The Rose & Crown, Hemel Hempstead
The Rose and Crown in Hemel Hempstead was originally a butchers shop. In 1537 the owner is recorded as brewing mead for his workers. The ale business grew until it took over and the oldest ale house in the Old High Street, Hemel Hempstead began.
There are purported to be several ghosts at the Rose and Crown. One, called the ‘grey lady’, is said to be responsible for kitchen switches turning on and off during the night. Another could be the ghost of a young girl who lived in the pub locked in her room because she was crippled. In recent years a pair of girl’s shoes were found during some renovation work. What made this particularly unusual is that the shoes were very old and the sole of one was built up.
By Adrian Mallett
Re: The Rose & Crown, Hemel Hempstead
Wow! This is fascinating . . . as evidenced by the built-up shoe it would certainly appear that the crippled girl was locked up in the room and left to die, which must have been a terrible ordeal for her. Does anyone know how old the shoes are or the likely era that the little girl lived?