Is The Holt Hotel Haunted?
The Ghost of a Highwayman
Steeple Aston, Oxford Road, Oxfordshire OX6 3QQ
Close to the city of Oxford and seeped in heritage, The Holt is a privately run hotel haunted by the ghost of a notorious highwayman, Claude Duval.
The Holt Hotel is an old hotel in Oxfordshire, England, near the town of Steeple Aston. It is about a mile southwest of Steeple Aston, on the corner where the A4260 Oxford Road and the B4030 meet. It is right next to the petrol station. It started out as a six-room coaching inn in 1475 and now has 86 rooms.
It has been given an AA Rosette for the quality of the food in its restaurant.
History of the Holt Hotel
The current building was built around 1800, and in 1938, six gables were added to the front. It is made of ironstone from the area and has a roof made of Stonesfield slate.
In 1754, the licence holder and his wife were killed at Hopcroft’s Holt.
In 1774, the inn was called the King’s Arms. In the 1850s, the name was changed.
The Ghosts of The Holt Hotel
People say that the hotel is haunted by the ghost of Claude Duval, a 17th-century highwayman who often stayed at the inn. People say that Duval has been seen a lot in Room 3, and paranormal investigators have looked into the hotel.
Claude Du Vall (or Duval) was a French highwayman in Restoration England. He was born in 1643 and died on January 21, 1670. He was born into a family of decaying nobility and worked for exiled royalists who came back to England when King Charles II was in power. We don’t know much else about his life. People say that he hated violence and was kind to his victims and their women. This created the myth of the romantic highwayman, which many authors and playwrights have used in their work.
The Holt Hotel in Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire, is known for its hauntings. According to legend, the ghosts of Claude Duval and his gang are still hanging around. Duval was a highwayman who attacked travelers on the road between Banbury and Oxford. He was eventually captured and hanged at Tyburn in London.
Duval’s ghost is said to wander the hotel grounds every night, wearing a long black coat and carrying a gun. He has also been reported to snatch cups of tea off tables or steal items from guests’ rooms. The staff believe that if they can catch him alive, he will confess all his crimes and grant them forgiveness. So far, they have never been able to do so…