‘Haunted’ 500-year-old pub with ‘little girl ghost’ gives off two unexplainable smells

A pub so old its become a regular haunt for psychic sleuths gives off two bizarre smells its landlord has no explanation for.

Ye Olde Leathern Bottel in Wednesbury, West Midlands, has roots back to 1510AD when it was built as a coach house which within a few centuries, purportedly housed notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

Today, landlord Karl Silvester, 34, says he’s in the quaint boozer alone far too much to believe its shrouded with spirits as it’d render him frightened day and night.

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No matter how sceptical of ghosts Karl is, though, he can’t deny there is no rhyme nor reason behind the old boozer’s daily whiffs of toast and paint.

And that’s before the chilling sounds Karl’s heard about the place.

Karl who took over Ye Olde Leathern Bottelin January 2019, told BlackCountryLive

“I have heard things, especially in the cellar,” he said. “I’ve heard a tapping and some of the barrels tick.

“Me personally, I haven’t seen anything but we have a regular psychic night. Just before Covid, one of the mediums sent me a picture and said there was a little girl standing at the door. But I’m very sceptical and I try not to believe it because I have to come here on my own.

“Quite often you can small toast and paint. I’m not sure why. The toast can be anytime in the day whereas the paint is when you come in the morning.

“We had a workman. I left him to carry on what he was doing and he said the chair in here had moved on its own. Actually, it was the chair you are sitting in.”

Character oozes from the pub’s interior. Old timber beams crisscross the ceiling, while the window of the front door is shaped like an old leather bottle, a nod to the pub’s name. Behind the bar is an old clock, with the pub’s name engraved on it.

And around the back is a collection of photographs of old pubs in Wednesbury, taken by Derek Wilkins in 1966. They’ve been printed onto beer mats and placed around the pub for people to collect.

Karl says parts of the pub are still the original 16th-century building, including the bar area, but one of the rooms which has a fireplace in it was formerly the stables. The rear of the building was an extension added later on.

Karl said: “I like the character, I think because it is traditional. Most pubs you go into are open-planned.

“This is nice, we have got four nice little rooms and a beer garden. If people come and sit in here, generally the music is off and it is more of a quieter room. The bar can get quite loud with people singing. The back is where the sports are shown. Really you have a good mix.”

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