‘Skull’ of female prisoner hanged for forging a £1 note is returned to one of York’s oldest pubs, after CCTV snares the thief who swiped the replica and put it above his fireplace

•  The ‘skull’ of a female prisoner was stolen from the Golden Fleece, based in York
•  Elizabeth Johnson was found guilty of using a forged £1 banknote in 1800
• She was hanged for the crime and the skull had been on display in a special case  
• Police returned the skull to the historic pub after hunting thief down using CCTV

The ‘skull’ of a female prisoner which was stolen from one of Britain’s most historic pubs has been found by police. 

The Golden Fleece, based in York, North Yorkshire, launched an appeal this month after the skull was stolen at around 1am on New Year’s Day.

The artefact is said to be a replica of centuries’ old prisoner Elizabeth Johnson, who was found guilty of using a forged £1 banknote – worth £89 today – in 1800.

She was hanged on August 23, 1800, for the crime and the skull had been on display in a special case at the 518-year-old pub, which is two miles from where she was executed.

The pub, which brands itself the most haunted in the city, put out an appeal on social media, revealing how Elizabeth had been ‘removed’ from her ‘resting place’.  

But police officers this week have returned the skull to the historic pub after hunting the thief down using CCTV footage.

The ‘skull’ of female prisoner Elizabeth Johnson, who was found guilty of using a forged £1 banknote in 1800, has been found

The artefact  was stolen from the Golden Fleece, based in York, North Yorkshire, at around 1am on New Year’s Day

North Yorkshire Police said they were able to track down a man in his twenties who had the skull. Pictured: PC David Young & PC Bill Davies with the skull

North Yorkshire Police said a man in his twenties was tracked down and had admitted stealing the skull and putting it on top of his fireplace.

A spokesman for the force said: ‘When staff in the pub noticed that Elizabeth was missing, they launched their own investigation on social media posting an appeal for skull to be returned.

‘This appeal was unsuccessful, but the pub staff had a clear CCTV image of the suspect and contacted the police.

‘Officers launched an investigation and used the pub CCTV as well as CCTV in the city to identify the suspect.

‘A man in his twenties immediately admitted the theft and proceeded to show police to his fireplace where Elizabeth’s head was sat on top.

‘The officers were delighted to be able to return Elizabeth back to where she belongs, the Golden Fleece pub.’

Police said the thief was dealt with via an out of court disposal and has since wrote a letter of apology. 

PC David Young & PC Bill Davies with the skull after it was found by officers following a public appeal

The pub, which brands itself the most haunted in the city, put out an appeal on social media earlier this month 

Elizabeth Johnson, who was found guilty of using a forged £1 banknote, was hanged on August 23, 1800

The ‘skull’ had been on display in a special case at the 518-year-old pub, which is two miles from where she was executed

Earlier this month the pub posted an appeal on social media and Elizabeth had been removed from her ‘resting place’

Is this the ghost of The Golden Fleece landlord who hanged himself? Spooky figure of a man is pictured in supposedly haunted bar

Spooky image appears to show figure of a man standing behind the bar 

Ghost hunters in 2015 claimed they had photographed the spirit of a former landlord at The Golden Fleece who hanged himself.   

When a team of paranormal investigators visited, supernatural specialist Susanne Taggart claimed to have caught the dead landlord’s ghost on camera for the first time.

The image appeared to show the shadow of a man behind the bar, even though there is no source of light pointing in the right direction.

Ms Taggart, 51, said: ‘It was very dark and it clearly is the lurking shape of big person as you can see the head and shoulders, but the only person in the shot was the girl behind the bar and you can see her on the left. She confirmed to us that no one else was there with her.

Discovery: Ghost hunters Steve and Susanne Taggart who captured the bizarre sight . They are pictured with former Most Haunted star Jason Karl (right)

‘There was a kitchen door behind the figure but it is completely obscured by this shadow. None of us could believe it. Quite a few people in our group were shook by the photo and we found it very unsettling.’

