Unusual and weird things to see in King's Lynn West Norfolk

1. True’s Yard: Thought to be one of Norfolk’s most-haunted buildings, there are said to be a jaw-dropping 38 ghosts living at True’s Yard Museum. One is resident poltergeist Henry, who lives in a room where fisherfolk once laid their heads after a hard day's work. He's has been known to cause light bulbs to blow, knock paintings off walls and send staplers flying across rooms.

2. The Exorcist’s House: Through the grounds of St Nicholas’ Chapel, you will find a curious cottage built on the site where medieval exorcists used to do battle with evil spirits, and – somewhat more earthbound – problematic neighbours. There have been tales of a ghost at the house, which appeared to the daughters of a man who lived here, and legend has it that an underground passage, allegedly used by Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, runs from here to St Anne’s House in Lynn.

3. St George’s Guildhall: The only theatre in the world that can claim Shakespeare trod its boards, this building has also been a public hall, a court, a merchants’ exchange, an armoury, a button factory and a gunpowder store.

4. The Tudor Rose Hotel, St Nicholas Place: The Tudor Rose has stood just off the Tuesday Market Place on St Nicholas Street since the 15th century, when it was built on the site of a former nunnery and surrounded by the town’s old defensive walls. The building is said to be haunted by a murdered bride who is seen on the anniversary of her wedding day. Another ghost can be seen at Christmas, clearing away the snow from the yard.

5. The Witch’s Heart, Tuesday Market Place: Look above numbers 15 and 16: there, close to a window, carved into the red brick, is a diamond shape and within it, a carved heart. It marks the death of Margaret Read, a woman burned at the stake in the square in 1590. Legend has it that as she was being consumed by flames, Margaret’s heart burst from her chest, smashed into the spot above the window and then fell to the ground before bouncing to the nearby River Ouse where it sank.

6. Mother Gabley, Tuesday Market Place: Mother Gabley was the first person condemned in Norfolk under the 1563 Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts which was passed early in the reign of Elizabeth I. She was accused of causing the death of 13 men. She had, it was claimed, boiled eggs in cold water, stirring vigorously to raise a storm at sea. Mother Gabley was hanged in King’s Lynn in 1583, probably at Tuesday Market Place.

7. Sea Henge: Hidden by the North Sea until 1998, Seahenge is a Bronze Age circle made of 55 timber posts encircling an upturned tree root. The stump and some of the timbers, taken from Holme Beach to preserve them, are now on display at Lynn Museum in King’s Lynn, alongside a replica of the circle.

8. King Street, numbers 28 to 32:  Staff at a historic King’s Lynn office are used to bumps and creaks in the night while working late. But spectral piano playing, ghostly New Year festivities and the apparition of a young man in a military trench coat made several of them more than a little wary of burning the midnight oil.

9.  King Street, number 9: In the 70s, the ghost of an 18th century gentleman was seen by several different people in this building. The site of a medieval merchant’s house, one visitor to the building when it was a museum spotted a man in a three-corner hat, walking around with his hands behind his back.

10. Purfleet Quay: The Purfleet was the town’s principal anchorage for ships since medieval times, and was also the disembarkation point for British and continental pilgrims' route to the Shrine of our Lady at Walsingham in North Norfolk. A ghost is said to loiter in the area, before screaming and throwing herself into the quay – she is said to be a woman who killed herself the day after she was married. Other ghostly screams in the area are attributed to fighting soldiers, and if these screams are heard, the water is said to run red with blood.

11. The Moon phase clock on St Margaret’s Church: On the south tower of the church is a tide clock, given by Thomas Tue in 1683. Replacing the clock’s normal numbers are 12 letters, which spell out 'LYNN HIGH TIDE'. The clock shows the phases of the moon and moves on 48 minutes a day, in lunar time, and with a green dragon’s tongue shows the time of the next high tide on the River Great Ouse. It was easily visible from the port and the river and was well-used by sailors and merchants.

12. St Margaret’s Church: This huge church boasts many treasures – a clock on the south-west tower shows the time of high tides. Flood markers show when Lynn has been underwater on the walls. Huge memorial brasses date from 1349 (look for the mill below Adam and Margaret Walsoken’s feet and The Peacock Feast given for Edward III on Robert Braunche’s brass). There are cheeky wooden seat carvings, and a carved Green Man.

13. Devil’s Alley: Norfolk used to boast the devil’s hoof print in King’s Lynn, said to be a remainder of his thwarted attempts to steal souls after arriving to the town by ship. Legend has it he was spotted by a priest who cornered him in what is now known as Devil’s Alley. Banishing him back to the netherworld with prayers and holy water, the infuriated devil stamped his foot in fury and with such force that it left an imprint and a reminder of the chaos he could wreak. Devil’s Alley was once completely roofed like a tunnel and ran all the way to the quayside – it is said that rather than an imprint in the ground, the alley “showed at its darkest point a queer cobble in the pavement shaped like a gigantic human foot”.

14. Red Mount Chapel: This octagonal little building on The Walk is a 15h century wayside chapel which used to be part of the Walsingham pilgrimage route. It was used by soldiers in the Civil War who left interesting graffiti in the interior.

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