(Cover image – © Samlesbury Hall)
One of the things that I love about England is its abundance of beautiful historical sites to visit. No matter where you are in England, there is always at least one historical site close to you, just waiting for you to walk in and dig deep into its hidden secrets. Since moving to Lancashire recently, exploring its history has become a new passion for me and today, I bring you the third part in an ongoing series of Exploring Historical Sites; Samlesbury Hall.
From its stunning original black and white exterior to the picturesque fountain in the courtyard to how Samlesbury Hall was once a girl's boarding school, this fourteenth-century manor house has so much history written in its walls. But before I tell you about all the things I loved about Samlesbury Hall, let us first explore the history surrounding this mysterious building.
The History behind Samlesbury Hall
Whilst Samlesbury Hall itself dates back to the year 1325 in the fourteenth-century, the history of de Samlesbury family goes back two centuries to the first recorded Lord of Samlesbury; Cospatric de Samlesbury. Interestingly enough, although Cospatric was born in Lancashire, England, the name Cospatric itself is Irish Norse, translating as 'servant of Patrick'. He was not the only one with mixed ancestral names as his father's name, Swein, originates from Denmark and his paternal grandfather's name Leofwin had Saxon roots. It is believed he was born in the year 1142 and died in 1212, he lived during the reign of King Henry II which eighteenth-century historian David Hume argues 'was pivotal to creating a genuinely English monarch and, ultimately, a unified Britain'.
However, as time passed on and the absence of a male heir became more and more apparent, Samlesbury manor was forcibly passed onto Cospatri's three great-granddaughters; Margaret, Cecily and Elizabeth de Samlesbury in 1256. This was quite unusual by historical standards as property, title or grants of lands were only given to women in the extremist of cases–and this was most definitely one of those rare cases. We do not have exact birth dates for any of these women but we do know that Margaret married twice but ultimately died childless in circa.1267 (as it is assumed she was the eldest of the sisters) which meant that the manor belonged to Cecily and Elizabeth, both of which married circa.1255-1259. Because these two women equally owned the manor and had married with the hope of providing a male heir to inherit the manor, the manor was therefore divided into two halves in around 1296. Elizabeth, now married to Robert de Holan, received the Lower Hall division whilst Cecily and her husband John d'Ewyas inherited the other half.
The year 1322 saw Elizabeth's son Robert being ordered by the Earl of Lancaster to raise an army of 'five hundred Lancashire levies' in support of his rebellion against Edward II which Robert willingly agreed but his loyalties quickly shifted following the Earl's defeat. Robert immediately surrendered to the King and begged forgiveness but the King was not having it and had his vast estates (including his Lower Hall portion of the manor) re-possessed. His cousin Nicholas d'Ewyas, the eldest son of Cecily, promptly leased his share in his stead to keep it within the family. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the misery that happened in 1322 as mere months later, Robert the Bruce (the King of Scots) decided to take advantage of the civil unrest that lay in England. And Samlesbury Manor was his target; his assault upon the manor was nothing short of merciless. His men were responsible for the murder of the keeper of the Lower Hall manor, raiding Samlesbury Chapel as well as stealing goods that amounted to £30 11s 10d.
Robert the Bruce's assault must have devasted everyone for many years to come, even when Alicia, the daughter of Cecily and John's eldest son Nicholas (the first of four sons), inherited the estate, most likely due to her uncles and brothers dying before her father or had been killed in the rebellion. Alicia went on to marry Gilbert de Southworth, who is credited with building what we know today as the Great Hall as a way of extending her family home for future generations. It was Alicia who would inherit the entire of Samlesbury Hall instead of one of the two portions but, interestingly enough, she did not inherit the estate in full until the year 1336.
Other surviving elements to the house such as the ornate south-west wing, the Long Gallery's lining of elaborately carved wall paneling and illustrated ceiling along with the dining room fireplace was all built and restored by their descedant; Thomas Southworth the third around circa.1545, a year before Thomas himself died in 1546 and his son John inherited the estate.
(Images - © Emma Holbrook)
Funny enough, this family has multiple instances of rebelling against the Crown. During John's time at Samlesbury, he had seen King Henry VIII die in 1547, his only male heir King Edward VI died in 1553 after six short years on the throne and now in 1558, the death of Mary I, England's first Queen Regent, who had been Catholic yet named her Protestant sister Elizabeth as the heir to her throne, meaning her husband, King Philip of Spain lost the right to his title as King of England. Sir John was heavily against the idea of Elizabeth becoming Queen and took a leading role in treasonous plots to replace her with her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. However, unlike many others who attempted to assassinate and dethrone the Virgin Queen, John had no luck in going through with these plots as he received massive pushback from the local authorities.
The White Lady and the Famous Witches of Samlesbury
Samlesbury Hall, alike many other historical sites with a vast history, has many legends linked to ghosts and witchcraft which continue to attract many to visit to catch a glimpse of a ghost still lurking the halls. There are two legends that Samlesbury Hall is famously known for; the White Lady and the famous witches of Samlesbury.