She added: ‘Despite it being very creepy, I thought there must be a rational explanation. However, a friend of mine analysed the picture and said that there was no light penetrating the shadow, it was just a dense black shape. That was very unsettling.

‘This is the one piece of footage we have ever found that we are not able to debunk. There is no explanation that I can think of.’

A spokesman for the Golden Fleece, which was once featured on TV show Most Haunted, said: ‘It is no surprise that people who live and work in the Golden Fleece have some hair-raising tales to tell. In fact several of them have described how their hair was pulled as if by invisible hands.

‘There are a number of accounts of staff who have felt a sudden tightening around their neck while standing at the bar – the very bar where, it is said, an earlier landlord hanged himself.

‘In addition to these sightings there have been numerous other disturbing occurrences reported over the years – doors banging, mysterious footsteps on the stairs, strange lights, cold spots and temperature changes, candles that light themselves, beds that move and doors that slam.’

PC Bill Davies, who investigated the offence with his tutor seven weeks into his policing career, said: ‘Before joining the police I was advised that no two days will ever be the same. 

‘This crime has certainly confirmed this.

‘It was an interesting crime to investigate and at the same time has improved my knowledge on local history.

‘I am chuffed that we were successful in identifying the offender and returning the stolen property.’  

Earlier this month the pub posted an appeal on social media which read: ‘Help needed. Unfortunately over the course of last night/today someone has taken it upon themselves to remove Elizabeth from her resting place.

‘This is beyond us why anyone would want to take her and we sincerely hope the culprit had a lapse of judgement and will return her to us ASAP.

‘We are currently looking through all our CCTV in order to hand it over.

‘Please contact us if you have any information on her whereabouts to bring her back to her rightful home.’

They later updated the post, adding: ‘This is obviously not Elizabeth’s real skull.

‘We believe she frequented the Fleece when it was an Inn and this was made and donated to the owner at the time, although the entire story is not fully known.

‘Thank you all for your comments, we appreciate your concern but are just trying to be reunited with our property, thanks.’

The Golden Fleece has a long history of spooks and spectres, with fifteen separate sightings of ghosts wandering around the premises.

One of these is claimed to be Lady Alice Peckett – the wife of John Peckett – former owner of the establishment and mayor of York in the early 1700s. 

Other alleged apparitions include a 16th-17th century redcoat called One Eyed Jack, a WWII Canadian airman and even Roman soldiers in the cellar. 

Ghost hunters in 2015 claimed they had photographed the spirit of a former landlord at The Golden Fleece who hanged himself.   

And when a team of paranormal investigators visited, supernatural specialist Susanne Taggart claimed to have caught the dead landlord’s ghost on camera for the first time. 

Ms Taggart, 51, said: ‘It was very dark and it clearly is the lurking shape of big person as you can see the head and shoulders, but the only person in the shot was the girl behind the bar and you can see her on the left. 

‘She confirmed to us that no one else was there with her.

‘There was a kitchen door behind the figure but it is completely obscured by this shadow. None of us could believe it. 

‘Quite a few people in our group were shook by the photo and we found it very unsettling.’ 

Britain is dotted with centuries’ old pubs, many of which claim to have ghosts living on their grounds.

Last year a pub shared CCTV footage which ‘showed a ghost smashing a pint glass.’

Liz Allcock, landlady at The Longs Arms in South Wraxall, Wiltshire, was talking to a customer when a Guinness pint glass sitting at the back of a low shelf spontaneously smashed, with pieces of glass flying through the air. 

Ms Allock and other staff were left unable to explain what happened, as it was claimed the Guinness glass was not touching or sat on top of any other glasses on the low bar shelf.

Ms Allcock said her pub had seen multiple unexplained phenomena over the years.

Ms Allcock’s husband’s Rob told WiltshireLive: ‘Normally, you see things and then you look back and there’s no one there.

‘I’ll be walking through to the kitchen, which has a door that opens both ways, and it will open as if someone is on the other side, pulling it – you get used to things like that.’ 

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