Daniel Craig buys haunted 18th century pub in London

Former James Bond actor Daniel Craig has bought a 250-year-old pub in London, said to be haunted by an ale-drinking hangman's ghost.

The 007 star is now the co-owner of the Horseshoe in Clerkenwell, alongside his friend of three decades, Nick Jones, who founded the global members’ club Soho House. The pair are joined by Charlie Carroll, the Flat Iron steakhouse founder and Justin O’Shea, creative director of the beer brand Bad Belze, which he and Craig launched this year.

The new owners have big plans for a year-long renovation project to spruce up the boozer. However, the uncanny presence was not mentioned to Craig and his friends at the time of the sale.

According to the legend, a hangman known as Gilbert haunts the cellar of the Horseshoe pub and leaving a pint of ale for the spirit in the basement every night is the best way to stop the ghost from spooking the drinkers.

Craig was made aware the pub came with a ghost by retiring landlady Pauline Tucker, who said the hangman still lurks in the cellar, adding that “You don’t see him. You feel him.”

“I don’t know what he drinks but we might have to leave a pint down there: ‘Here you are Gilbert’,” Craig told The Times.

The Dad-of-two, who has starred in five Bond films, explained he shared a connection with pubs because his parents ran the Ring O’Bells in Frodsham, Cheshire, and his grandparents owned another pub in the centre of Chester.

He recalled numerous lock-ins and celebrations on New Year’s Eve at his family's pubs.

“As a kid I’d get to go down and talk to the locals, especially at lunchtime, and it was always about the day, what’s going on. It’s an outlet for people to come and talk about stuff, maybe their problems,” he told the newspaper.

“You know the ups and downs of a pub. I know the good and the bad of it. But I also know how important they are in the local community and what they do for an area. There are some great pubs around here so we’ll be joining a good bunch of people,” he added.

Now the actor plans to start a renovation project on the Horseshoe to replace the upstairs bar full of dart boards with a dining room. He also plans to add a terrace and a sizeable beer garden.

But he doesn’t want to just attract “fancy people” to come and spend money at his pub, he wants it to be accessible to everybody.