The Storyteller: Famous estuary pub that guards a colourful and ghostly history

The other week, after our visit to Haccombe, David Hammond and I decided to head for a spot of lunch at The Coombe Cellars pub in Combeinteignhead. This was no random choice, for we also wanted to check out its colourful history and its resident ghosts.

Coombe Cellars is an old settlement on the south bank of the 30-mile-long River Teign Estuary and has been a hostelry for many years. At one point around the 17th century, it was known as the Ferry Boat Inn due to the ferry that used to cross the river nearby. In the 18th century, it was the base of operations for local smugglers, being a wild and remote stretch of water, earning it the name The Old Smugglers Inn, a bit of a giveaway.

The Cellars part of the name, used now, comes from the old fish cellars or little huts on the shoreline that were owned by fishermen not local to the area, to store their boats, nets, and other gear, plus possibly contraband, as well as their actual catches of fish.

Being so old, it’s no surprise that the place has a ghost or two! Upon our arrival, I enquired if the staff were aware of their resident spirits, apart from the ones they sold, and the response I got was most encouraging. It would appear that currently, any activity centres around the kitchen area. Should voices be raised and tempers flare, usually concerning the chef, objects will often start to be thrown around, almost as though someone is trying to join in with the upheaval, which has the effect of defusing the situation and sanity once more reigns. We were told that the staff call their ghost Emma and blame her for the paranormal goings-on. This choice of name came as no surprise to me, for my prior research had thrown up the fact that Lady Emma Hamilton, the mistress of Lord Nelson, used to meet her lover in secret there from time to time. Could it be her dainty footsteps that are often heard on the upper floors when no one else is present, pacing up and down, anxiously waiting for the admiral to arrive?

Once upon a time, the pub had rooms to let out to guests, sadly no more, and the area is now out of bounds to customers, but one room, in particular, became quite notorious, as a visiting lady from London was actually murdered in her bed there back in the 18th century. She is often seen as a Blue Lady, the last sighting being back in 1972. It is said that she was elderly and rich and possibly a little foolhardy, for she insisted on wearing a rather elegant necklace, one worth stealing. A local burglar was even willing to kill for it, strangling her as she slept in order to remove it from her person. Over the years, many female guests have often woken in the night in that particular room with the sensation of hands tightly gripping their throat. One such “victim” was a barmaid, who was allowed to use this room in between shifts. Several times she was woken up from a nap by the sensation of being strangled. Sharing her experiences with other members of staff, the landlord produced a print that he had just recently acquired, depicting a woman being strangled in her bed in the very same room the barmaid had been asleep in! A very odd subject matter for a portrait, you might say, but possibly it was a scene of crimes sketch for a police report or even a local newspaper. In either case, it brings historical context to the alleged haunting. Needless to say, the barmaid never slept in that room again!

Looming large over this intriguing location is the tower of All Saints Church, set back in the village itself. Interestingly, the name Combeinteignhead, being 16 letters long, makes it one of the longest place names in England, an accolade it shares with its neighbour, Stokeinteignhead. This church is said to be well worth a visit, containing some of the finest carved pew bench ends in Devon, dating back to Elizabethan times. Unfortunately, on this occasion, we were unable to fit it into our schedule, which is a shame, as I would have loved to check it out for one of my elusive Devil’s Doors. However, we did manage to track down some potential ones at the churches of East and West Ogwell on the other side of Newton Abbot... but that’s possibly a story for another time.