the street during the cold winter, where they received much personal abuse'. What is left of the burial ground is now part of 3 Cavendish Road. The nearest Meeting Houses are now Bardfield, Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury. The oldest religious building in Clare still existing is the Norman chapel of St Mary Magdalene, dated c1190. Built as a wayside chapel just ½ mile north of Clare, close to a confluence of the Chilton stream at Wentford, it fell into disrepair by 1403 but was later granted to the Guild of St John the Baptist in Chilton. At the time of the dissolution of guilds and chantry chapels in 1547, the priest worked in Clare parish church and also in the grammar school. It was converted for domestic use. In the Civil War it was used as a powder magazine. Grade II* listed as Chapel Cottage, today it is called Old Chapel; remains of Norman windows, a bellcote, timber framing and an arched doorway are visible. Chipley Abbey, just to the west of Poslingford, is a Grade II listed farmhouse incorporating part of the cloisters and moat of Chipley Priory, an Augustinian Canons foundation created before 1235. Public houses There are four public houses in the town, all of them occupying historic buildings. The Swan in the High Street occupies the oldest premises: one owner died from the Black Death in 1349. The central chimney stack with four orthogonal shafts predates the main structure from around 1600. Above the main doorway is a carved solid block of oak – possibly the oldest inn sign in England. It seems to be the base of an oriel window taken from Clare Castle. The central figure is of a chained swan with a crown round the neck – the badge of Henry IV. Other symbols link it to Henry V, the Mortimers and de Burghs. A grape vine suggests a link with Clare's fame as a wine-producing area. The Bell on Market Hill occupies a small alehouse site and was extensively altered to become the Green Dragon around 1580. In the 1780s it became a post house (providing changes of horses and gigs for hire) when the beautiful interior carved beams and ceilings were added. It was a wholesale trading house with brew house and bar. Early in the 19th century it specialised in chandlery – oil, ropes and candles were made on