The Eclipse Inn

The ghost of Dame Alicia Lisle has been seen here; some reports describe her as a fleeting grey shape in a cloak that moves around the upstairs rooms, while others say she is a tall woman in a long grey woollen dress. The Dame was incarcerated in one of the upstairs rooms and was beheaded outside the pub after she was found guilty of abetting an attempted rebellion by the Duke of Monmouth; in actuality it seems that this was an act of vengeance by the son of one of the men whom the late Judge Lisle had sentenced to death years before. An alternative reason for her execution is that she gave shelter to two men who had helped the Duke and fled after the Battle of Sedgemoor. The two men and Lisle were arrested even though she claimed that she didn't know that they were on the run. Her ghost is also seen at Moyles Court in Ringwood, Southampton and at the site of Dibden Manor (since demolished), where her son lived, her head tucked under her arm. The sound of "rough voices" and hammering have also been heard, possibly connected with the scaffold that was built directly outside Dame Lisle's room. Recent newspaper interviews state that, "Yvonne Marshall, who has worked at the Eclipse for the last 11 years, said pale-faced customers have returned from the female toilets and landing area, complaining of witnessing something they wish not to speak of, before immediately leaving the pub. Eclipse barman (and later co-manager) Elliott Fearne recently took a trip to the top room on his lunch break, where he felt a strong presence and heard things moving around the room he was in." Another recent interview (2022) with Mr Fearne tells of how he was having a cigarette outside the pub just as he was about to lock up and he could hear banging noises from inside the pub. Another time, he was on on the top floor and could hear things moving around - the next day, the atmosphere inside the pub was described as "heavy." Fearne also talked of top shelf gin lids popping off by themselves. The chef has also complained about the fridges and freezers being found open. In November 2025, bar manager Kerry Chant told the BBC, "I was locking up one night and wanted to double check I'd closed all the windows upstairs because sometimes customers open them. I saw something in the window on the side where she actually got beheaded. When I took a step back and had a look, she was just facing the cathedral, just staring out."

Update 18/9/20 Michelle Tempest at the pub informs me, "Lots of customers see apparitions on the stairs...I'm afraid I have never seen ghosts but it's certainly cold when you sleep at The Eclipse in the attic."

Link: Daily Echo

Link: Daily Echo

Link: Andover Advertiser

Link: Hampshire Chronicle

Link: BBC

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