 The Mermaid , one of the oldest business premises in the town , has been , at various times , a ship chandler 's , a nineteenth @-@ century " department store " and in more recent years a tearoom . The building was the home of Minehead ’ s famous Whistling Ghost – Old Mother Leakey , who died in 1634 . The ghost became notorious by allegedly " whistling up a storm " whenever one of her son ’ s ships neared port . The level of anxiety in the town became so great that , in 1636 , the Bishop of Bath and Wells presided over a Royal Commission to inquire into the matter . The commission eventually reported that the witnesses were unreliable and when its findings were signed by Archbishop Laud and ghost 's publicity began to wane . 
