The Chequers Inn stands on The Street in Smarden, a village between Ashford and Maidstone. Spooky Isles describes it as a 14th century inn with low beams, timber frames and a reputation for dark deeds.
The ghost is said to be a Napoleonic soldier who stayed on his way home from war. The story goes that a barmaid tried to steal his loot while he slept. Reported phenomena include beds that appear to have been slept in when nobody has stayed, objects shifting across rooms and heavy boots clattering across the floorboards.
The same article adds that Smarden has its own history of witch trials and superstition, but it gives no detail. No date, witness or outcome for the barmaid story is given, so it is tagged as tradition.
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