Lower Bell

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File:Lower Bell Inn - geograph.org.uk - 1084059.jpg

The Lower Bell is a pub and hotel on the A229 Blue Bell Hill, between Chatham and Maidstone in Kent. It is located at the edge of the North Downs where the A229 meets the Pilgrims' Way.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/The+Lower+Bell/@51.31807,0.5056253,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47df331bbdd6218b:0xa04566d020894d05!8m2!3d51.31807!4d0.507814|title=Lower Bell|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=14 February 2018}}

A pub has existed in the general area since around 1790, when the A229 was a turnpike road for coaches. The map maker and artist Paul Sandby painted A Distant View of Maidstone, from Lower Bell Inn, Boxley Hill in 1802, which depicts a view of the town from the pub.{{cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/a-distant-view-of-maidstone-from-lower-bell-inn-boxley-hill/hgHUoHIdYI64_A|title=A Distant View of Maidstone, from Lower Bell Inn, Boxley Hill|publisher=Google Arts and Culture|access-date=14 February 2018}} It is marked at its current location on a large-scale 1832 map of Kent. The current building was constructed in 1865.{{cite web|url=http://bluebellhilltrust.org/history/|title=History|publisher=Blue Bell Hill Trust|accessdate=14 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215024132/http://bluebellhilltrust.org/history/|archive-date=15 February 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lowerbell.com/en-GB/homepage|title=The Lower Bell|publisher=Lower Bell (official website)|accessdate=14 February 2018}}

The purpose of the bell was for travellers to warn others further up the hill of their presence, as the road was too narrow for two teams of coach and horses to pass each other. There was a corresponding pub at the top of the hill called The Upper Bell, which would ring in response. The Upper Bell was demolished in 2013.{{cite book|title=The Dickensian|volume=25–26|page=189|year=1929}}

The Lower Bell is cited as a location for a common ghost story, which originates from a fatal car accident involving a bride-to-be on the A229 outside the premises in November 1965.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/articles/2005/08/15/strange_south_a229_feature.shtml|title=Britain's Most Haunted Road?|work=BBC Southern Counties|date=24 September 2014|accessdate=14 February 2018}} The typical story involves the apparition of a young woman attempting to hitch a lift outside the pub into the centre of Maidstone or another local village, who subsequently vanishes en route. A local journalist attempted to verify the story for the Maidstone Gazette in 1968, but was unable to find any suitable eyewitnesses after months of research.{{cite book|title=Famous Ghost Stories: Legends and Lore|first=Brian|last=Haughton|page=94|publisher=Rosen Publishing Group|year=2011|isbn=978-1-448-84840-9}}{{cite book|title=Paranormal Encounters on Britain's Roads: Phantom Figures, UFOs and Missing Time|first=Peter|last=McCue|page=94|publisher=The History Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-750-98729-5}} In 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of the accident, a paranormal enthusiasts' group met in the Lower Bell to discuss the various ghost stories.{{cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/the-truth-about-the-ghost-46573/|title=The ghost of Blue Bell Hill – the tragedy that may have inspired tales of phantom hitchhiker|work=Kent Online|date=19 November 2015|accessdate=14 February 2018}} A short film, entitled The Ghost of Blue Bell Hill, was shot around the premises.{{cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/blue-bell-hill-ghost-film-25048/|title=The crew of The Ghost of Blue Bell Hill film felt a 'terrible feeling' while shooting the two-hour movie at the spot where ghosts have been seen|work=Kent Online|date=10 October 2014|accessdate=14 February 2018}}