Been out and about today ,visited ......... History & Haunting of: Rattery ,Devon ,England ,U.K Rattery is a village and civil parish in Devon,the name is often interpreted as a variant of Red Tree and is listed in the Domesday Book as Ratreu. The Church House Inn is situated in the village of Rattery within the traditional forty paces of the church gate of St Marys , in the beautiful Devon countryside a few minutes from Dartmoor. The Church House Inn of Rattery has a quasi-ecclesiastical character. There is site evidence of an earlier building prior to that which we know today. This explains the posited foundation date of 1028, a long time before the sixteenth century building. The building is on a long rectangular plan. Next to the stair turret bottom doorframe with cranked head, in the south west corner is a fireplace, with a massive stone lintel. At the opposite end is to be found a rare Edward VII post-box, salvaged from a traffic accident at the Viaduct. The dining room has been converted from original stabling. It is difficult to imagine, but what is now the beer cellar at rear of the inn, was once the main entrance, which fronted onto the road, and this explains the position of the horse mounting block. There is a well, in the present lounge, by the modern staircase, which has been covered, for safely reasons, and is no longer in evidence. The Church House Inn were mostly used by those who came to church. Undoubtedly they played a large part, not only in the civil life, but also were an important adjunct to the church. When village life was strong in Britain, some churchwardens provided malt, which was made into strong beer, or ale and sold either in church or nearby. Money so obtained would be applied to church repairs, and to provide for services. In the west country, the church authorities often staunchly defended this old custom. Early diocesan reports of church ales put it plainly: they are for people who go from afternoon prayer to their lawful sports, and pastimes in the churchyard, or in some public house where they drink and make merry. For ten years, from 1601, William Martin was the innkeeper at Rattery. Even at that date, the Inn had become an important part of the social, economic, political, and even the religious changes that were ocurring. It was the one place, apart from their homes, where serfs had some freedom of expression, and could socialise, out of sight (and hearing) of the lord of the manor. The income from the sale of ale was used to also fund voluntary groups, such as the bellringers, who would appear to have been lavishly entertained in the Church House Inn. There are some old customs that should definitely be revived! There is in the pub, a document which purports to be authentic dated October 23rd 1779, from The Court House, Ashburton: Your Lordships, With regard to ye late epidemic of Highway Robbery upon ye Ashburton to Bovey Tracy Highroads. Information has this day been laid with us that the sole perpetrator of these Barbarous Acts of Violence upon ye Exeter coach and its Innocent Passengers is one Thomas Carter – alias Capt. Black, – a Notorious Rogue and Wanted Criminal. It is further disclosed that the proceeds of these Infamous Violations have been carried after nightfall to ye Church House Inn at Rattery – where they have been secreted away within Ingenious Hiding Places, set within the fabric of the building. Therefore with Your Lordships consent, it is my firm contention to place a discreet watch upon ye said house, in order that we may apprehend the culprit. I trust that my actions will meet with Your Lordships approbation. Your humble servant, George Harley Capt. Light Dragoons A poster advertising a fifty guinea reward for the capture of Captain Black is also on display in the pub. The list of innkeepers shows that `landladies’ have played an important part since 1672. For a long period before 1914: William Coaker, Victualler, and Carpenter (1827 – 1870) followed by his widow, Jane Coaker, (1870 – 1873) George Coaker( 1873 – 1878) followed by his widow, Mary Ann Coaker, ( 1899 – 1914) Every self-respecting pub of great age should have a ghost, and the Church House is no exception. The Kirk’s son Graham reports that there is a rather shy, but friendly spirit in residence. He (or she) waited until the patrons had left and the staff were clearing up, before making its’ presence known by walking around upstairs late at night. Footsteps could be heard upstairs, but not in the corridor. It walked through walls, which makes one wonder if the layout of the upstair rooms and been different in earlier times. Graham only saw the ghost once, when he saw a distinct shadow moving around in their dining room. However, it also made its’ presence known on occasion by moving glasses around in the bar. Brian Evans (the previous landlord) was at that time the only person in the pub to deal with the beer and the pumps, but two or three times every year, the pump pressure would suddenly disappear, and when he would go to check, he would find that there was plenty of gas to pump the beer. The pumps, however, had mysteriously been switched off, when no one but Brian could have had access to the cellar. On another occasion a parishioner informed Brian that he had seen someone go through the gate in the middle of the hedge into his garden. When informed that there was no gate in that spot, he refused to believe this, until he had examined the hedge, but he still swore that he saw a hooded figure go through the hedge at that particular place. There are other pieces of folklore concerning the pub. One surrounds the painting, (signed ‘Mary Fisher’ and dated 1892), of the monk, hanging in the bar, to the right of the door to the kitchen. The legend is that calamity will befall the pub if it is removed. The only time it left the pub was when it was sent for cleaning, and the landlord had an accident and fell off a ladder. Another concerns a tunnel from the pub to the church. Legend has it that one exists, and runs from the fireplace in what was the public bar, where there is an inlet is visible in the left hand side of the Inglenook. There is also supposed to be a priest hole in the same place. The lintel is of extraordinary length, and extends several feet beyond the end of the fireplace. The priest hole is understandable, but no one knows why there should be a tunnel in situ, or where it is suppose to exit in the church. However, a parishioner with divining skills has determined that there appears to be a void running from the fireplace, through the pub, an exits under the front wall at the east end. thechurchhouseinn.co.uk/ Loved the old church door :)
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:19:45 +0000
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