Murder at the Horse and Jockey Inn

 Sometimes, when poking around in the past you can stumble across information that makes your jaw drop to the floor!  This happened to me when researching this next story.

The Horse and Jockey is a 15th century building that used to be a vicarage in the 17th century.  Today it is a picturesque pub near Pontypool with a ghost called Martha.

Through the years it has seen its share of drama and tragedy.  In 1850, John Lee, keeper to Capel Hanbury Leigh of Pontypool Park was passing through a wood called Coed-y-Canthan when he saw something strange on the ground.  On closer inspection he fond that it was the body of a new-born baby boy.  He estimated he had been dead for about six weeks.  The body was removed and taken to the Horse and Jockey, a common practice at the time was to hold inquests in public houses.

On 25th December 1858, a huge thunderstorm broke out over the area and according to newspaper reports 'electric rain' entered the building via a chimney and tore down pans and clocks.  People attending a funeral were knocked down, their clothes and faces scorched.

In 1862, an inquiry was held into the death of the landlord, Isaac Walford.  He was a heavy drinker and because of this had become very ill and weak.  He was trembling, suffered from diarrhoea and had to be assisted upstairs to bed, where he died a couple of hours later.  His wife Elizabeth then became landlady, whose years there appear to have passed quietly. By 1875, Elizabeth Jeremiah was landlady.  She was fined twenty shillings for entertaining a funeral party during prohibited hours.

Then in 1903, an event occurred that, for me, was the jaw dropping part.  On 28th November, the landlord of the Horse and Jockey, Thomas Fletcher, requested his licence to be transferred to his son, William Henry Fletcher.  However the transfer was objected to by Superintendent James of the Pontypool police who considered William Fletcher to be unsuitable for the job as he had already assaulted and killed a customer at the pub.  It was alleged William Fletcher struck the man and as far as the police were concerned should have been convicted of manslaughter but a doctor declared the man had died from natural causes.

It was at this point I wondered whether the ghost of 'Martha' could be the spirit of the assaulted customer.  After all, spirits are said to haunt places where they were killed.  Was the spirit hanging around because of his untimely death?  Was he trying to get a message across to the living that an injustice had been done?  I read old newspapers and investigated the story further.  An inquiry was held in Pontypool into the death of the customer.  He had been leaving the Horse and Jockey on April 17th 1902 when he had been hit down.  The customer was aged 38, married with three children, the youngest of whom was only five years old.  His name was Isaiah Baddeley - my great great grandfather!

The story doesn't end there though.  On 12th May 2014 I went along to a paranormal evening at the Horse and Jockey.  I've  always wanted to go on a ghost hunt but wasn't sure if I would like it but this one was different.  It was the place my great great grandfather was killed.  I had a feeling I had to go.  So I went out of curiosity to see if the mediums would pick anything up.

There was about twenty of us at the pub.  We sat in the oldest part, what used to be the coaching inn, dating from around the 15th century.  As the night progressed I mentioned to the host that my ancestor had been killed in the area we were located and she suggested I tell the story to the group.  I did not reveal how he had been killed but at the end of the story one lady said she had felt the sensation of being hit in the back of the head as she walked through the entrance and was picking up on a body lying in the doorway.  She had described exactly how my ancestor had been killed.

The landlord in 2014 also related a spooky experience.  He was sat downstairs in the bar with another person when they heard footsteps running upstairs when  no one was up there.

We also held a séance.  Plenty of cold spots and a woman next to me describing the feeling of having a very upset stomach.  This made me think of the landlord Isaac Walford who had died in 1862 from diarrhoea.  The ghost of a vicar with a round hat was mentioned next and the spirits of two women also came through.  One was described as being very short, the other very large so could have been previous landladies.  The spirit of a little boy also came through, dressed in scruffy clothes and dirty, why he was there no one could ascertain.

At 12.30 am the  the evening came to a close.  A really interesting, sometimes freaky but never frightening night. I would definitely go to the Horse and Jockey again.  As for my great great grandfather, I like to think he is perhaps now at peace, his story having been told

Taken from my book 'Gwent History and Mystery'

Gwent History and Mystery: Amazon.co.uk: Lewis, Carol Ann, lewis, carol Ann: 9781492171393: Books