Unnatural Histories, The Martyr’s Skull

Posted byNorthwest nature and historyPosted in#History, Forest of BowlandTags:, , , , , ,

Deep in the ancient Forest of Bowland, at the heart of a medieval hunting estate, sits the old stone hall of Browsholme.

At one end of the hall, in a dark library full of odds-and-ends from over the centuries, suits of armour, swords, muskets and even a piece of a zeppelin, stands a locked cabinet.

In the cabinet, on a shelf, in the darkness, sits a skull.

The skull at Browsholme Hall, built in the 1500s, is thought to belong to a lady martyred after the pilgrimage of grace, a failed Tudor revolution that led to the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry the 8th.

After its failure anyone suspected of leading the revolution was hauled off by Cromwell to be hung, including the abbots of nearby Sawley and Whalley Abbeys.

A curse is supposed to befall the estate if the skull is ever removed from the house, and the current inhabitants, Robert and Amanda Parker, make very sure the cabinet is always locked, but once, in the 1850s it was moved as a prank.

This led to mysterious fires, the clock on the east wing breaking, accidents befalling the staff and eventually the death of a family member, the grounds were searched frantically, every woman and man from the area being enlisted to find the skull and eventually she was found and to returned to her cabinet.

The skull hasn’t been out of the hall since!

A B-H

(Oct 2024)

Published by Northwest nature and history

Hi, my name is Alexander Burton-Hargreaves, I live in the Northwest of England and have over two decades of experience working in and studying the fields of land management and conservation. As well as ecology and conservation, in particular upland ecology, I am also interested in photography, classical natural history books, architecture, archaeology, cooking and gardening, amongst many other things. These are all subjects I cover in my articles here and on other sites and I plan to eventually publish a series of books on the history and wildlife of Northern England.

3 thoughts on “Unnatural Histories, The Martyr’s Skull”

  1. I keep driving by this place and telling myself next time I’ll call. We do have a tradition of mysterious skulls hereabouts. Thinking of the skull house at Appleby Bridge, and the Affetside skull. The hall and grounds do look beautiful. I shall be sure to visit next time.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You should do it’s a wonderful place to visit, we rented the gatehouse for a few years and i worked on the estate for a bit so i know it very well, the hall is a full bingo house as there’s not only a haunted skull but suits of armour, secret doors and all sorts of other things as well!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Pingback: The Unnatural Histories Collection – Northwest Nature and History

Leave a comment