From it's earliest days the Maid's Head has often found itself involved with various stories of ghosts and horror. It houses, of course, its own ghost, believed to be that of an old chambermaid previously employed at the hotel.

The Maid's Head Hotel.

Staff and guests will often claim to see the ghostly apparition of an elderly lady dressed in grey wandering round the hotel. Many claim to have seen her coming from the downstairs bar where she will suddenly appear complete with the smell of lavender. Following a general look round the hotel she returns to the downstairs bar and disappears, once more, into the cellars.

Dating back to the 13th century the Maid's Head was originally called the Murtle Fish, but this all changed following the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to the city in 1578. It is often claimed that the Queen stayed at the Maid's Head whilst she was a visitor to Norwich but it is far more likely that she would have stayed just around the corner at the Bishop's Palace. However, it is true that she attended a banquet held in her honour at the hotel.

Following the banquet the Queen spoke very kindly of the hotel claiming she had enjoyed the hospitality and the meal, itself, greatly.

The Maid's Head Hotel.

The owner of the Murtle Fish, as it was still known, was a Dutch refugee by the name of Christopher Baret. He had arrived in Norwich some years earlier with the "strangers" from Holland who had brought their weaving talents to the city.

So overwhelmed was Baret by the Queen's compliments he vowed to rename the hotel in her honour and the name was subsequently changed to that of the Maid's Head. Why he should choose the name Maid's Head over that of Queen's Head remains a mystery.

The change of the hotel's name, however, was not the only legacy left behind by the Queen's visit. As Elizabeth and her entourage moved on across the country a less welcome reminder of her visit was already beginning to growl in the alleyways...

LOCATION

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