The former Partlands Hotel may be no more, but the spirit of its 19th-century barmaid Lilly Deacon could live on in the foundations of the building that has replaced the former watering hole.
Lilly is 1 of the Isle of Wight’s more famous ghosts. Such was her renown that the Partlands Hotel changed its name to the Lilly Deacon to attract customers through her fame. Previously, the licensed premises had achieved notoriety as “the grottiest pub in the country” according to The News of World.
Who was Lilly Deacon? There is no concrete proof of her existence.
An old customer in the previous century recalled the tale of her meeting her death in the cellar at the hands of a jealous husband. An embellishment of this tale is that she was actually bricked up within the cellar’s confines.
Previous landlords and landladies recalled the name ‘Lilly Deacon’, together with the date 1896, scrawled across the cellar in capital letters.
How did the spirit of Lilly Deacon manifest itself?
- Dogs were apparently afraid to enter the cellar. 1 landlord had 2 collies who would never venture down the steps; the boxer of another former owner went into the basement once only before fleeing upstairs in abject terror.
- Darts players at the hotel had their games interrupted by a mysterious hand when about to take their throws.
- Some customers claimed to have heard a disembodied voice whispering the name: “Lilly Deacon”
- A former landlady was disturbed when sleeping downstairs, waking at 3 in the morning to a strange, musty smell and a feeling of coldness
- A further former landlord was mystified by the taps for the gas cylinders in the cellar forcing beer to the bar being inexplicably turned off, particularly when no one had been there
- Tools left in the cellar would invariably be moved from where they had been left to a different location.
Has the demolition of the hotel this century and the construction of Swanmore Court excised the spirit of Lilly Deacon? Apparently not.
Lilly is said to have been making her presence felt in 1 of the flats in the new building.
Do you know anything further about the history of Lilly Deacon and her hauntings? Let us know in the comments…
Another great interesting story, keep them coming.
I recently acquired the painting / sign from the pub when it was the Lily Deacon, that you can see above the door in the second photograph.
Apart from some minor damage, it’s still in very good condition and the aim is to eventually have it on display in Ryde where people will be able to come and see it along with other memorabilia from all over the Island.
The Museum of Ryde would be very interested in putting it on display 🙂
Just out of interest .There was a Lilly Deacon born in East Cowes 1886, but Deacon was her married name, 1911 census. Another Lilly Deacon, born 1874 Lymington. Is it one of these ? Probably never know.
The writing on the cellar gives the date 1896. That would mean the East Cowes Lilly Deacon would have been 10 years old. However, the Lymington Lilly Deacon would have been 22 (about the right age for a barmaid).
My husband and I met in the pub a few nights before it closed its doors. He saw the ghost walk behind the bar one evening. His only ever ghost sighting and he swears by it. Clear as anything.
We had the pub sign when they took the building down. We moved to North cornwall and someone stoll the sign from out of our shed. The only thing they took. It had sentimental value to us.
Maybe get in contact with Tony Jones above!
“Lilly is 1”, “1 landlord” and “1 landlord had 2 collies”
Sorry, but I feel it looks better and reads easier to spell the word one and two.
Local history articles are always interesting.
More please.
Agree with that. It does look daft to write 1 instead of one. It’s written language, not a txt msg