Jamaica Inn's Owner Sells Cornwall's Most Haunted Hotel To Coaching Inn Group For £8 Million

August 04, 2022 3:00 PM ‐ Paranormal

This article is more than two years old and was last updated in February 2024.

Cornwall's famously haunted Jamaica Inn has been sold to the Coaching Inn Group in a deal thought to be worth around £8 million.

The historic former coaching inn on Bodmin Moor was sold by its current owner, Surrey based business man Allen Jackson, who took over the historic property, ghosts-and-all, in 2014.

The inn is now a popular tourist attraction, but has had a varied history having been a hangout for smugglers and highwaymen, as well as being visited by countless people making their way across the moor. Its notoriety has lead to a murder mystery novel in its name, written by Daphne du Maurier and originally published in 1936. The book was adapted into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock.

The paranormal activity at the iconic property, which was once investigated by Yvette Fielding in an episode of 'Most Haunted', is said to include the disembodied sound of footsteps throughout the building, unexplained tapping, the sound of children playing and babies crying, and most famously the sound of horses and carts moving in the courtyard. As well as countless reports of dark shadowy figures and ghostly apparitions.

The inn doesn't shy away from promoting its haunted reputation and even hosts paranormal nights. According to the inn's in-house paranormal team, the change of ownership won't affect this, which is great news as the ghostly stories linked to the hotel are currently a big part of its history and character.

The oldest part of the two-storey building dates back to 1750, but the inn has been extended and added to over the years and also undergone major renovation during Allen's time at the helm.

It has Grade II listed status and consists of a large restaurant, gift shop and a farm store selling locally sourced products. It now boasts 36 bedrooms, including the luxurious du Maurier suite with its stunning moor view.

The Jamaica Inn also houses a museum dedicated to du Maurier and boasts one of the finest collections of smuggling artefacts in the country. The museum is said to be haunted by a former stable boy named David. Tourists exploring the museum claim to have seen a model of an elephant on display in one of the cabinets move on its own.

The Coaching Inn Group snapped up the inn based on a guide price of £8m as part of a series of acquisitions they've made over the last year.

The news of the sale was broken by estate agency, Knight Frank. Matthew Smith, part of the agency's hotel team which oversaw the sale told The Caterer, "having brokered the deal to Allen when he purchased Jamaica Inn eight years ago it is quite remarkable what has been achieved under his ownership. Such a transformation from a traditional 17-bedroom coaching inn to a highly profitable thriving 36-bedroom multifaceted business, whilst carefully preserving the 18th century parts of the inn."

Matthew added, "the business also benefits from future value-add opportunities to include planning permission to construct a substantial 200+ single story circular function suite. Delighted to have introduced this opportunity to the Coaching Inn Group who will no doubt continue the growth of Jamaica Inn."

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