| Witches, Fairies and Things That Go Bump... |
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The Written Stone
This stone was set into a hedgerow near Dilworth,
Lancashire to lay a "boggart" or evil spirit. The carving reads Ravffe
Radcliffe laid this stone to lye for ever A.D. 1655
There is a legend that a tenant at the nearby farm once had the stone dragged down the
hill to his buttery by six horses and was then plagued by poltergeist activity until he
replaced it - the return journey uphill requiring only a single horse...
The top, black and white photograph was taken in 1981 or 82 and shows the slab of stone in
the hedgerow on the corner of the lane along from the farm.
By 2nd January 2000 when the second photograph was taken the stone had been set into a stone
wall that was presumably needed to stop the bank eroding. Anyone fancy sitting on a boggart? |
The Godstone, Formby
This small stone can be found in the churchyard at Formby, near Southport.
It's origins lie in pagan times when the recently deceased would be carried around it
three times.
Early Christians carved some steps, a cross and a circle to demonstrate that the way to
Heaven was through the Christian Church. |
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Fairy Steps, Beetham
These rock steps near the Lancashire/Cumbria border are said to have been cut by the fairies
who will grant a wish to anyone who can climb them unaided without touching either side.
Not an easy task! |
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The Witch's Grave, Woodplumpton
There are many stories of Meg Shelton, the Fylde Witch who roamed the rural area north west of
Preston, Lancashire. She was known to be able to disguise herself by changing into different
shapes. A farmer caught her stealing grain only after thrusting his pitchfork into the sacks.
The one that screamed turned quickly back into Meg!
When she died, legend has it that she left her grave so
often that the villagers of Woodplumpton eventually buried her upside down and for good measure
placed this huge boulder over her grave. Even so, in 1933 a schoolboy was frightened in the
church by "an old woman in funny clothes"... |
Burscough Priory, Ormskirk
The remains of Burscough Priory, near Ormskirk, Lancashire. Buried here is the
Earl of Derby who, after the Battle of Bosworth, plucked the Crown of England from a bush where
it had fallen from the head of the slain Richard III and put it on the head of his nephew, Henry
Tudor, thus starting the Tudor Dynasty.
In the 16th century, the local vicar and the Prior were excommunicated following the practise
of magical rites in the priory grounds. |
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