Today's stop on my tour of NW England is Salmesbury, a small village in the Ribble Valley. It’s pronounced ‘Sarms-berry’ and
the name comes from the Old English ‘sceamol’ meaning ledge, and ‘burh’ meaning
fortification.
Those of you who remember my post about the Pendle witches
may be interested to know that three Salmesbury women – Jane
Southworth, Jennet Brierley and Ellen Brierley – were charged during the same
series of trials in 1612 as the Pendle witches.. As with the Pendle women, it
was a young girl who accused them of witchcraft. Grace Sowerbutts aged 14 said
the Brierley women (her grandmother and aunt) were able to transform themselves
into dogs which haunted her. She also said the women had taken her to
the home of Thomas Walshman and his wife, and had stolen their baby in order to
suck its blood. The baby died the following night, but Grace said the woman dug
up its body and took it home. They then cooked and ate part of it, and used the
rest to make an ointment which enable them to change into different shapes.
Later Grace admitted the stories were not true, and the women were found not
guilty of the charges of child murder and cannibalism.
Salmesbury Hall was owned by the Southworth Family, and is
reputed to be haunted by the ghost of Lady Dorothy Southworth, known as the
‘White Lady’. In the 17th century, the Southworths were strong Roman Catholics, but Dorothy fell in
love a young man from the Protestant de Hoghton family. The young lovers,
although forbidden to meet, still met in secret and planned to elope. Dorothy’s
brother discovered their plan, ambushed the young man and his two retainers,
and killed them all. Dorothy was then sent to a convent abroad where she became
insane due to her grief and soon died.
Her ghost has been seen around the house and also near to
the spot where her lover was killed. Many visitors to the house have also heard
the sound of weeping, and the rustle of long skirts in the galleries and
corridors. There are even reports of motorists on the nearby main road stopping
to pick up a lady in white – who then disappeared.
In the late 1800’s, three bodies were discovered
when drains were being laid nearby – maybe the luckless young lover and his
squires?
Another story about Salmesbury Hall concerns a priest who
took refuge there when Catholic priests were being persecuted during Elizabeth
I’s reign. He was hidden in a small, secret room known as a priest-hole, but
unfortunately for him, he had been followed. Soldiers broke into the room and
beheaded him on the spot. Legend has it that the floor was stained so badly
with his blood that no-one was able to wash it way. The room was
bricked up for 300 years, but when it was opened in 1898, the servants refused
to go in until the floorboards were replaced. Even so, there are reports that
the bloodstain continues to re-appear, even to this day!
Photo of Salmesbury Hall © Copyright Alexander P Kapp and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
