The Golden Fleece: One Of York's Oldest Pubs
The Golden Fleece is one of York's oldest pubs, it's also said to be home to several resident ghosts.
The pub overlooks the medieval shops of The Shambles, one of York’s oldest rows of shops.
You can immediately tell how old the building is as soon as you step inside.
This charming building was built with a wooden frame and no foundations, making the floors, ceilings and doorways all crooked and at times, gravity-defying.
Whilst the pub has a narrow frontage, it is very deep, with a front bar, a corridor containing staircases and toilets leading to second bar, and past that a space with dining tables.
There is further dining space upstairs, in an old-fashioned room with a set of armour.
The Golden Fleece was first mentioned in the York City Archives as far back as 1503.
It is believed that it was once owned by members of the Merchant Adventurer’s Guild, who traded in fleeces and wool.
Hence the golden fleece hanging above the entrance door.
It has been an inn since 1656, though officially licensed in 1668.
The back yard of the inn is named "Lady Peckett's Yard" after Alice Peckett, the wife of John Peckett who owned the premises as well as being Lord Mayor of York around 1702.
In 1983, the historic pub was designated as a grade II listed building by English Heritage, making it of ‘national significance.’
The inn claims to be the most haunted public house in the city of York - in fact, It was featured in Most Haunted, a television series about supposedly paranormal phenomena.
Apparently, many guests reported seeing and hearing a woman going up and down the stairs in the middle of the night.
This ghost is believed to be the spirit of Lady Alice Peckett - she’s also known for moving furniture around because she doesn’t agree with how it was placed.
Another ghost that is often seen and heard is the ghost of the Canadian Airman.
His name was Geoff Monroe. He fell to his death from one of the upper windows of the hotel during WWII.
The airman sometimes appears to guests on the third floor in the middle of the night wearing his full military uniform. He doesn’t speak, he just stands there in the dark gazing down at them.
Today, this quaint and deeply traditional pub/hotel is definitely the place to stay if you’re looking to enjoy York.
It has four bedrooms, but each of them is en-suite and they are all very different.
The Shambles room has a king-size four poster double bed and overlooks the medieval street.
The St. Catherine’s room is a twin/triple room, housing an en-suite bathroom in a secret room, the Lady Peckett’s room is a cosy double with a preserved ceiling rose and the Minster Suite is a stunning en-suite room that includes a king-size four poster.
All rooms include breakfast as standard, served from 9.00am, and you can choose from a traditional English breakfast, a continental breakfast or a vegetarian breakfast.
For your evening meals and lunches, the Golden Fleece offers a number of eating choices, including soups, pate, nachos, burgers, luxury burgers and hot and cold baguettes.
The reviews on TripAdvisor are great, too!
One recent visitor said: “Stayed in the lady peckett room Sunday night absolutely beautiful room,very comfortable and all amenities excellent.
”Heard spooky footsteps during the night to my delight....had visited on the Friday night and ended up staying to closing as we were having so much fun with the locals, bartenders and kitchen manager Jake.”
Another person added: “We have been coming to this pub for years but never wrote a review on it so this year I'm going to give it the praise it deserves!
”We come to York every year for our anniversary and always book a table here for our anniversary lunch. the menu had changed since our last visit but the food never disappoints!
”Love the spooky haunted vibe it has! Highly recommended our trip wouldn't be the same without coming here!
”Haven't got the guts to stay the night here with it been haunted but maybe one year we might get the courage to stay overnight.”
Perfect destination to explore The Shambles
Shambles is one of York's most famous landmarks and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe.
With its cobbled streets and overhanging buildings, it is believed to have been the inspiration behind Diagon Alley from the movie adaptation of the Harry Potter series.
Although none of the original shop-fronts have survived from medieval times, some properties still have exterior wooden shelves, reminders of when cuts of meat were served from the open windows.
The street was made narrow by design to keep the meat out of direct sunlight, but you can readily imagine the Shambles packed with people and awash with offal and discarded bones.
Today, the beautiful old buildings have been restored and now house cheerful cafés, quirky boutiques and even a coin & stamp dealer and the smells are rather more pleasant with aromas from the chocolate, fudge and sweet shops, clothes and accessories and gift shops.
It’s a beautiful place to explore - but be warned that it can get very busy, especially during holiday time.
If you’d like to visit the Golden Fleece pub, the address is: Golden Fleece, 16 Pavement, York YO1 9UP.
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