Echoes of the Past: Gloucestershire's Most Haunted Village

Prestbury Village, located near Cheltenham, is known as one of the most haunted places in Gloucestershire. Dating as far back as the 15th century, the tales and sightings of ghosts still haunt the locals to this day.

Ask any resident of the village about the most active ghost, and they will undoubtedly tell you about The Black Abbot, who is frequently seen in the church and churchyard.

Martin, a staff member at the Plough Inn, said: "Some relatives of mine had a few drinks and were walking through an alleyway from the Churchyard. As they were passing through, the last person in the group turned a shade of white. When asked what was wrong, he said, 'Didn't you see The Abbot come straight through us?'"

The Plough Inn has been standing at the heart of Prestbury since the 1600s. Before it became a pub, the building was used for wakes, and the long tables that are still there today were where coffins were placed. A previous owner of the pub claimed that, supposedly, the fluids from the corpses buried at the Church pass through underground to the Pub. Martin stated: “I’ve not seen any spooks myself even after being here for 12 years, but we have heard that there’s a few spirits around. We’ve even had tests done and so and so forth that have said there are spirits around. One was a local butcher whose presence is around normally where the fireplace is.”

“I’ve got one more story, many years ago, a lady was working in the kitchen and her granddaughter (aged 4) came in and said “Nanny, I’ve just seen a nice old lady. She just came through the wall, said hello to me and carried on going.” Children don’t lie do they, they tell it as it is.” – Martin, at the Plough Inn.

As well as the Plough Inn, there are other locations in the village where ghosts are rumoured to lurk. For example, the Sundial Cottage where a girl is heard playing a spinet (a small harpsichord) and the Burgage, which is the oldest street in Prestbury.

The Prestbury Ghost Walk is a tour through the area that covers all the haunted sightings, and it has attracted people to visit Prestbury from all over the country. Up until 2019, the Cotswolds Ghost Tours that took the tourists on the walk were in full swing, but then they stopped.

A local man who lives in the area said: “I don’t think they should have been stopped; I have no problem with it as long as they don’t get in the way. If anything, it’s good for the village!”

“My friend Julia worked at the restaurant, and when she came down all the chairs were upside down on the table. As if somebody was about to sweep up!” - a regular at the Kings Arms Pub talks about a ghost story.