As the name suggests, the hotel that sits here was once a mill. A water-powered corn mill, in fact. It is a site of endurance and there had been a mill recoded on this site since domesday. The earliest part of the present building dates to around 1800. The mill was owned by the Clover family until it closed in the 1960s.
In the early 1970s the plan to convert the mill into a hotel was completed. It was during the conversion that a mummified cat was found within the structure.
A plaque in the foyer of the hotel reads: ‘An age old East Anglian custom was that of burying a live cat in a building under construction. The cat would protect it from all harm by witches, warlocks, and fire. The mummified cat buried below was found in the timber-framed part of this building during its conversion in 1971. It was obviously a victim of this superstition when the building was originally constructed nearly 300 years ago. It was re-interred on November 15th 1975 after four years eventful absence from the building.’
Below this plaque is a glass plate in the
floor, under which you can see the mummified remains. Curiously this is not the
only mummified cat to be found in town. When alterations were being made to a
building along North Street another was discovered between the timbers. Again
it was removed but replaced after supernatural disturbances started to take
place. As with the cat here, once returned to the premises, the unexplained
phenomena ceased. That cat isn’t on display, but you can see a photo of it in
the heritage centre on Gaol Lane.
///hypnotist.sues.maple
GRID REF: TL 86940 41318
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