'A strange presence on the third floor'
This local hotel which stands in the ancient town of Hereford is the largest hotel in the city and it has a remarkable and endless history which is said to go as far back as 1079 when at that time workmen who were constructing the new city cathedral were staying at the building after a hard day's work. Amongst many other passing visitors throughout time the Earl of March is known to have stayed there with his followers after the battle of Mortimer's Cross and the unfortunate Owen Tudor who was awaiting execution was ordered to reside there up until his execution day, Owen was soon beheaded in Hereford's High town . Owen was a rather good looking man and because of that he believed that he wouldn't face execution because he was the best looking man in England at the time , his vanity done him no favours.
Owen had many female admirers and it is said that when Owens's head was removed the women washed his hair and placed his head on a cushion that was surrounded with candles. The inside of the hotel is very fine and the surroundings give off such a welcoming feeling, there are many paintings and antiques on show. In one small room of the hotel which is not used for guests, its entire wooden wall paneling is original and in perfect condition, the room was used for small meetings where men would drink and discuss certain issues.
The Green Dragon hotel was previously a small local town inn named The White Lion but in the year of 1708 the name then changed to The Green Dragon and in 1775 the building was also an important coaching inn where it was the starting point for regular stage coaches heading on their long journeys to and from the city of London. In 1787 Edward Davies took the lease of The Green Dragon after it was at auction at The New Inn due to the previous owner going completely bankrupt, Edward was the previous landlord of the old The Half Moon Inn, the inn is not in Hereford city today, after two years of owning The Green Dragon he moved on to another public house, however Edward's Widow Elizabeth took over The Green Dragon in 1799 and she stayed there peacefully for many successful years.
In the 1830's The Green Dragon was also used as a co body of an old man was unwrapped in a hamper much to the witnesses horror, story goes that the hamper was firstly taken to the office by two men, the hamper was addressed to a Mr. Adams who lived in London, the men and the hamper all seemed a bit to suspicious to the staff so the police were immediately called in to investigate and that is when the grisly contents of the package were uncovered aching office and the Royal Mail left there daily but in 1832 a rememberable and unforgettable event took place at the office of The Green Dragon where a dead d. Six years later in 1838 the 'friendly society' was held at The Green Dragon and from 1845 to this present day many alterations and enlargements have been made to the building, this is still and has been a head rest for many folk over the centuries and the hotel's cellar was used as a safe house when World War two took place, many civilians of the city kept themselves there for safety. Also in the cellar of The Green Dragon is a secret tunnel, the tunnel is partly open still, the rest of the tunnel is blocked, like many other tunnels in the city the monks would have used this one to cross over to the City's cathedral. In 1904 cars were on display at The Green Dragon, this was for five days.
The motor manufacturers enjoyed putting on the show as around this time cars were quite rare, people were allowed also drive the cars. The show brought many people to Hereford from all over the country, the shows were held at The Green Dragon up until 1931. There is one eerie ghost story to be told about The Green Dragon, the creepy third floor is where a strange presence has been felt regularly by many overnight customers, the guests claim to feel an uncomfortable presence on that particular floor level and on some occasions slow moving dark shadows have been seen by a few fearful onlookers, only to soon find that nobody was actually there. It is a mystery who is haunting this particular floor level and why which is much to the disappointment of those intrigued by the unknown ghostly presence.
The picture below is the haunted third floor of the Green Dragon.
