 and as well has being linked to King Charles II it has a reputation for being haunted, evidence of which it has been suggested was caught on CCTV (Closed Circuit Televison) camera footage.

This old coaching inn built on a crossroads is said to have been a place of public execution. The criminals were held in the cellar before being hung at the rear of the pub, according to one source roughly where the current beer garden and lounge are. They were said to have been buried in un-consecrated land by the crossroads.

King Charles II
On 3 September 1651 Oliver Cromwell (born 25 April 1599 – died 3 September 1658) with a force of 28,000 men defeated the 16,00 strong force of King Charles II (born 29 May 1630 – died 6 February 1685) at the Battle of Worcester, ending the English Civil War. Charles fled the battle and was hunted as a fugitive throughout England as he made his way toward France, a journey which took him six weeks.

The escape of King Charles II took him through Bromsgrove, at which point he was disguised as the servant of Jane Lane (born 1617 – died 9 September 1689), sister of the Royalist Colonel John Lane (born 8 April 1609 – died September 1667) of Bentley Hall. Jane had a military issued permit to travel, accompanied by a servant, to Abbot’s Leigh in Somerset to visit a pregnant friend. The route would take them past Bristol and give Charles a chance to get a ship to France.

Upon arrival in Bromsgrove their horse needed re-shoeing and Charles took it to the local blacksmith, an actual event recorded by Samuel Pepys. The site of this blacksmiths shop is thought to be where the garage of Ye Olde Black Cross is now.

Haunted?
Ye Olde Black Cross is reputedly haunted by a Royalist soldier who is said to walk between the bar and lounge along a passageway. Other sources also suggest the kitchen is haunted by a young girl that was said to have been murdered on the premises. The kitchen was part of a Victorian house and a bin in there has been reported to move. Two of the pubs bedrooms are also thought to be haunted.

CCTV
Strange lights were caught on CCTV footage in the pub and some have thought this is the ghost caught on camera.  A video report about this case is available on the BBC News website.