The White Hart, 23 – 25 Holywell Hill
“Have you seen that large black and white building on Holywell Hill ? That’s me, the White Hart, known earlier as ‘The Hartshorn’, and I’ve been here since the 1500s so I’m pretty old. I’ve always looked after travellers and weary horses as they struggled up the Hill, including guests of the Abbey.
They’ve recently discovered my stunning Elizabethan mural in what is now a pottery workshop. Not a happy subject – the Death of Adonis, from Shakespeare’s poem, Venus and Adonis written in 1593. Of course, I knew it was there all the time.
In the early 19th century, I knew that an accident would occur because those coachmen came through my archway far too quickly. You can guess what happened. Poor Elizabeth Wilson forgot to duck when the coachman cried out “heads, heads!”. So she’s joined the other shadowy figures who live alongside the current guests.
And my cellar is a veritable treasure trove of strange happenings: barrels moved, lights going on and off and the door locks itself. I can’t make it out. There are never any living humans about!”
Click here to read the research from our Volunteers:
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