The Cowick Barton is one of Exeter’s oldest pubs and also one of the most haunted.
Although the inn has stood for nearly 500 years, traces of the site date way back to the 12th century.
The building was part of the new Cowick Priory, which was appropriated by King Henry VI to support Eton College.
Hundreds of years later, the mansion was built in 1540 by Lord Russell, and to this day many of its original features, including some of the stone mullioned windows and flagstone floors remain.
But, perhaps the most interesting part of history about the Cowick Barton, is the number of ghost sightings that have been reported.
According to Ghostpubs.com, witnesses have seen an elderly monk patrolling. He walks in through the front door, across the lounge, only to disappear in the bar.
Locals knew him as Fred. He usually dressed in a dark coloured habit.
He has a most benign face. People who have seen him say he appears so kindly and caring they have no fear of him.
Another apparition here is dressed in the uniform of a Royalist soldier from the English Civil War.
Often he is seen in bedrooms bending over people as they sleep, and has even been seen walking outside the pub dragging a body!
It is thought that the monk was making cheese when he heard screams, and saw his sister being attacked by a man.
'Fred' attacked the man with a cheese wire and cut off his head.
Other ghost sightings claim to have reported seeing a red haired woman looking out of the attic window, as well as barrels in the cellar moving on their own....
As well as ghosts, it is also alleged that there are secret tunnels to St Thomas Church and Bowhill House.
Part of the house, a stained-glass window which depicts the arms of Edward VI, Prince of Wales, is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Years passed, with several owners coming and going, and in 1920, the house and farm were sold for £2,450, before it was purchased by a brewery, with the public house still standing today.
The Cowick Barton recently had a £350,000 investment, with many Tudor features still visible, with the original wooden beams and fireplaces still there.
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