It’s after midnight in 15th century Suffolk. A horse-drawn barge noses silently up the river Box in the darkness, approaching the back of the Inn. Two figures  jump to the bank and secure the bow and stern. They’re still tying off as a small team emerges from the bushes, forming a line from the barge to concealed oak doors at the back of the building. In the light of a couple of storm lamps, barrels are passed out from the boat and rolled from man to man along the line, disappearing up through trap doors into a secret loft. Not a word is spoken and the men communicate with hand signals only. The entire cargo is landed in just 5 minutes, and afterwards the smugglers quietly disappear into the darkness while the barge slips silently away. One man remains to close the doors and arrange the overhanging vegetation to disguise their existence, then he too vanishes into the night.

We don’t need to work like this any more these days, but the river Box was navigable in the 15th century and was used extensively to transport goods to and from the village. The White Hart Inn has stood on this site for 6 centuries - and the secret loft still exists!