Standing on the bend of Bishopsgate, the Adam and Eve is believed to be the oldest public house in Norwich. Records of its existence date back to 1249 when workmen rebuilding parts of the cathedral came to the inn to be paid for their labours in bread and beer. It was another 300 years, however, before the inn's most famous resident came to stay . . .

The Adam & Eve, Bishopsgate.

In 1549 Robert Kett led a group of men from Wymondham into Norwich to protest against the enclosure laws introduced during the reign of Henry VIII. Leaving Wymondham in July with just seven followers, Kett found himself at the head of an army in excess of 15,000 within weeks of setting up a camp on the nearby hills of Mousehold.

An army led by Lord Sheffield was sent to Norwich to overthrow the rebels and when Kett's army ventured into the city along Bishopsgate in August 1549 the two forces came face to face. After only a relatively short battle it soon became apparent that Kett's men had the upper hand and hoping, no doubt, to be taken a famous hostage, Lord Sheffield removed his helmet to reveal his identify.

However, a butcher by the name of Ffulkes decided that a famous scalp was better than a famous hostage and hacked Lord Sheffield across the neck with a meat cleaver. Sheffield fell from his horse to the ground and, believing that the battle was lost, the rest of his army fled for their lives. Kett's men retreated to the safety of Mousehold to celebrate their victory which allowed Sheffield's men to return to the scene of the battle.

Discovering their leader still alive they picked him up and carried him to the Adam and Eve where they laid him across a table. A few minutes later Sheffield was dead and his body was removed for burial. However, the spirit of Lord Sheffield decided to hang around and over the last 450 years has become one of the most famous ghosts in the city.

Anyone who visits the Adam and Eve will see that little structural alteration has taken place over the last 750 years. The bars remain small and narrow, so narrow that should somebody tap you on the shoulder you would expect to find them standing right behind you. However, hundreds, if not thousands, of customers who claim to have been tapped on the shoulders have found only the brick wall behind them when they turn round. It seems Lord Sheffield has retained his sense of humour.

Is this the ghost of Lord Sheffield outside the Adam & Eve pub?.

Placing any personal item on a table and leaving it there also invites mischief as many customers have returned from the bar or toilets to find their car keys, umbrellas or cigarette lighters have disappeared. Searching the inn seems to offer little help but patience often has its own reward as the missing items invariably turn up exactly where you left them a day or so later.

Among the other tales of Lord Sheffield's presence are the tankards that swing above the bar when all the doors and windows are shut and there is no wind, the frequent banging on locked doors after the pub is closed and the running of unseen fingers through the hair reported by many of the staff over the decades as they carry crates of beer from the cellar to the bar.

One of the more bizarre stories is of the blind customer who was enjoying a meal in the side room when he suddenly dropped his cutlery and rushed from the room without his stick or dog. Such was his hurry that he collided with the door frame on his way out and fell to the floor. When the barmaid helped him up he had gone as white as a sheet and claimed that he had "felt" the presence of something in the room and when he had addressed it, it appeared to pass right through his body leaving him as cold as ice.

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This ghostly tale has kindly been provided by Ghostly Dave - visit his Norwich Ghost Walk website here.