Mersea Island is the most inhabited easterly island in the United Kingdom, off the coast of Essex. The ‘Rose’ is the most popular flower name for a pub, with often seen in such variations as Rose and Crown, Rose in Bloom, and countless others. However, assume its name was after a special rose grown here. There was a pre-Roman settlement here in the form of red hills, evidence of Celtic salt works. The Romans were here for some considerable time, with a large Romano-British round barrow was excavated near The Strood. People found the remains of a cremated adult in an urn within a lead casket. During an architectural dig, a large Roman mosaic floor was discovered near West Mersea church. This gives some evidence for the ghosts that haunt the Peldon Rose, with the immediate area. For centuries, the ghost of a Roman centurion has haunted the road at Peldon. One elderly woman told of an occasion when she walked home with the tramp of a soldier’s feet at her side. At times, this 16 centuries old ghost has been joined by other similarly clad soldiers, followed by the clash of swords. The Pullen family were licensees of the Peldon Rose for many years. Stories were recounted within that family of the number of times the ghost of a Roman soldier was observed in the pub. One proprietor, Jane Pullen, said on many occasions, ‘Those old Romans, they do you no harm.’ The pub has history from 1380. It was first licensed in 1454.