During the reign of James I a general persecution of Catholic believers took place. Whilst those who kept their faith in private were usually allowed to go free, anyone found openly preaching or extolling the faith would be severely dealt with. Returning from Douay in 1610 Thomas Tunstall began to preach the virtues of Catholicism, bringing him rapidly to the attention of the authorities. He was soon arrested and held in various prisons for the next five years. From the last of these, at Wisbech, he managed to escape by climbing down a rope from his window.

A view of the Cathedral through Erpingham Gate.

From here he made his way to Lynn where he took shelter at a friend's house. In climbing down the rope Tunstall had severely cut and burnt his hands and it was obvious to his friend that he would need some medical treatment. Afraid of going to the authorities, his friend enlisted the help of a local woman who had been trained in the skills of first aid. The woman was Lady l'Estrange who had a reputation of being a charitable person who would often help the poor. When Tunstall and his friend arrived at Lady l'Estrange's house she welcomed them warmly and immediately set about treating the reverend's hands. When his wounds had been dressed Tunstall went back to his friend's home promising to return the following day for more treatment.

An unsuspecting woman, Lady l'Estrange spoke to her husband that evening of her new patient. Her husband, Sir Hamon l'Estrange, was a Justice of the Peace and immediately realised who his wife's new patient was. He told his wife that her patient was the escaped priest and that he must be seized without delay. Horrified by what she had done, Lady l'Estrange fell to her knees begging her husband to forget all that she had told him. She told him that she would be unhappy for the rest of her life if the priest should suffer because of her.

Sir Hamon, however, was adamant that the priest should be brought to justice and ignored his wife's pleas for mercy. The following day Tunstall was re-arrested and taken to Norwich where he was condemned to death.

A few days later the reverend was taken to Magdalen Street gates to be hanged and, whilst awaiting his fate, Sir Hamon arrived on horseback. Getting down from his mount Sir Hamon made his way over to Tunstall and mocked him, "well, Mr Tunstall, I find then you are determined to die, and I hope you are prepared for it." "Indeed, Sir Hamon" replied the reverend "die I must, and I beseech God that my guiltless blood may not lie heavy upon you and yours." With a cursory bow Sir Hamon returned to his horse and rode away, whilst the final preparations for the reverend's execution were made.

Erpingham Gate.

A few moments later, in front of a baying crowd, the reverend was hanged from the gates. Whilst hanging, and still alive, the executioner took a large knife and thrust it into the reverend's stomach removing his entrails to great cheer from the crowd.

One hundred and twenty years later a guest staying at the Maid's Head Hotel was disturbed by a painting on his bedroom wall. The painting appeared to be a portrait of a Jesuit or Romish priest, his face was fair, his hair dark and he was dressed in ecclesiastical clothing. The painting was not on canvas or in a frame but on the actual wall itself.

The guest could not stop himself from thinking of the portrait that evening and he found great difficulty in sleeping. The following morning he asked the landlord who the portrait was of but the landlord had to admit that he didn't know. The portrait had been there much longer than he had, all he knew was that it seemed to affect many people and he had often been asked the same question.

The guest spent the next two days conducting business and seeing the sights of the city and then, on the afternoon before he was due to take his coach to London, a most unusual thing occurred. As he made his way back to the Maid's Head he noticed a man dressed like a clergyman walking up by the gates to the cathedral. It was dusk and he was unable to make out the man's features but something drew him towards him. As he came close to him under Erpingham Gate he was shocked to see that his face was red and swollen and that a rope was drawn tightly round his neck.

Despite his face being swollen there was something familiar about the man, as the visitor looked at the man before him he realised that there was a knife sticking out from his stomach. The man then groaned and turned away and disappeared into the cathedral grounds. As he did so the visitor suddenly realised where he knew the stranger from, it was the man whose portrait was on his wall at the Maid's Head.

Rushing back to the hotel he told the landlord of his experience and asked whether there was a Romish priest in the city who might be able to help him identify the man. The landlord informed him that there was indeed such a priest, a very learned one too, and gave him directions on how to find him.

The visitor was due to catch the London coach at nine o'clock the following morning but managed to find the priest in his chapel just after seven, having concluded early mass. After hearing the events of the previous day, the priest took him upstairs where he showed him a book of portraits. After a short while they came to one which perfectly matched the one in the hotel bedroom. The portrait was of the Rev Thomas Tunstall, the Catholic priest martyred some 120 years earlier.

LOCATION

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