Standing on the quayside, the Dolphin Inn was used by Sir John Hawkins when enlisting local Cornishmen to fight the Spanish Armada, in 1588. The infamous Judge Jeffreys is said to have held one of his equally infamous courts there, and in the cellars there are still reminders of the prisoners that were held in custody before attending his “Bloody Assizes”. It was also the local haunt of smugglers and was used as a hiding place for illicit spirits and wines. In the 1960’s, two casks of brandy were found hidden in the cellars from those far-off days, and were found to be still in good condition. Penzance was the first port of call for ships making their way from the New World to England and it is almost certain that the first pipe of tobacco to be smoked in this country was smoked at the Dolphin.
There are two ghosts at the inn. One is that of an old English sea-captain, in lace ruffles and three-cornered hat, who is said to have died there. The second is the ghost of a fair-haired young man, who fell to his death from the loft to the cellars in February, 1873. Both have been seen, but more frequently heard at the inn. |
