ENGLAND TRIP: Day 2: Part 5a: Ghost/History Walk :Simpsons/Bank of England

Richard Jones is not only the author of ghost tours in the U.K., but brought us to some incredible historic places, so we'll be sharing some of these in the next couple of days (until I can hopefully get our photos  recovered from my computer -the one where the hard-drive crashed). So, next stop is:
 1) SIMPSON'S TAVERN!  This is an historic tavern, located in Ball Court was founded by Thomas Simpson  in 1757. It has a reputation of being a great place to go to get a feel for a true pub (also known as a chophouse). It's located at  38 Cornhill EC3V 9DR. Unfortunately it was closed (as most places are after 5 p.m. in London).  This was in business during the time of author Charles Dickens, who is said to be influenced by Simpson's Tavern in his first novel "The Pickwick Papers." 

Simpson's Tavern in Ball Court

  (What is Dicken's Pickwick Papers about? - The novel's main character, Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, is a kind and wealthy old gentleman, and the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club. To extend his researches into the quaint and curious phenomena of life, he suggests that he and three other "Pickwickians" (Mr Nathaniel Winkle, Mr Augustus Snodgrass, and Mr Tracy Tupman) should make journeys to remote places from London and report on their findings to the other members of the club.)
THE GHOST OF SIMPSON'S RESTAURANT - Richard told us that many people have encountered a gray-haired waiter, who nicely took their order. Once he took an order he would never return and no food would ever be served. People are now on guard for a gray-haired waiter, because there isn't a living one employed in the tavern today.

The Cornhill Neighborhood. Credit: UK Travel

2) BANK OF ENGLAND - The bank of England was around the corner from Simpsons, and there were old counting houses (banks, accountants) around there during Dickens' time. CHARLES DICKENS CONNECTION - Dickens also got inspiration from buildings in that SAME NEIGHBORHOOD for Scrooge's counting house in "A Christmas Carol." In Cornhill, are the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange, whose dealers Scrooge heard in his dream dismissing his death as they "hurried up and down and chinked the money in their pockets." 

Bank of England

GHOST FROM THE BANK OF ENGLAND - Richard said that a woman and her brother worked at the bank in the early 1900s. The brother was arrested and charged with embezzlement, and hung, without his sister's knowledge. The sister would ask where her brother was each day, and co-workers never told her. She finally learned of his death and it drove her mad. To this day, people report being stopped by a woman in black on the side of the bank who asks them if they've seen her brother. We didn't see her!