'Haunted' pub The Volunteer on Baker Street undergoes major facelift

Located a few doors up from the fictitional home of Sherlock Holmes, the pub is said to have served as a recruiting station during the war.

But according to CAMRA, the Grade II listed watering hole takes its name from the Royal Marylebone Volunteers, who were formed during the Napeleonic wars amid fears of invasion.The pub has had a major refurb with new bar and seating and an overhaul of its food and drink menu (Image: Courtesy of The Volunteer)

However it's not a soldier who is said to loom in the pub's cellars, but a 17th Century aristocrat whose mansion once stood on the site.

While The Volunteer was built as part of the Portman Estate in 1815, legend has it that it stands on land once owned by the powerful Neville family.

It's rumoured some of them perished when their family seat burned down in 1654, and the ghost of a man dressed in breeches and topcoat who appears in the cellars, flickers light switches and stomps across wooden floors, could be the figure of Rupert Neville returning to his former home.

The pub dates back to the Napoleonic wars when volunteers signed up to fight off a possible invasion (Image: Courtesy of The Volunteer)

The iconic pub reopened in February following a four week revamp that included a new bar, skylight in the restaurant, and facelift for both the interior and exterior seating areas.

Close to Regent's Park it's renowned as a great lunch spot or meeting place before a game at Wembley or a match at Lord's.The pub is located a few doors up from the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes (Image: Courtesy of The Volunteer)

The new menu includes pub classics such as chicken and ham pie, fish and chips, prime steak burgers, and Sunday roasts. An extensive drinks’ menu includes a dozen craft beers from Siren's Broken Dreams breakfast stout to Moo Tang Clan Milkshake IPA from Brew York, alongside ciders and cocktails.

The investment and refurb have created eight new jobs for the Marylebone area and speaking about the overhaul, General Manager Robert Burrows said: "We’re very happy to have finally given this grand old pub the spruce up it needed, we can’t wait to welcome back our regulars to see what they think!"Is the Grade II listed pub haunted by the ghost of a 17th Century aristocrat? (Image: Courtesy of The Volunteer)

The Volunteer is at 245-247 Baker Street, NW1: https://www.thevolunteernw1.co.uk/venue#/