Wotton is a hilly little town, and the Ram sits in a dip at one of the lowest points, on Potters Pond, now one of the side streets running down from Church Street and the High Street.
The Ram Inn is believed to have been built around 1145,however the local council have no record of it being there until 1380. 1145 was the year when William FitzRobert, son of the first Lord Berkeley, was installed as the first recorded Rector of Wotton. This would have been one of the more substantial lay buildings, it served as the priest's house and a "church ale house" - a cross between the Church Hall and Tithe Barn.
The Ram is a substantial building, its frontage extending along Potters Pond, the two lower stories of Cotswold stone with a timber framed lath and plaster "Weavers' Attic" above. Unlike other properties, it survived the fire which destroyed most of the town in the reign of King John, and is said to have housed the craftsmen who built the fine 13th Century wool Church of St Mary the Virgin on the higher ground along the main street.
According to the original deeds of the house, the property would have been approximately three times larger then it's present size. The house would have had three main wings spreading around the court yard - what is now used as the carpark. My interpretation of the layout is that the wing that is now standing would have been used as the main stables and accommodation for the workers. The dirt floors have remained, and architectural evidence (eg, the weaving hooks found through out the remaining building) does support this use. Despite that and its present dilapidation, it has earned a Grade II* listing.
The Ram Inn gained it's first drinks licence in 1815, and closed as a pub in 1968. It is now a private residence and has gained fame because of its ghostly apparitions. It is believed to have been built on a site of pagan sacrifice. The ram also traded under the name of the Old Sun between 1822 and 1828.
Joseph Pinnell - Married an Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and had numerous children. Their descendents sill live in the Wotton area.
Henry and Elizabeth Dauncey made quite a decent profit from the Ram inn and moved to just outside of Manchester. They were deeply religious, and Anglican In 1897 they came back to Wotton Under Edge to Wotton to visit relatives. One afternoon they all went to a Tea at Ebenezer Methodist Church Sunday School - where Elizabeth dropped dead. Henry was so heartbroken that he built Bradley Street chapel in her memory.
According to Gloucestershire Burial Index, Thomas Mizen had two other children, Elizabeth Ann who died 9 Oct 1860 aged 6, and John born 2 Oct 1863 aged 9 months. They died prior to Thomas licence at the Ram, so it is unlikely that they died on the property.
Another daughter of Thomas Mizen, Nora (married name Fosmin??) is believed to have been killed in the the weavers attic, however, although she existed no Death / burial certificate can be located at present for her.
Rufus Morley - At time of writing, he is alive and well, but claims to have had no Paranormal experiences related to the Ram Inn. A description of Rufus can be found by local Journalist at... http://www.newhopepa.com/voices/TG/121902.htm
Lewis Raymond Allen and a local character, said to have been very wealthy.
What I have found particularly interesting, is that the Ram in (or it's alternative name - The Old Sun) has had no reports of being haunted up until the present owner acquired the property. Whether Mr Humphries is being haunted by poltergeist activity that is solely attracted to him, has a vivid imagination or simply exploits the dereliction and age of the building for his gain is down to individual assumption. The books below have been consulted, but if you know of any hauntings in the Ram Inn prior to John's arrival, please let me know!
Charles Cox's "Gloucestershire" (1914)
Edward Hutton's book 'Highways and Byways' series (1932) "Folklore of the Cotswolds" (1974) by Katherine Briggs (local folklorist and most knowledgeable) AE Richardson's "The Old Inns of England" (1934) Richard Keverne's "Tales of Old Inns" (1939) Marc Alexander's "Haunted Inns" (1973) Guy Lyon Playfair's "The Haunted Pub Guide" (1985) Christina Hole's "Haunted England" (1940) AMW Stirling's "Ghosts Vivisected" (1957) Andrew Green's "Our Haunted Kingdom" (1973)
THE GHOSTS OF THE RAM.
A diviner has told John Humphries, the owner, that two people have been murdered on the premises, one of them a former innkeeper named Elizabeth (there have been numerous Innkeepers called Elizabeth at the Ram) who was hanged or strangled in the Attic and is buried in a blocked off cellar. However, no other local properties have, or are able to have cellars due to such a high water table that the area has.
There used to be a pond, Potters Pond, to the right hand side of the Ram. This was initially excavated during the Medieval period as the clay was used for pottery (hence, the name). Some examples of this pottery can be seen in Gloucester museum. In the 15th century the pond was used as a to add extra protein in the local's diets during hard winter months. Although this pond is now dry, and the stream that fed the pond has been diverted around the Ram in pipes, there is still a well in the garden and diggings there or inside the building strike water at about 4 feet down.
The Owner, Mr. Humphries, also claims that there is a well inside house, which is covered by a grille. On other occasions he also claims that this is a tunnel leading to the local church used by pilgrims. Again, I can't see how this is, or any cellar is possible, due to the high water table. (The local church claim no knowledge of a 'secret tunnel'!
A room that is called The Bishops Room, is often cited as being the most Paranormally active in the House. Mr. Humphries and the media at large often tells of sightings of Monks and Nuns who inhabit this room, along with the spirit of a Bishop who stayed in this room to supervise the construction of the local Church. At the time when the Church was being constructed, the chances are, only domestic servants, masons and animals would have been in that particular wing of the house. A bishop, or any other member of the clergy / priesthood would not socialise with manual workers, yet alone sleep in quarters above a stable. Mr Humphries often presents a horse shoe that he found on a ledge in the chimney in this room. He claims this is from a Goat (it is small in size), and their for associated with Devil worship. According to a Farrier in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Goats are never shod due to the fact that their hoofs are unsuited to being shod. This principle would have been known through out history.
