Spirits in pub - and a ghost too


07 July 2006 09:06

You'll find a good selection of spirits at all the city's pubs, but the historic Adam and Eve has a unique one - the ghost of one of the men who fought in a famous county battle.

The pub, the oldest in the city, lays claim to having one of the city's oldest ghosts, that of a lord who fought Wymondham landowner Robert Kett in 1549. Lord Sheffield led the King's Army against Kett, who led a rebellion against the monarchy because of unpopular laws which made it legal for landowners to fence off what was once common land.

At the height of the rebellion, Sheffield led the King's troops along Bishopgate in Norwich, when they came face to face with Kett's army. It soon became clear Sheffield was going to lose. Thinking he would make a valuable hostage, he removed his helmet to show who he was.

But his plan did not work because a butcher attacked him with a meat cleaver and dealt Sheffield a lethal blow. While Kett and his victorious men headed up to Mousehold to celebrate their victory, Sheffield's army picked up their dying leader and took him to the Adam and Eve. They laid him on the table where he died - and his restless spirit has reportedly roamed the pub ever since.

Dave Chisnell, who runs the city's popular ghost walks, said: “There have been lots of incidents over the years. People have felt somebody tap on their shoulders and turned around to find nobody there.

“Things have gone missing from tables and turned up on the other side of the pub a few days later, while people have seen a figure go up the stairs from the downstairs bar only to find nobody upstairs.”

Rita McCluskey, landlady at the Bishopgate pub, said: “You just get these feelings that somebody is there. It isn't sinister and I feel quite privileged to have a ghost here.”

Mr Chisnell dared to spend a night in the haunted pub and you can read all about the spooky goings on in the latest edition of Paranormal Norfolk, on sale now.

Paranormal Norfolk is on sale now in newsagents, price £2.95, or subscribe by phone on 01603 772205.

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