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Oldham Coliseum
The Oldham Coliseum was the scene of a tragic accident involving the play that raises the hackles of superstition in many actors: Macbeth. Read More »
Pots and Pans
Pots and Pans above Greenfield, was once thought to have been a Druid place of worship, and old maps mark the site of a 'Druid's Altar'. Just where the Druid's Altar was is unclear, but it is generaly believed to be the rounded depressions found on top of the giant boulders of Millstone grit (the actual pots and pans) on the crest of the hill. Read More »
Radcliffe Tower
Radcliffe Tower is all that remains of a fifteenth century (1403) manor house and is a Grade I listed building. At twenty feet high, this ruined remnant of the manors demolition in the nineteenth century is linked to a tragic tale of a stepmother arranging the murder of her husband’s daughter and is reputed to be haunted by a phantom Black Dog. Read More »
The Ring O' Bells
The Ring O'Bells is said to be one of the oldest buildings in Middleton, and may be one of its most haunted. Historically the pub's foundations are thought to date all the way back to Saxon times, and legend has it that a Druidical temple stood at this spot in the Iron Age - perhaps a place of ancient sacrifice. Read More »
Rochdale Rush-Bearing
As far as I am aware Rochdale no longer celebrates the Rush Bearing festival, though nearby Littleborough revived theirs in 1991 and continue to celebrate it each year. Below is description of how Rochdale and its Rush-Bearing from Lancashire Legends (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson. Read More »
Saint Chad's Parish Church, Rochdale
The oldest parts of St Chad's Parish Church dates from the early 12th century and the original church built by Adam de Spotland. There is a siting legend attached to St Chad's which may date back to the construction of this early building. Read More »
Smithills Hall, Bolton
The hall - one of the oldest in Lancashire - has a footprint in its flagstones said to have been created when a protestant martyr was interrogated at the hall. The footprint is said to become bloody on the anniversary of his martyrdom. Read More »
St Chad's Church, Saddleworth
Saddleworth church - dedicated to St Chad - has a legend associated with its location. It is said that the original site for the church was on nearby Brown Hill, but every night the stones were mysteriously moved to their present position. Eventually the builders gave up moving the stones back to Brown Hill, and built it where the stones were placed each night. Read More »
Stretford Great Stone
By the entrance of Gorse Hill Park from Chester Road is a large boulder known as the Great Stone. This stone gave its name to Great Stone Road (beside which it stood until 1925) and the old Great Stone Farm. There are many stories, legends and theories concerning the origins of the stone. Read More »
The Ashton Gyst-Ale
The gyst-ale, or guising feast, was an annual festival of the town of Ashton-under-Lyne. It appears from the rental of Sir John de Assheton, compiled a.d. 1422, that a sum of twenty shillings was paid to him as lord of the manor for the privilege of holding this feast by its then conductors. Read More »
Thurston Clough Romans
Thurston Clough is a hamlet near Scouthead, roughly 1.5 miles from the village of Dobcross, Saddleworth and Janette Quinlan in Mystical Oldham (2010) refers to a letter received by the Oldham Evening Chronicle in 1973 concerning Roman soldiers haunting Thurston Clough. Read More »
Unsworth Dragon
According to ‘Lancashire Legends’ (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson, ‘One of the most noted dragon stories of Lancashire has its locality assigned to Unsworth, a small village or hamlet about three miles from Bury. Read More »
The Screaming Skull of Wardley Hall
The skull that resides at Wardley Hall is another skull with opposing legends to account for its existence. In tradition the skull - which was kept behind a panel - was supposed to be that of royalist Roger Downs who lived in the 17th century. Read More »
Witchcraft In Middleton
Around 1630 a man named Utley, presumably from Middleton was accused of witchcraft, tried at Lancaster, found guilty and hanged. It was thought that he had bewitched to death Richard Assheton (before 1625 – 1630), first son of Sir Ralph Assheton Esq, Lord of Middleton and his wife Elizabeth Kaye. Read More »
Ye Olde Man & Scythe
Ye Olde Man & Scythe is one of the best known pubs in Bolton town centre, one of the oldest public houses in the United Kingdom and is reputedly haunted by James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby amongst others. Ye Olde Man & Scythe has stood in Churchgate since the 12th century. Read More »
