The Man and Scythe
Encyclopedia
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
located on Churchgate, in Bolton, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The first recorded mention of it by name was in 1251 making it one of the ten oldest public houses in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the oldest in Bolton. The present form of the name is a pseudoarchaism derived from the Man and Scythe Inn; the name is from the crest of the Pilkington family
Pilkington of Lancashire
The Pilkington family has its origins in the ancient township of Pilkington in the historic county of Lancashire, England. After about 1405 the family seat was Stand Old Hall which was built to replace Old Hall in Pilkington. The new hall was built on high land overlooking Pilkington's medieval...
which consists of a reaper using a scythe, alluding to a tradition about one of the early members of the family.
History
It is not known on what date "Ye Olde Man & Scythe" was originally built, but a charter of 1251 permitting the market mentions it by name. Due to the age of the building though, it has been rebuilt at least once (1636 according to the datestone inside), and only the vaulted cellar remains of the original building, though some of the internal beams remain from the 1636 rebuild. The frontage of the building is an early 20th century remodelling. It is a Grade II listed building.In 1651 the Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
was executed for his part in the Bolton Massacre
Bolton Massacre
The Bolton Massacre, sometimes recorded as the Storming of Bolton, was an episode in the English Civil War, on 28 May 1644. The strongly Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by the Royalist forces under Prince Rupert of the Rhine. It was alleged that up to 1,600 of Bolton's defenders and...
outside the Man and Scythe (owned at the time by the Earl of Derby's family). Outside, there is a cross on the site that bears a plaque which relates the stories of Bolton through the ages. However, within the pub itself, there is a chair that the Earl of Derby supposedly sat in before being taken outside to be beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
, the inscription of which reads "15th October 1651 In this chair James 7th Earl of Derby sat at the Man and Scythe Inn, Churchgate, Bolton immediately prior to his execution".