Ye Olde Man & Scythe is a public house located on Churchgate in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.[1] The earliest recorded mention of its name appears in a charter from 1251, making it one of the ten oldest public houses in Britain and the oldest in Bolton. The current form of the name, prefixed with "Ye Olde", is a pseudo-archaism derived from the original Man and Scythe Inn. The name itself originates from the crest of the Pilkington family, which features a reaper using a scythe, alluding to a tradition associated with one of the family's early members.[2]
It is not known exactly when Ye Olde Man & Scythe was originally built, but a charter from 1251 permitting the market mentions it by name. The pub has been rebuilt at least once (1636 according to the datestone inside), and only the vaulted cellar remains from the original structure, although some internal beams date back to 1636. The building's frontage is an early 20th-century remodelling. It is a Grade II listed building.[3][4]
In 1651 the Earl of Derby was executed outside the Man & Scythe—owned at the time by his family—for his role in the Bolton Massacre. A cross now stands on the site, accompanied by a plaque that recounts the story of Bolton through the ages. Inside the pub is a chair that the Earl of Derby is said to have sat on before being taken outside to be beheaded; its inscription reads: "15th October 1651 In this chair James 7th Earl of Derby sat at the Man and Scythe Inn, Churchgate, Bolton immediately prior to his execution".[5]
Architecture
The inn has a timber frame and a slate roof. The building, which houses both a public house and a shop, features a four-window range with gables at each end. The two-storey public house occupies the central range and the right-hand gable, which includes cantedbay windows on both floors. A round-arched doorway leads into the public house, with a three-light window to its left. On the first floor are two casement windows. The ground floor window frames and leaded windows date from the early 20thcentury, while the doorway is older. An entry to the yard separates the pub from the shop. The shop front in the left-hand gable has a doorway beside a canted oriel window, with a two-light mullioned and transomed window above. The shop front appears to date from the early 19thcentury.[3]
↑ Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1911), "Great Bolton", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, British History Online, pp.243–251, retrieved 30 January 2010
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