The legend of the White lady is that one of Sir John's daughter, known to legend by the name Dorothy, started 'keeping company', engaging in an affair with, with a boy from an Anglican aristocratic family which angered her father who forbid their betrothal. When the two planned to elope, their plan was swiftly discovered by her brothers who killed the boy and his two friends who planned to help them elope. It is said that Sir John's daughter was sent away in disgrace, her heart broken as she spent the remainder of her days in a foreign convent–most likely one in France or Scotland. There is evidence to support this legend as in the centuries that followed, three skeletons were discovered outside the moat but whether they are connected to this story or had died on the premise in some other manner, we do not know. Many who reside or work at Samlesbury Hall believe 'Dorothy' still haunts the halls, looking for her lost love as her heart remains forever broken. The title of White Lady for this ghost is not known but it might be a reference to how the girl died a maiden and 'innocent'.
The legend of the famous witches of Samlesbury is the hall's next claim to fame and one that comes from the year 1612 during the reign of James I, who strongly encouraged witch trials throughout his kingdom. This legend features Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley and her daughter-in-law, Ellen Bierley. These three women were accused of being witches by the teenage granddaughter of Jennet; Grace Sowerbutts. Yep, what a name, huh?
Due to the seriousness of each accusation of witchcraft during the time, the women were immediately incarcerated at Lancaster Castle. You might be asking 'why did this teenager accuse three women of being witches, knowing that it was highly likely that they would be tried and executed on false charges?'
The reason behind Grace's accusation towards these women was said to be influenced by a priest called Christopher who was the uncle of Jane's husband, John, who was the heir to the estate who had sadly died just shortly before Grace's accusation. It is believed that Christopher coached Grace to accuse Jane and the other women of witchcraft after she was sent to 'learn her prayers' from him. But why did Christopher do this?
Christopher is believed to have strongly objected to Jane due to her not 'be[ing] dissuaded from the Church', meaning that he disagreed with her religious beliefs, one of the many reasons one would seek to harm or disgrace another person in the times of the past.
When the three women were being tried at the Summer Assizes, Grace was questioned as to why she accused them of being witches. She replied with the elaborate story below:
'the women had abused her and killed a twelve-month-old baby. They then exhumed the body from Samlesbury churchyard, cooked and ate it, but saved the fat to anoint their bodies, so that they could change their appearance. At the trial, the other witnesses also committed perjury, stating that Sir John[3] had thought Jane was a witch and been so scared of her, that he would avoid his granddaughter-in-law if he possibly could, and would also avoid passing her home.' (This, despite the fact that Sir John had died seventeen years earlier, whilst Jane was still a young girl, growing up at Stonyhurst). {1}
The jury must have been able to see the holes in Grace's story as well as the lack of evidence from the other witnesses as the 'famous Samlesbury witches' were all acquitted and allowed to walk free, most likely harboring feelings of ill-will towards all those who testified against them, including Grace and Christopher.
There are more horrors that the walls of Samlesbury Hall has played witness to over the centuries including the execution of the priest John Southworth in 1654 who was accused of being a traitor of the Catholic faith under the rule of the horrid Cromwell. He accepted that Cromwell was determined to have him and many others punished for their 'crimes' and accepted that he had somehow broken the law, leading to his fate of being hung, drawn and quartered on the 28th June 1654 at Tyburn.
For those of you who are unfamiliar; being hung, drawn and quartered was;
"where you shall be hanged by the neck and being alive cut down, your privy members shall be cut off and your bowels taken out and burned before you, your head severed from your body and your body divided into four quarters to be disposed of at the King's pleasure." {2}
An absolutely horribly painful way to die, if you ask me.
Other noteworthy events that occurred at Samlesbury Hall included the Southworths selling Samlesbury after the high risk of bankruptcy forced them to give up the manor in 1678, the manor becoming a girl's boarding school in the mid 1800s to rioters turning up at the estate to its current place as a historic site being managed by the Samlesbury Hall Trust ever since the mid 1920s, all of its funding coming from donations and the delightful Heritage Cafe and Wafflery which offers visitors an abundance of sugary treats and you can sit outside in the courtyard and try and catch a duck in the fountain whilst you enjoy your food!
If you'd like to learn more about the history of Samlesbury Hall, I would highly recommend heading up to Lancashire to visit the beautiful medieval manor.
(Image - © Emma Holbrook)
If I can recommend anything to someone wanting to go to Samlesbury Hall, I offer you the following advice:
Take the entire family! There is a free to access play area built with the same material as the exterior of the manor where your children can play to their hearts content if they get a little bored of walking around the hall.
Make sure to check out the tours they have! Samlesbury Hall offers free tours of the house by expert tour guides who can entertain as well as inform you throughout your trip around this beautiful historical site!
Take cash as well as card! Samlesbury Hall offers a giftshop as part of its Wafflery and Heritage Cafe where you can get adorable, affordable gifts for you and the entire family. I myself got a reproduction of a Tudor coin, a feather-quill pen and a Henry VIII statue keychain. Samlesbury Hall does accept card but they do sometimes experience issues with card payment. Better safe than sorry, plus you might want to donate to the Trust if you enjoyed your trip!
(Images - © Emma Holbrook)
What place should we visit next?
Let us know in the comments!
Until then...
- Have a ‘Tudor-fic’ week!
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