Punch Bowl Inn Ghost: the Pub Demolished Overnight

Reviewed by Josh N · Updated August 25, 2026 · How we verify

Most haunted buildings outlive their ghost stories. At Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, the opposite happened: the Punch Bowl Inn ghost, said to be the restless spirit of an executed highwayman, has outlasted the building it was attached to. The pub was an 18th-century Grade II-listed public house, a run of independent structures knitted together over two centuries. It closed in 2012, stood empty, and then on 16 June 2021 it was demolished without planning consent. What follows is a rare case of a haunted site where the paranormal claim is the least contested part of the story.

Two Cottages, a Barn and a Plaque Reading 1793

The building was never a single design. The oldest part dated to the 18th century and began as two cottages, which later formed the central portion of the structure. The western portion had originally been a barn, of one storey with two sash windows. The eastern portion was a 19th-century addition, built of larger sandstone blocks than the rest, two bays and two storeys, finished with a moulded stone cornice.

The 18th-century section was two bays and two storeys, its walls of sandstone laid in watershot pattern, the courses angled slightly outwards to shed water, under a slate roof. It carried two chimney stacks and two plain stone door surrounds, one of them blocked up. Historic England, in granting the structure Grade II protection, recorded a plaque marked “1793” on the oldest portion, which is the closest thing the fabric offered to a date of its own.

From the Fenton Arms to the Punch Bowl

A public house had operated from the building since before 1844, when it went by a different name entirely: the Fenton Arms, in honour of Joseph Fenton, who purchased several manors in the area in 1831. By 1910 it was known as the Punch Bowl Inn, and it kept that name until the day it shut.

Ned King, Dick Turpin and Landlord Jonathan Brisco

The ghost story rests on local legend rather than record, and it is worth saying so plainly. According to that legend, the inn was built in the 1720s and was visited by the highwaymen Dick Turpin and Ned King in 1738. The two are said to have stayed three days, after which Turpin travelled on to York while King remained behind, attacking travellers on the local roads with the assistance of the landlord, Jonathan Brisco. King was executed in 1741.

It was King’s ghost that the pub was reputed to be haunted by. The dates do not sit comfortably with the surviving fabric, since the plaque noted by Historic England reads 1793, half a century after King’s execution, and the recorded pub trade here only stretches back to before 1844 under a different sign. That mismatch does not disprove anything about the earlier cottages, but it does mark the Turpin visit as folklore of the sort that attached itself to a great many roadside inns in the north of England.

What Was Reported at the Punch Bowl

The surviving account is narrow. The pub was reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a highwayman, identified in the telling as Ned King, and that reputation was firmly established locally long before the building’s final decline. No documented death, inquest or dated incident travels with the story. Readers hoping for a catalogue of cold spots and corridor apparitions will not find one in the record here.

The Demolition and the Order to Rebuild

After closure the empty building attracted vandalism and fell into disrepair, and lead flashing was stolen from the roof. Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley, said it was “quite miserable every time I drive past it to see what was a very popular pub in such a state”. It was offered for sale in 2013 at £375,000 and again in March 2015 at £325,000.

Donelan Trading Ltd acquired the site and was refused permission for a 20-unit static caravan site. In October 2018 the company was granted permission for a 15-unit site and to convert the building into five holiday cottages and a café, with only limited demolition allowed. Permission to remove the existing roof to allow stonework repairs was refused, on the grounds that it would require the “removal of important historic fabric”.

Then, without consent, the whole thing came down on 16 June 2021. Historic England said it was “saddened to hear reports that the Grade II listed Punch Bowl Inn has been demolished without consent”. Ribble Valley Council investigated, and in April 2022 ordered that the pub be rebuilt to its original plan using architecture records. On 5 December 2022, five people were found guilty at Burnley Magistrates Court of illegally demolishing the structure. Sentencing was adjourned from 24 January to 8 March, when the group were required to pay a combined £70,000 in fines and court costs.

What There Is to See at Hurst Green Today

Nothing. That is the honest answer. The March 2024 deadline for the owners to rebuild to the original plan passed without a rebuild, and Councillor Stephen Atkinson said the council was “determined” it would happen “as soon as possible”. In August 2025 the council commenced High Court proceedings seeking an injunction requiring Donelan Trading Limited, Andrew Donelan and Nicola Donelan to comply with the listed building enforcement notice. Anyone travelling to Hurst Green in the hope of a pint and a highwayman is going to a cleared site, and should keep to the road. Whether the Punch Bowl rises again in sandstone laid in watershot pattern is now a matter for the courts.

Address: Hurst Green, Ribble Valley, Lancashire

See Punch Bowl Inn for Yourself

Sources

• Punch Bowl Inn, Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley, 1146901
• For Sale: 18th century pub where Dick Turpin stayed up for £325k
• Historic "haunted" former Punch Bowl Inn gets new lease of life as holiday lets
• Demolition of Grade-II listed pub sparks council investigation
• Punch Bowl Inn: Owners of demolished listed pub told to rebuild
• Wikipedia: Punch Bowl Inn

More Haunted Bars

The Old Tabbot TavernThe Arctic ClubArnolds Bar And Grill CincinnatiThe Story Inn NashvilleButterworth Building Seattle MortuaryBobby Mackeys Music World