Pulteney Bridge Phantom Lady
One of only four bridges in the world with shops built across its full span, haunted by a lady in Georgian dress who walks the bridge before vanishing into thin air.
Pulteney Bridge in Bath is one of the city’s most beautiful and unusual landmarks, designed by Robert Adam and completed in 1774. It is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops built across its full span on both sides, creating a covered street rather than an open bridge. The elegant Georgian structure crosses the River Avon, connecting the city center with the Bathwick Estate, and has witnessed over 250 years of Bath’s social history. Among its many visitors, one appears to never leave: the phantom lady who has been seen walking the bridge in Georgian dress for over two centuries.
The apparition is most commonly described as a well-dressed woman in late 18th or early 19th-century clothing, including a long dress, cloak, and bonnet typical of the Regency period when Jane Austen lived in Bath. Witnesses report seeing her walking along the bridge, sometimes appearing to window-shop at the stores, other times standing at the balustrade looking down at the river. The figure appears solid and real, dressed in elegant period costume, leading some witnesses to initially mistake her for a costumed tour guide or historical reenactor. However, she vanishes when approached, or simply fades away while being observed. Some witnesses describe her as having a sad or troubled expression, as if searching for something or someone she has lost.
Various theories exist about the phantom lady’s identity. Some believe she may be a young woman who drowned in the river, possibly a suicide related to a broken engagement or social scandal during Bath’s Georgian heyday when the city was England’s most fashionable resort. Others suggest she might be connected to one of the shops on the bridge, perhaps a shopkeeper’s wife or daughter who died tragically. The apparition is most frequently seen during the early evening or late at night when the bridge is less crowded, and several shopkeepers have reported experiencing unexplained phenomena including the sound of footsteps when no one is present, objects moving on their own, and the sensation of being watched. Pulteney Bridge’s phantom lady represents Bath’s Georgian past, a ghostly reminder of the elegant society that once promenaded across this unique structure.