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Ye Olde Man and Scythe

The townsfolk of Blackburn, Oldham, Rochdale and Bolton were among the strongest of Parliament's supporters during the Civil War of the seventeenth century. People from these towns besieged the Earl of Derby's house at Knowsley House. In retribution a Royalist leader who appeared in Bolton on his way to Marston Moor massacred two thousand civilians. As a result of this massacre the Earl of Derby was executed after the war in Bolton market place. He walked to his death in the square after a last drink at the Man and Scythe Inn. A chair inside the pub bears an inscription, which identifies it as the chair in which the Earl of Derby had his last drink.

The Man and Scythe is Bolton's oldest building, and one of oldest public houses in the country. It is mentioned in official documents relating to the market in 1251. An inscription indicates the pub was rebuilt in 1636, although the cellars survive from the original building. The Man and Scythe is still a working pub. Tours are run by the landlord.

Directions: The Man and Scythe is in Churchgate, Bolton. Click here for an interactive map centred on Ye Old Man And Scythe.

Contact: 01204 527267