In Charlotte Brontë's acclaimed novel Jane Eyre, the protagonist's crazy wife was hidden in the attic from the rest of the estate. It is interesting that this image appeared for a reason. The writer once visited the Norton Conyers estate in North Yorkshire, where she heard the legend of a crazy woman named Mad Mary, who was locked from prying eyes in the attic. It was this legend and this attic that were later reflected in Bronte's novel.
However, the owners of Norton Conyers have "lost" the attic and the stairs to it over the years. It wasn't until 2004 that homeowners finally rediscovered the loss. One day, one of them decided to find a treasure in the castle and began to knock on the walls and floors in search of voids. Indeed, it turned out that in one place there is a void under the floor. When the boards were removed, a staircase leading to the attic was revealed under them. Apparently, during some repairs, the stairs were boarded up as unnecessary.
Natalia Trubinovskaya