THE NEW INN was formally an 18th century Coaching Inn and farmhouse combined, providing accommodation and nourishment for the weary travellers passing through what was once Needwood Forest.
The deforestation happening around 1801. Records show an Inn on this site from around 1760. Then named the Moseley Arms.
The true age of the building can be seen by its still intact Bake Oven in the corner of the restaurant. And the long forgotten third floor, with its old wooden doors and ornate wooden locks;
The larder room with its numerous hooks for hanging game from the ceiling, and the elaborate network of strings and pulleys below the floor boards which operated the bell ringers are just another reminder of its history.
We have had memories of doing our walks as school children from Needwood School, Rangemore Hall. One of these walks included going up to the New Inn and back on some Sundays. In those days, we had very few cars and it was a crossroad before the island was built due to the fact there are more cars than ever today.
While I was visiting Needwood haunts last June 2014, I passed the New Inn and decided to have lunch there.
It was the very first time I had ever been inside at all, and saw the bread oven in the corner by the fireplace still very much intact and tells the age of the building.
It was the very first time I had ever been inside at all, and saw the bread oven in the corner by the fireplace still very much intact and tells the age of the building.
I personally took these photographs, and remembers the New Inn exactly as it was decades ago.
The New Inn also has it’s very own supernatural experiences. The owners have been here so long that they have given them names. Mr. ‘Toasty’ for instance, (you know he's around because of the smell of fresh toast). ‘Cigar man’, again named him from the aroma of cigars and ‘Sooty’. Now I do have to say that Sooty is my favourite, When it comes to mischief, you can bet that ‘Sooty’ is behind it somewhere. ‘The White Lady’, very often seen walking about. Most of them are like kids, always causing playful annoyance. Things falling off walls, items get moved or relocated so you can’t find them. Hair pulling, blowing in your face, doors opening and closing, and the ever popular tap on the shoulder. TV’s & electrical appliances turned on and off when not plugged in. And not to mention the cold shivers when they are around, Your hairs will stand on end, and it feels like your in a freezer.
Many a customer have experienced these phenomena. Converted to believers of the unknown. The overnight guests getting the most attention, from being slapped to getting a kiss. And as most folk say, it’s a pub, too much good ale is the cause of these eerie tales. There’s only one way to find out, as many have. Experience it for yourself.
The New Inn also has it’s very own supernatural experiences. The owners have been here so long that they have given them names. Mr. ‘Toasty’ for instance, (you know he's around because of the smell of fresh toast). ‘Cigar man’, again named him from the aroma of cigars and ‘Sooty’. Now I do have to say that Sooty is my favourite, When it comes to mischief, you can bet that ‘Sooty’ is behind it somewhere. ‘The White Lady’, very often seen walking about. Most of them are like kids, always causing playful annoyance. Things falling off walls, items get moved or relocated so you can’t find them. Hair pulling, blowing in your face, doors opening and closing, and the ever popular tap on the shoulder. TV’s & electrical appliances turned on and off when not plugged in. And not to mention the cold shivers when they are around, Your hairs will stand on end, and it feels like your in a freezer.
Many a customer have experienced these phenomena. Converted to believers of the unknown. The overnight guests getting the most attention, from being slapped to getting a kiss. And as most folk say, it’s a pub, too much good ale is the cause of these eerie tales. There’s only one way to find out, as many have. Experience it for yourself.
This gives an insight into New Inn’s long history within the forest and its role not only as a hostelry, but as the meeting place for the Kings assizes to dish out the punishments for stealing or poaching within the Kings forest.
Many a bloody battle may have been fought near, or within the forest. Tutbury Castle being only few miles away. The scene of much dramatic battle between the Cromwellians & The Royalists during the English Civil War.
So who knows, are some of our wandering friends from these times, Meeting there fate at the hands of the local gentry, or drowning in the many perilous bogs within the forest in an effort to escape the Kings gamekeepers while poaching his deer. Or is the fact that the NEW INN is such a nice place to be, they have made it there home too.
