The Golden Fleece is an inn in York, England, which has a free house pub on the ground floor and four guest bedrooms above. It dates back to at least the early 16th century, and claims to be the most haunted public house in York. [1] [2]
The Golden Fleece is an inn in York, England, which has a free house pub on the ground floor and four guest bedrooms above. It dates back to at least the early 16th century, and claims to be the most haunted public house in York. [1] [2]
The Golden Fleece was originally built as a coaching house. [3] The inn is mentioned in the York City Archives as far back as 1503, when it was owned by the Merchant Adventurers' Hall. [4] [5] The building derives it name from its dealings with local wool traders. From 1656, it began operating as an inn, however it was not officially licensed until 1668. [5] [6]
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. [7] It is also claimed that Alice Peckett's ghost haunts the building. [3]
In 1800, Elizabeth Johnson was convicted of forging a £1 bank note and was sentenced to death. She was hanged on 23 August 1800 and became the last woman to be executed at York's Tyburn. A replica of her skull is displayed at the Golden Fleece. On 1 January 2022, the skull was stolen from the pub, but was later returned that same month. [8] [9]
The inn was rebuilt in the 19th century. In 1983, it was designated as a grade II listed building by English Heritage. [10]
The inn claims to be the most haunted public house in the City of York. [11] It was featured in Most Haunted , a television series about supposedly paranormal phenomena. [1] [12]
The pub is situated on the Pavement in the centre of York. It is next to the Herbert House, a Grade I listed building which has a first floor jetty incorporated into a side passage of the Golden Fleece. [10]
The Golden Fleece was built with pink-grey Flemish-bonded bricks, while the wing and outbuilding used orange-red English garden-wall bonded bricks. The front features glazed tiles and ashlar, with a timber cornice. The roof is tiled at the front and pan tiled at the back. The first and second floors have tripartite windows, in addition to both having painted channelled wedge lintels and painted sills. [10]
