Halloween Post - The Sun Inn, Chipping

The annual Halloween post found me under grey skies in Lancashire in 2023, searching out a haunted pub and a gravestone in the local church yard.

Twelve miles NE of Preston, in the Ribble Valley, the village of Chipping is home to just over a thousand folk.  It's a picturesque place, the smell of real fires drifting out of chimney pots into the damp October skies.

Right in the heart of the village, on a disappointingly un-windy Windy Street, is the Sun Inn.
Complete with checklist of reasons to visit...

They spell 'Friendly' and 'Bubbly' differently in this part of the country.
(Incidentally, Prop Up the Bar is NOT in a position to point of spelling errors!!!)

The Sun Inn (Windy Street, Chipping, PR3 2DG)
It's a thoroughly pleasant 17th century inn.
With it's own tale of tragedy and ghostly goings-on, as required for the Halloween post.

Lizzie Dean was said to be a maid at the pub who made the mistake of falling in love with a local scoundrel who seduced her and led her to expect that they would be wed.  But, having whisked her into his bed, he then cast Lizzie aside and announcing he was marrying her best friend instead.

On the day of the wedding, Lizzie hung herself in the attic room of the inn with a clear view of the church where the nuptials were taking place.
A suicide note clasped in her hand included a request to be buried at the entrance to the church "so my lover and my best friend will always have to walk past my grave every time they go to church".
Because of the nature of her death, the grave was instead located in the SE corner of St Bartholomew's Church, which some suggest may be why she's stuck around to haunt her old place of work ever since.

In June of 1999, a chap from Edinburgh was enjoying a morning pint when the temperature dropped and a young girl with hair in ringlets, wearing a dress of many colours, appeared in the snug.  His greeting was ignored and she moved on to another room, only for the man to discover there was no such young lady anywhere in the pub at the time.

Landlords over the years have described catching glimpses or Lizzie wandering through the rooms in her colourful dress.

I'm afraid that I didn't spot any ghostly figures.
What a lovely pub, though.

Several rooms led off a smart entry hall with polished wooden floor and coat stand.  There are plenty of comfy places to settle down close to a warm fireplace, with dart board and ring-the-bull game in the room to rear.
Three real ales were on offer - Wainwright 'Amber', Timothy Taylor 'Boltmaker', and Bowland 'Buster IPA'.  I stuck to the locally brewed Bowland which was a lovely pint in good condition.

My research brought up a report by someone who claimed to have proof that Lizzie died from natural causes and there were no marriages at the church around the time of her death. 
Let's face it, you can shout 'nonsense' at the ghost story, but where's the fun in that.
And who are we to question what a Scotsman saw during his morning drinking session!

Ultimately, the story of Lizzie Dean caused me to divert to this charming village and enjoy a cracking  pint of local beer in this fine pub.