The Dog and Partridge

A worker employed at the hotel between 2013 and 2017 said that there was a "Grey Lady" there and that sometimes a dark shadow would walk past her into a room, but upon investigation, it was no longer there. In the rooms, TV would turn up by themselves to show static, and items would be found moved. In the meeting room, it was common to hear the sound of children laughing - and a young boy in Victorian clothing was seen there. In the old coal store, which was converted into a staff flat and where a butcher had died of a heart attack, the plug to the TV would come out of the wall - and once, when the employee had finished her shift, the kettle and stand was sitting in the bathroom with no explanation as to how it got there. In the 18th century, a coach used to run between Liverpool and London calling into the Dog and Partridge and people who live in the area sometimes hear the sound of horses and wheels running over cobbles in the early hours.

In early 2024, the History Channel website gave more details; "Probably the pub’s most well-known phantom is of a young girl called Gracie who was (according to legend) hanged in one of its rooms in the 15th century. Gracie’s spirit has given many guests sleepless nights, including one customer who saw her standing at the end of his bed and was so scared that he hid under the covers for the rest of the night. Despite putting the wind up some visitors in the hostelry, Gracie has always been described as a friendly ghost. She has been heard laughing and skipping and the sound of invisible balls bouncing has been heard in the hallways. Gracie is particularly known to come out around Christmas time."

In late 2025, the Chef and Brewer website says that, "Some guests claim to have seen an elderly woman sitting at the bottom of their beds, whereas others have witnessed ghostly figures walking through walls." An interview with General Manager, Mark Fearn, who had been the "overseer" for years, elaborated; "I have had a couple of guests saying they’ve woken up in the middle of the night and there’s been a figure standing at the end of the bed,” says Mark. “I’m very sceptical of that, but people have described a grey lady." He said that the rooms become more haunted the higher up you go (citing 7,8,9 in particular with 8 being the most haunted).

In May 2026, researcher Greg Hardman spoke to a member of staff, Mandy, and she told him that she has recently heard what she believes to be the sounds of children playing in the accomodation area and some poltergeist type activity in the bar area...moving furniture and glasses. On June 4th 2026, I spoke to manager Mark Fearn who had been at the pub for four years and he had experienced nothing. He talked of guests seeing the grey lady sitting at the end of their beds and also sightings of a man in a trilby and coat but he didn't recall any poltergeist like activity. He said that there would be long gaps between reports and the last sighting was months ago.

Link: Staffordshire Live

Link: History.co.uk

Link: Chef and Brewer

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