Ye Olde Man and Scythe
Bolton, Greater Manchester 1651
“Suddenly she looks down, terrified, to see her hands and other parts of her body mysteriously streaming with blood. Fleeing in fear, later she discovers that she hasn’t got a single scratch on her. Not one.”
What’s better than a haunted pub? Absolutely nothing! Our Country is built on haunted pubs and let us hope it stays that way. The ghoulish establishment in question for this folklore tale is Ye Olde Man and Scythe, which I must say is a fantastic name for a pub and absolutely reeks of historical excellence. This pub has been standing, supposedly, since 1251 when it’s name was first recorded, and the name itself speaks of its history - ‘Ye Olde’ being a pseudo archaism and ‘Man and Scythe’ being derived from the crest of the Pilkington family.
This was passed down from the Ferrers family (the Earl of Derby) through marriage and seemingly the ‘Scythe’ part of the Ye Olde Man and Scythe could be connected to one of the Pilkington ancestors who cleverly disguised themselves as a farm mower to avoid capture during the Norman conquest. Isn’t history neat?!
Despite being erected since 1251, our tale begins in the 17th Century with James Stanley, the seventh Earl of Derby (I’m jealous of his glorious hair, I admit it). It was on the 28th May 1644 that our man in question, led by a group of Royalists, stormed the streets of Bolton, massacring one thousand and five hundred locals and troops in one fell swoop. Due to his actions (it was kind of awful of him) during the Bolton Massacre, James was sat in front of Ye Olde Man and Scythe and beheaded on the spot (the chair still remains in the pub’s museum!).
His execution took place at three in the afternoon on the 15th October 1651. Before his Earldom in 1642, James Stanley was known as Lord Strange (which is totally badass) and after being sentenced to death by execution, on the executioners block in the market place in front of Ye Olde Man & Scythe, James sat inside the pub with landlord James Cockrel for his final meal (I wonder what he had? He strikes me as a pheasant kind of person).
Despite this intriguing piece of British history, James is not the only spirit to be said to haunt the Ye Olde Man and Scythe. Some sources say there’s around twenty ghosts roaming the grounds, and some sources say there’s upwards of fifty-three hanging around!
Some phenomena experienced within the pub includes a woman from the 19th Century claiming to see blood pool around her body, and when exiting the pub mysteriously no wounds could be seen on her. A little girl, supposedly named Jenny, has been seen to pinch customers and pull on ladies’ skirts. Landlord Richard Greenwood says that ghoulish activity occurs daily with furniture moving and glasses being smashed, there are stories of a woman hanging in the basement and a little boy ghost spooking any female staff who dare to descend down there.
With the executioner’s block being situated directly outside the pub in the 17th Century, it’s no wonder the pub attracts restless and vengeful spirits - have you visited Ye Olde Man and Scythe and experienced anything... unusual?
Sources
https://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/hauntings/ye-olde-man-scythe/
https://themanc.com/feature/a-blood-curdling-history-of-boltons-oldest-pub-ye-olde-man-and-scythe/
https://secretmanchester.com/ye-olde-man-scythe-pub-bolton-oldest-uk/
