Exeter Cathedral door hole could be world's oldest cat flap

Records show payments to carpenters dating around 1598

A hole in a door at a cathedral is thought to be the world's oldest cat flap.

The door at Exeter Cathedral dates back more than 400 years, records have shown. The hole leads to a cavity behind a large clock.

The hole was cut as part of a refurbishment attempt in the 16th Century to keep rodents under control.

Diane Walker, cathedral historian and author, said the bishop cut the hole to allow his cat to "catch rats and mice".

She said: "This door has lots of legends associated with it, but there are facts that we also know, and there is a hole at the bottom of this door.

"We have a record that says there was a payment of eight pence for the carpenters to cut a hole in this door for Bishop Cotton, and Bishop Cotton came here in 1598."

Diane Walker said the cat-hole attracts interest from around the world

Records found the space was excavated in 1376 in order for the clock to be installed, and that rodents were attracted to the cathedral by the animal fat used to lubricate the clock.

Other records showed that cats were on the payroll of the cathedral.

• Listen: BBC Radio Devon's Angela Kalwaites get a guided tour from Exeter Cathedral historian and author Diane Walker.

Ms Walker said: "Back in the 14th and 15th Centuries we have records in the cathedral of payments of 13 pence a quarter for the cat and occasionally 26 pence a quarter for the cat.

"We don't know if that was double rations because they had been doing a good job or whether there were actually two cats."

The elaborate clock was installed in 1376, records show

Although it does not have a flap, Ms Walker said it is thought to be one of the earliest examples of a cat-access portal.

She said: "There are likely to be holes cut in other doors which haven't got a record of when they were cut, so who knows, but it is nice to think ours is one of the earliest.

"We haven't checked all the details and it may be there are holes in other places that don't actually have a date. We are fortunate that we know it was from Bishop Cotton's time here because we have got the record of payment to the carpenters."

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