Tag Archives: lancashire

The Skull at the Pack Horse Pub, Affetside

Posted on August 25, 2016 by LancashireFolk

Strictly speaking, the Pack Horse in Affetside is in Greater Manchester now, but historically this whole area used to be part of Lancashire… Built in 1443, this old pub is proud of the skull displayed above the bar. The skull … Continue reading →

Posted in Skulls, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Up on the moor near Bacup, there is a pile of loose boulders in an area known as Hell Clough and, as you’d expect, there’s a legend featuring the Devil which explains how this came to be. Somewhere near this … Continue reading →

Posted on June 16, 2016 by LancashireFolk | 2 Comments

Bloomfield Road Football Ground – Blackpool

Posted on April 28, 2016 by LancashireFolk

The wreck of HMS Foudroyant, near North Pier, Blackpool. Legend has it that the boardroom of Blackpool Football Club is lined with oak panelling taken from Lord Nelson’s flagship. Of course, Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory survives and is safely berthed … Continue reading →

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

Lancashire Folk – the Book!

Posted on March 14, 2016 by LancashireFolk

Pleased to announced that Lancashire Folk is finally available!  It is now in stock and available for purchase from the distributor, Gazelle Books.  For direct customers Gazelle have set up a promotional offer which will allow you to buy the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boggart, Book, Fairies, folklore, Ghosts, Green Men, Holy Wells, Lancashire, Skulls, Stones, Uncategorized, Way Crosses, White Lady, Witches & Wizards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Huntroyd Hall, Simonstone

Posted on February 4, 2016 by LancashireFolk

In 1594, no less than seven members of a Huntroyd family were possessed by evil spirits. Nicholas Starkie and his wife lived in the large house with their two children, John and Anne. The children were the first to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Demonic Possession, Halls and Houses | Tagged , | 7 Comments

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

Hornby Castle- Lord Monteagle the Necromancer

Posted on November 19, 2015 by LancashireFolk

The first documentary evidence of Hornby Castle is in 1226, when it was already well-established. The castle we see today is a modern Gothic-inspired building, dating from 1847. But that in no way spoils the story… Edward Stanley of Hornby … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Folklore’ – The Ashton Weekly Reporter, and Stalybridge and Dukinfield Chronicle – Saturday 26 September 1857

Posted on September 17, 2015 by LancashireFolk

I was browsing the British Newspaper Archive this evening (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) when I came across this collection of snippets… from a newspaper dated 1857, when Folklore was still alive and well in Lancashire.  It was also, coincidentally, the year my house … Continue reading →

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Superstitious Lancashire – Who Will I Marry?

Posted on September 3, 2015 by LancashireFolk

‘Who will I marry?’ is a question which comes to the minds of most young women, even in these modern days when independence is so prized. If you lived in old Lancashire a century or two ago, there were several … Continue reading →

Posted in customs, divination, knives, love, superstitions, unlucky days | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Superstitious Lancashire – Animals and Birds

Posted on August 29, 2015 by LancashireFolk

They were a superstitious lot, those old Lancastrians. Naturally they were worried by a myriad of things unseen – the boggarts and ghosts that haunt this county – but they also held superstitious beliefs about all kinds of perfectly visible … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, birds, Lancashire custom, superstitions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments