The Castle Museum is the historic heart of Norwich, so it seems only right that it has a few ghosts of its own! It was home to the burnings of witches and religious dissenters, the pressing and racking of convicted villains, the hanging of felons, a court, a gaol and finally a museum. Little wonder, then, that it has a tale or two to tell.

The Castle Museum, Norwich.

The two most popular ghosts of the Castle are the floating skull and the old Victorian lady. Those who have seen the skull claim that it materialises within the keep of the Castle and then 'floats' around for a minute or two. The old Victorian lady is usually spotted around the art exhibition area, studying the works of local artists. Dressed in long, flowing, black Victorian style clothes she wanders up and down the corridors. Those who have followed her, claim she suddenly turns a corner and then is no longer to be seen.

There are many historians who will tell you that we never burnt witches in this country, that we simply hanged them all. Any documentation that shows a convicted witch being burnt is explained by claims that she would actually have been burnt for her blasphemous religious beliefs and that she 'just happened' to do a bit of witchcraft on the side. Whatever the truth of the matter, clear documentation exists which claims that witches, were, indeed, burnt in the castle ditches, the last of them being a young woman called Mary Oliver who was burnt as recently as 1659.

Executions could be carried out in a number of ways. During the years of the plague, offenders would often be dropped to their death. One novel way of executing a person was that of being 'pressed' to death. This process could take many days to achieve. A prisoner sentenced to 'pressing' would be laid on a stone bed and then have heavy weights placed upon their body until life was 'pressed' out of them.

The most common form of execution, however, was that of hanging . Most of the city's criminals were hanged outside the castle, a platform would be built between the two gate-houses with scaffold set upon it. At the appointed hour the convicted criminals would be brought from the dungeons or cells within the castle and led to their place of execution. Large crowds would attend, often exceeding 20,000, who watched not only murderers hanged but also many others for far less serious offences.

Robert Kett.

Possibly the most infamous hanging which took place at the Castle was that of Robert Kett, leader of Kett's rebellion and 'provider' of another Norwich ghost - Lord Sheffield. Following Kett's success against the army of Lord Sheffield a further force was sent to overpower him. This time the army would be led by the Earl of Warwick. Apart from his own army, Warwick was assisted by forces of many of the Northern Earls. In all, an army totalling over 10,000 soldiers made their way to Norwich for battle with Kett. Most of Warwick's army were on horseback and they had all the latest weapons of war, guns, canons, shields, pikes and staffs. Robert Kett and his army had a few horses and some guns they had stolen from Lord Sheffield's army, they had butcher's cleavers and sharp knives, even a collection of pointed sticks.

The so-called battle at Dussindale became a massacre as the troops of Robert Kett were slaughtered. In little more than five hours fighting, as many as 6,000 of Kett's army were slain. The rest of his men fled for their lives. Robert Kett and his brother William were captured and taken to London and imprisoned in the Tower to await charges of treason. The following day, up to 300 men were hanged from Magdalen Gates in Norwich. A group of skeletons found buried face down with their hands behind their backs in the area a few years ago are believed to be among the victims.

Robert and William Kett were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. The Kett brothers were returned to the Guildhall, Norwich and on December 7, William was taken to Wymondham where he was hanged from the Abbey and Robert was brought to the Castle. Once here Kett was placed at the foot of the wall overlooking the Market Place and a noose was lowered from the battlements and placed around his neck. His body was hoisted to the top of the battlements and fixed to a gibbet, there he was left to hang alive. His body was covered with pitch and tar so that he would survive the winter better but it is unlikely that this would have prevented the birds from feasting on his face and eyes long before he died.

The Castle Museum, Norwich.

In the 1860s it was decided that public hangings were no longer acceptable and in future, convicted criminals sentenced to death would be hanged in private. The first person in Norwich to be privately hanged was William Sheward who had murdered his wife as long ago as 1851 but was only brought to justice 18 years later, in 1869, following his long overdue confession.

However, it was at a private hanging that one of the city's most notorious executions took place. In the November sessions of 1885 Robert Goodale had been found guilty of murdering his wife the previous September. After the murder he had dumped his wife's body in a local well where it had been found a few days later.

Prior to a hanging the executioner would take a look at the prisoner to determine his size and weight. This was to allow him to make the correct calculations as to what the 'drop' should be. Goodale was judged to be around six feet tall and weighing some 16 stone. On the morning of the execution the scaffold was tested with a weight of 16 stone and appeared to be working. However, one hour later when the bolt was pulled as Goodale stood on the trapdoor, things went dreadfully wrong. Goodale fell through the trapdoor easily enough but then the noose reappeared without him.

Initially it was thought that the rope had come off his head and that Goodale with arms tied behind his back had fallen into the concrete pit. The thought that he may have suffered broken arms or legs filled the execution team with horror as they would have to carry him back to the scaffold and hang him again, this time, no doubt, in extreme pain. However their horror turned into disbelief when they saw the body of Goodale lying on one side of the pit. On the other side of the pit lay his head, still covered with the hood but now totally separated from his body.

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