Tag Archives: ghost

Samlesbury Hall – Bells, Witches, and a White Lady

Posted on January 7, 2016 by LancashireFolk

During the Lancashire cotton riots in 1878, a young sub-altern was garrisoned with his company at Samlesbury Hall, near Blackburn. In the early morning he was awakened by the sound of a woman crying bitterly in the corridor outside his … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell, Ghosts, Halls and Houses, Samlesbury, Uncategorized, White Lady | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

The Passage of Fact into Folklore

Posted on November 4, 2015 by LancashireFolk

This is the only surviving photograph of Jim Dawson. Shown here with the kind permission of Jennie Lee Cobban, from her personal collection. In my book ‘Lancashire Folk’ I mention a well-known story about the ghost of John Dawson who … Continue reading →

Posted in Bashall Eaves, folklore, Ghosts | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fulwood Barracks – ‘McCafferty’ the folk song.

Posted on March 29, 2015 by LancashireFolk

After my last post, about poor McCaffrey who killed two Officers at Fulwood Barracks and was executed for his crime, reader Martin alerted me to the fact that this terrible event was memorialised in a street-ballad called ‘McCafferty’.  The Officers’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fulwood Barracks, Fulwood, Preston

Posted on March 13, 2015 by LancashireFolk

The garrison church at Fulwood Barracks dates from 1847. It is haunted by a soldier, thought to be a former Chaplain who lost his life in the First World War. He was seen quite clearly in full light of day … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Swan and Royal, Clitheroe

Posted on February 24, 2015 by LancashireFolk

The Swan and Royal dates from 1786, but arguably its most interesting story comes from a century later, during the cotton strikes and subsequent riots of 1878. One weekend, a large group of cotton workers from Manchester were coming to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts, Hotels and Pubs | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors

Posted on February 17, 2015 by LancashireFolk

A few hundred years ago the Dunkenhalgh was a grand old Hall, the seat of the Walmesley family and the centre of a vast estate covering thousands of acres. Now it’s a typically English hotel, a beautiful building, standing in … Continue reading →

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Astley Hall, Chorley

Posted on February 10, 2015 by LancashireFolk

  Astley Hall was built in 1580 by the Charnock family and remained in their care for many generations. It passed through several other families over the centuries, until the Tattons presented it to Chorley for the purpose of using … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts, Halls and Houses | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Ship Inn at Freckleton

Posted on September 27, 2014 by LancashireFolk

The Ship Inn is reputed to be more than three centuries old. As well as once being a smuggler’s watering-hole, it also harboured a skull which had its home in the attic of the building. Like other such skulls, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts, Hotels & Pubs, Skulls | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Entwistle Halt

Posted on September 19, 2014 by LancashireFolk

In the 1940s, the railway employee in charge of Entwistle Halt, one Mr Ackroyd, repeatedly saw a small boy playing by himself in the fields near the railway line. He never appeared during winter months, but during the summer he … Continue reading →

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Greenhalgh Castle, Garstang

Posted on June 1, 2014 by LancashireFolk

Greenhalgh Castle was built in 1490, by the Earl of Derby.  It is clear that he felt the need of a fortified home, because he sought permission from the King to crenelate and ‘embattle’ the building.  It originally had four … Continue reading →

Posted in Castles, Ghosts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments