Do you know how many ghosts are rumoured to haunt the Old Queen's Head - Sheffield's oldest pub?

The oldest domestic building in the city, dating from 1475, it is a former hunting lodge for the Earl of Shrewsbury. It was then , locals knew, as ‘The hawle at the Poandes’ and first became an inn in the 1600s.

The Old Queen’s Head gets its name from Mary Queen of Scots, who was held captive in Sheffield for 14 years before her execution, and is said to have a Civil War soldier who stands in front of the fireplace and has been spotted numerous times by drinkers.

There’s also said to be a medieval child who goes by the name of Pierre and has a bit of an eye for the ladies - particularly blondes - and pulls on their hair to get their attention.

There is also a large hunting hound that sits on people’s feet and lays across their laps if he likes them.

And even more spookily, there is a lady in white who sits upstairs and watches celebrations, and is adorned with a beautiful 1920s dress.

And one former customer must have liked the Old Queen’s Head that he came back to haunt it after he died. He was a familiar face from the 1970s and staff have seen him manifest, sitting in the bar, holding a half pint of bitter. As they enter, he looks up and then dissolves.

One cheeky spirit is also said to rattle the doors in the ladies’ loo while female customers are using the facilities, while a mysterious pint of beer is said to appear at the end of a night at a table that has not been occupied.

One landlord is said to have once tasted the beer and declared that it did not come from his cellar or from any pub nearby.

So it would appear that The Old Queen’s Head has almost as many spirits around the building as it has on the optics.

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