Plaque

Black Lion pub ghost

Inscription

The Black Lion
Formerly known as the Black Lyon, a public house has stood on this site for well over 200 years. Originally a piggery it is reputed that the pig farmer started brewing beer for himself and his friends - this proved so popular that it overtook his agricultural interests as his main occupation.
The Hammersmith ghost started haunting Black Lion Lane, and St Paul's Churchyard in 1804. One night an excise officer, Francis Smith filled his blunderbuss with shot, and himself with ale before killing an unfortunate white-clothed bricklayer, Thomas Millwood, whom he had mistaken for the ghost. It was at the Black Lion that the body was taken and an inquest held later.

The ghost was covering quite a large area - St Paul's Churchyard was at what is now the Hammersmith roundabout, three quarters of a mile away.

Site: Black Lion pub ghost (1 memorial)

W6, Black Lion Lane, Black Lion pub

In our photo the plaque is hidden between the sun umbrellas at the left.

We have decided generally not to collect pub plaques since they are often either verbose historical lists of who, reportedly, drank here and/or little more than an advertisement. However this one is interesting since it locates a murder which became important for legal history.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Black Lion pub ghost

Subjects commemorated i

Thomas Millwood

See Francis Smith for the story.

Read More

Francis Smith

The Hammersmith ghost started haunting Black Lion Lane and St Paul's Churchya...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Josef Dallos

Josef Dallos

W1, Cavendish Square, 18, Cavendish House

Unveiled on the same day as the Nissel plaque. We learnt something typing this plaque - the correct spelling of "ophthalmologist". The m...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Great Storm - Victoria Park

Great Storm - Victoria Park

E9, Victoria Park, Crown Gate West

We originally photographed this plaque in 2010. Returning in 2016, we found that the empty small white plinth to the right of the tree wa...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Alastair Sim

Alastair Sim

NW3, Frognal Gardens, 8

Alastair Sim, 1900 - 1976, actor, lived here, 1953 - 1975. English Heritage

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Freemason VCs - W2 - Finch, Fleming-Sandes, Freyberg

Freemason VCs - W2 - Finch, Fleming-Sandes, Freyberg

WC2, Great Queen Street, Freemasons' Hall

The Freemasons commissioned this memorial to mark the 300th anniversary of The United Grand Lodge of England in 2017 and the centenary of...

War served | WW1
4 subjects commemorated
Bush House - US Presidents, possibly

Bush House - US Presidents, possibly

WC2, Aldwych, Bush House

Our photos was taken during a 2018 exhibition 'The Classical Now' during which these two muscle-men came over all modest. The 2 huge fig...