Sidmouth storyteller invites residents to pass on stories of Costa Coffee building when Old Ship Inn

A STORYTELLER and writer in Sidmouth is on the look out for tales from the former Old Ship Inn.

Clare Viner, regularly writes in Costa Coffee, formerly the Old Ship, in Old Fore Street, and has discovered there may be more to the place than meets the eye, writes Joy Ng.

“I initially asked about the tunnel I had heard about that runs from the Old Ship to the St. Giles and St. Nicholas Church,” she said. “The manager knew all about it and also told me about the resident friendly ghost.

“People have mentioned other stories to the staff of Costa Coffee as well. There are people who have lived and worked in the building when it was a pub and before.”

Clare wants to organise an evening where these tales of the Old Ship can be told, either by her or the folk of Sidmouth.

“If there are enough stories, we could even publish a short booklet,” she said.

All stories, short or long, can remain anonymous says Clare.

E-mail stories to clareviner@googlemail.com or visit her at Costa Coffee on Tuesday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 22 mornings, from 9.30am.

Clare plans to publish a book, inspired by the work of Sidmouth antiquarian Peter Orlando Hutchinson, next year and hold storytelling events in April 2012 leading up to the book’s publication.