The shoe presented by Mr. Humphries would be a practical size for any pony or small horse. As the Bishops room lies above what was formally a stable, there would have been a vast quantity of surplus shods in the vicinity. Horse shoes to this day are used as good luck charms, placed points upwards this would symbolise the waxing moon, and a Paganic sign for 'magic'. A common theory is that the horse shoe should be placed above a door way or in a fire hearth to keep Witches at bay. The points of the shoe upwards to 'stop the luck' from running out. However, If their was a Farriar in the building, he would have his 'lucky shoe' with the points downwards to allow his 'luck to fall upon his anvil'. So it is not surprising that a horse shoe was found in a chimney, and to my mind has no essence of Black Magic.
Another room that contains several ghosts, is the Witches Room. A figure of a lady (apparently a Witch who was murdered in the room) haunts there, along with her cat who urinates upon the bed leaving stains. Mr Humphries has admitted that the alleged Urine Stains are nothing more then House Hold cleaner and the legend of the pissing pussy originated as a scripted part of a 'Living TV' production.
PAGAN BURIAL SITE?
Dowsers have told Mr Humphries that the Ram stands on top of a Pagan burial ground, where human sacrifices were performed and the victims buried in a henge construction on the site. The area around the Ram has been used as a Roman burial site in the 1st century. In Paganic times, the powerful would have been buried on top of hillsides with the rituals, while the 'lower classes' would have been buried in the dips between hills. However, because of their lower social status, they would not have been buried in any form of henge or ritualistic burial. As the Ram sits at the foot of a hill, I believe it is unlikely that any Ritualistic Sacrifice would have taken place at the location.
A 1st to 4th-century cemetery was sited at Wotton along the main road towards the Ram Inn. It is from this burial ground that the well-preserved tombstone of the Thracian cavalryman, Rufus Sita, came. It is Mid First Century AD, and is about 1.5 metres high.
This is the tombstone of a Roman auxiliary cavalryman. It shows the dead man on horseback, trampling his fallen enemy. Rufus wears a helmet and carries a shield, a spear and a sword. The clean lines of the sculpture make it look as if he is unclothed. The details of his clothes and armour were probably painted on, but have now disappeared. The stone is the local oolitic limestone.
At the top of the stone is a sphinx, the guardian of the dead, and two lions representing the jaws of death.
The stone was discovered in the 19th century and passed into the collection of the Purnell family of Stinchcombe, who later gave it to the Gloucester Museum.
The text upon the stone is....
RVFVS SITA EQVES CHO VI
TRACVM ANN XL STIP XXII
HEREDES EXS TEST F CVRAVE
H S E
Which translates literally as:
Rufus Sita, Horseman of the Sixth Cohort
of Thracians; 40 years (old); paid (for) 22 (years);
His heirs, according to his will, had this made.
Here is the site
Or more colloquially as: Here lies Rufus Sita, a cavalryman of the 6th Thracian Cohort, who served for 22 of his 40 years. His heirs had this made, according to his will. This is his burial place.
Another burial stone was found in Wotton in 1824. It has since been lost, but the Text reads:- XXS LIVI SATVRNINI SITPENDIORVM XIII OVRM MXXXX. Which translates to ....'Soldier of the 20th Legion from century of Livius Saturninus, of 13 years service, aged 40'. The 20th Legion were based at Colchester, so Wotton was a probably out post for the Romans.
THE LEY LINE
The Inn stands on a ley line running between Ley Farm and Hetty Peglar's Tump, a late stone age burial mound, which John says runs directly through the Witch's Room, the Church and Stonehenge.
The Michael/Mary Ley Line or Serpent Line stretches across southern England at a rough 27 degrees from Land's End to Great Yarmouth. It is naturally aligned with the rising sun at Beltane in May and Lugnassad in August when the solar rays illuminate the whole serpent from end to end. In the 60's, John Michell rediscovered this ancient Line but it was not until 10 years ago that it was thoroughly dowsed and mapped by Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst, who determined that it was actually made up of a male and female line that twisted across the landscape like electrical wires.
The Michael and Mary serpents cross 20 times at Node Points where the Ancients erected several of their Temples. Three such Nodes exist at Avebury/Silbury, however, geomancers also laid out on each line a litter of carefully constructed stone circles, coits, megaliths, burial mounds, dolmens, menhirs, mumps, tors, and altars. These Ancients were concerned with the big picture so they could harmonize Heaven and Earth for the benefit of the community. They observed the relative movement of stars, fathomed the Earth's wobble and determined the processional cycles of time. They understood the effects of eclipses upon the land and knew when the serpent energies in the earth would wax and wane.
According to several leading experts on Lay lines, Robert Coon in particular, the Michael/Mary Line" is one of 2 Global Serpents or Driver Dragon Paths that regulate thought and feeling consciousness around our planet. These two huge telluric meridians twine in a sinusoidal double helix around the Earth's surface, mirroring the dual serpents that ascend our spinal column. They receive the incoming energies of the Sun, Moon, planets and entire Cosmos and dispense this in a regulated fashion out through the interconnecting Grid, thereby affecting our personal awareness." (What ever that means!)
By 1965, the Ram was losing its customers and sliding into dereliction, and in that year its last pint was pulled. By 1968 it was suffering from death watch beetle, the dry stone walls were falling apart and it was due for demolition as part of a road-widening scheme when Whitbread sold it to John Humphries, a former train driver John moved his wife and three young daughters into what was by then, and remains, a derelict building without running water. Living in the Ram under those conditions, and with the ghostly occurrences which were reported from the start, cost him his marriage, his money and (for a while) close contact with his children. That the Ram is still hanging on is due almost entirely to his determination.
