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The English Civil War of the seventeenth century pitted the forces of Parliament against those of King Charles I. The townsfolk of Blackburn, Oldham, Rochdale and Bolton were among the strongest of Parliament's supporters. People from these towns besieged the royalist Earl of Derby 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 the oldest public houses in Britain. It is mentioned in official documents relating to the market in 1251. An inscription indicates the pub was rebuilt in 1636, although 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 BL1 1HL.
Click here for an interactive map centred on Ye Old Man And Scythe.
Opening Times: Monday to Thursday 11am - 11pm, Friday and Saturday 11am - 12.30am, Sunday 12 midday to 11pm.
Contact:
telephone: 01204 451237
e-mail: john.jewitt@hotmail.com