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The Swale Sailor

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River Swale

The Shipwrights' Arms pub, which stands alongside a creek that drifts into the River Swale, dates from the early 1700s, although there is evidence of an earlier building dating back to the thirteenth century. It has been a favourite drinking hole for pirates, smugglers and sailors. A Viking king named the area 'Holy Shore' giving it its present name: Hollowshore.

This white timber-framed pub, with its cosy nooks and crannies, is allegedly haunted by a sailor's ghost. He wears a reefer jacket, his eyes are wide and haunted, and he is said to smell of death and decay. He is said to be the shade of a captain, the only survivor of the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon. That stormy night in the 1700s, the Spanish captain struggled to shore and sought help from the Shipwrights' Arms. But the landlord thought he was a ne'er-do-well who wanted to drink after hours and so he refused the captain admittance. As a result, the sailor fell to the ground and died. Michael Street, one of the pub's regulars, claims to have seen the ghost lurking in the adjacent boatyard at least four times in the past ten years, but never in the pub. The most recent sighting was in October 2004. 'He looks as though he's all in black and he only ever shows himself in winter,' says Mr Street.

The pub's present landlord, Derek Cole, claims there is often a horrible smell of decay, particularly in one corner of the pub, which becomes chilly at certain times. When he and his family moved into the pub six years ago, they thought it was the drains. They tried to kill the dreadful smell with air freshener, candles and joss sticks, but nothing worked. This vile smell can last for an hour, but sometimes it can continue for around two days! In pride of place near the bar hangs an authenticated fireback from the captain's cabin of a Spanish galleon, although there is some controversy about whether it actually belonged to the ghost of the spurned captain.

Derek and Ruth Cole's son, Neil, claims there have been many strange occurrences in the pub, where items have been moved or rearranged. The family keeps a shelf of books for customers to use on an exchange basis. Occasionally, after the family have retired, leaving everything ship-shape in the bar, they will come down the following morning to find a book lying open on one of the tables. Once, a dog was brought into the pub by a team making a television documentary and someone placed a dog biscuit in a corner of the pub which was prone to frequent 'ghostly' chills. The dog desperately wanted the biscuit but he refused to go near the corner to get it! Barnsley | Ireland | South Anston | South Anston |