Down the road from the Church of St John the Baptist, on the corner of the High Street and Madgalene Street that passes by Glastonbury Tor is The George and Pilgrim. 1 High Street, just a stone throw from Abbey Park, has the reputation of being haunted.
The building dates from at least 1475 as a pre-Reformation inn. It was used by people visiting Glastonbury Abbey and, perhaps, even by some monks.
One of the reported ghosts in the building is that of a monk which, back in the 70s, is said to have sat on the bed of a guest and talked about Queen Elizabeth. It’s not common for reported ghost sightings to include dialogue.
Another reported ghost is that of “hanging judge” George Jeffreys. Baron Jeffreys (15 May 1645 to 18 April 1689) was Lord Chancellor and Lord High Steward under the reign of King James II of England.
It’s not unusually for hotels and pubs to circulate ghost stories as way of bringing in tourists. If you want to stay at The George & Pilgrim you can book at sites like Hotels.com and although no mention of ghosts are mentioned there the subject is brought up by customer reviews on Tripadvisor. The George & Pilgrim gets mixed reviews.
However, most hotels and pubs with a ghost story do not have a photograph to fuel the speculation – 1 High Street on Glastonbury does. If people ask, “Is The George & Pilgrim really haunted?” the owners can show this picture.
The photograph was taken by a customer. The owners, Cathy Breakwell and Andy White, told local press that they’re used to seeing orbs on the CCTV the pub uses.
“At night you can clearly see orbs on the CCTV in the bar, and I have had things put into a glass of water when there was nobody in the room – but we couldn’t believe it when we saw the photograph – it was amazing.
“He took it right in front of me, in a bar full of customers, and every photograph he took afterwards didn’t have the shape in it.”
Cathy does not believe the spirit is that of a monk. She suggests that the ghost may be that of a woman who fell in love with one of the Glastonbury monks.
“They fell in love, but because of his vows, they couldn’t be together,”
“He ended up being walled up in one of the tunnels that led between the pub and the abbey, and while they couldn’t be together in life, they are together in death.”
In Pure Spirit
What do you make of the picture? If this just a blur, a smudge on the lens or a digital distortion – or is this a paranormal occurance caught on camera?
