If you’re ever on a visit around Pendle in Lancashire, do yourself a favour and take a day trip West to the stunning village of Chipping and The Sun Inn – reputed to be one of the most haunted pubs in the North of England.
The drive alone is well worth it. You’ll rarely see such beautiful countryside.
Chipping
The village of Chipping sits in the Ribble Valley, in the Forest of Bowland – an area of outstanding beauty. Chipping itself has won numerous best kept village awards over the years, and it’s easy to see why once you get there.
Filled with cottages built in the 16th and 17th Century, it’s thought to date back over 1000 years when it was known as Chippenden in the Domesday Book.
Unfortunately, with it being a gorgeous ancient village, it’s also not very wheelchair friendly unless you have a good strong companion or two to help you up and down the hills and steps. I’m not even sure a power chair would cope, to be fair.
But if you’re able bodied and fit, you can enjoy a lovely stroll around the picturesque streets.
The Sun Inn
If you’re visiting Wednesday to Sunday, you can get a hearty lunch at the Grade II listed Sun Inn, sitting at 2 Windy Street.
The Inn serves hearty, home cooked food, alongside specialist wines and spirits, and cask ales, as well as the normal beers and lagers.
They also welcome muddy boots and paws, from humans and dogs alike. Where better to stop to refuel after a long walk. And you may get a glimpse of their resident ghost…
Lizzie Dean
In 1835, Elizabeth Dean arrived in the village of Chipping, beginning work as a maid at the Sun Inn, alongside another young girl named Elsie Trainer. Elizabeth, or Lizzie as she became known, soon caught the eye of a young gentleman named James Freeman and they began courting. But apparently James only pretended to woo Lizzie so that he could have his wicked way with her, and discarded her as soon as he’d achieved his goal.
He proposed to Lizzie, so she would give in to his advances, and she gleefully accepted, taking him to her bed in the belief that they were betrothed so it wasn’t a sin.
Two days before the wedding, James confessed to Lizzie that he had fallen in love with no other than her friend, Elsie, and he called off the nuptials, leaving her heartbroken as she had to continue to work with Elsie and watch them together.
It wasn’t long before James proposed to Elsie, who, of course, accepted. This had been his plan all along, with Lizzie just being some kind of plaything that meant nothing to him.
On the day of James and Elsie’s wedding, which was also held at St Bartholomew’s Church, Lizzie climbed the stairs to the attic of The Sun Inn, tied a rope to a bedstead, and hung herself out of the window to the sound of the bells ringing at the ceremony. Thus turning a celebration into quite the horror show.
When Lizzie’s body was cut down, she was said to be clutching a note that said she wanted to be buried at the gates of St Bartholomew’s, so that her ex fiance and her friend would have to see her every time they went to church.
She got her wish, kind of, and her gravestone sits under an ancient tree inside the churchyard. It’s not quite at the entrance, though.
The Ghost Of Lizzie Dean
From that very day, Lizzie is reported to haunt The Sun Inn in Chipping, being seen by staff and visitors on a regular basis.
The church where Lizzie is allegedly buried sits across the road from The Sun Inn, and her stone sits underneath an ancient yew tree thought to be over a century old.
Lizzie was fond of very bright clothes in her life, and she is reported to be seen as a colorful ghost, parading around the bar area downstairs as well as the attics where she hung herself.
Staff have reported items being moved around in the bars, with things sometimes going missing for weeks before they’re found.
Visitors to the pub report seeing a young girl with brown hair in ringlets and a colorful but faded dress working on the fireplaces, but not responding when they’ve spoken to her. If she is there she never interacts with the patrons, but just walks past and into another room, before she disappears into thin air.
People doing overnight ghost hunting vigils in the attic rooms have reported to have actually caught Lizzie on audio, talking back to them as they asked her questions, although I’m not sure that this can be confirmed unless you were in the room. It’s so easy to fake these kinds of incidents.
There’s also endless stories of wronged women who’ve fallen foul of unrequited love and have ended up haunting the place where they quite often have taken their own lives, so this could be one of those.
However, this ghost story does seem to have some clout behind it, with an old gravestone and the possibility of actually being true.
A quick search of public records doesn’t reveal any marriage in the year that James and Elsie were said to wed, or a death in the village. So could it be an old wives tale? One made up to give people a reason to visit this quaint village?
Either way, you’ll probably never visit such a beautiful place so you should definitely try.
How To Get There
The village of Chipping is based a short drive from the M6 motorway in the North West of England. Give yourself plenty of time to get there because I’m sure you’ll stop many times to admire the scenery along the way.
The Sun Inn is at 2 Windy Street, PR3 2GD and is open for food and drinks from Wednesday to Sunday, with an epic Sunday Roast that is literally to die for. You can book tables through the website tableagent.com and I would suggest doing this if planning a trip on the weekend.
St Bartholomew’s church sits directly opposite the Sun Inn and is open daily to guests.
Sceptic Online 
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