1989
Hotel & Posting House in 1800's
On the night of 12th August 1858, an itinerant accordion player, named
Scales drank threepenny-worth of gin and retired to his lodgings in the
Black Swan. Unfortunately he got the wrong room and upon being woken by
the rightful occupier, the ostler of the Inn, he grabbed the hair of the
ostler, bit him and cried out `Murder! Murder!'
This attracted the landlord, Mr. Palmer, who along with others in the
house, separated the two. Once the mistake had been explained, all
appeared to be settled, but after a few minutes another disturbance was
heard. Scales had broken through the roof and fled, with nothing on but
his shirt. A search ensued and at five o'clock in the morning he was
detained by Superintendent Scott. Ascertaining that Scales had come from
Lowestoft, he was taken there, but nobody `owned' him so he was returned
to North Walsham and on Monday 16th August taken to Thorpe Asylum.
