THE CORNER CUPBOARD INN - WINCHCOMBE

The Corner Cupboard Inn, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

Although The Corner Cupboard Inn is one of Winchcombe’s oldest buildings, it is one of its newest inns, and did not acquire a licence until 1877.

It was built as a farmhouse around 1550, using stones from the recently dissolved Winchcombe Abbey.

The unusual name of the pub came about in the 1940s when a visiting RAF officer was so taken by its maze of corridors and dark corners that he dubbed it the ‘Corner Cupboard’.

Legend holds that at some stage in the latter half of the 19th century a young girl who worked at the inn refused to submit to the landlord’s lustful advances.

So angered was he by her rejection that he threw her to her death down the steps that still exist at the back of the pub.

Her ghost, which witnesses describe as being around 12 or 13 years old and wearing a blue dress, has haunted the pub ever since.

She is mostly seen towards the back of the restaurant, and glimpses of her tend to be somewhat fleeting.

However, staff and customers in the bar have frequently been startled by the sound of childish footsteps running across the upstairs room, even though it is known to be empty and there are no children on the premises.

More unnerving is the rocking chair in this same room that is often heard moving back and forth of its own accord.

Then there was the barmaid who worked at the inn for many years and who liked nothing better than to sit in the bar of an evening with a glass of cider.

Usually she would be allowed to enjoy her tipple in peace.

But if she ever wore a blue dress the ghost would respond by lifting the glass and emptying her drink into her lap.

Evidently The Corner Cupboard’s phantom jealously guards her fashion sense!