Wigan Album

I DO know it was on Skull House Lane and that there was a skull in it, (in a cupboard if I remember rightly). The story went that bad luck would occur if the skull was ever removed from the house, but that's all I know.

In between Appley Lane North and Miles Lane is a road called Skull House Lane. The lane takes its name from a cottage known as Skull House, which is located about halfway down Appley Lane North.

The story goes that in the time of the war between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, Oliver Cromwell ordered that the monks of England should be driven out of their monasteries and killed, with their monasteries then razed to the ground. One canny monk fled from his monastery and took refuge in a large cottage in Appley Bridge. To try to avoid discovery by Cromwell's Roundheads, the monk hid in a small cubby-hole halfway up the house's chimney. He hid there for some time, until the Roundheads eventually discovered him, and tried to drive him out. They lit a blaze in the fireplace, and the searing heat and thick smoke eventually forced the monk out, whence he was killed. Ever since then, the monk's discoloured skull has remained on the mantelpiece of the house, in the living room.

The inhabitants of Appley Bridge tell that, throughout the history of the house, there have been many residents who have tried to get rid of the skull, and all have experienced disastrous results from doing so. According to legend, one threw it into the River Douglas at the bottom of Appley Lane North. Shortly after, the skull returned to the house and the offending resident drowned in the river. Another tried to get it as far away from the house as possible, and shortly after, the skull returned once again and this time, the house's inhabitant fell down the stairs and severely injured himself. Others have tried many ways to banish the skull, and all have met with misfortune or fatality—sickness, the death of a loved one, bad luck ... the list goes on and on. The house's current residents have, unsurprisingly, never tried to remove the skull.

John T Seward in 1921
1921 Census Of England & Wales
5, Skull House, Appley Bridge, Wrightington, Lancashire, England Household members (2 people)
First name(s) Last name Relationship to head Sex Birth year Age in years Birth place Occupation Employer
John T Seward Head Male 1888 32 Wigan, Lancashire, England Auctioneers & Estate Agents Clerk Robert Arkwright F A 1 Auctioneers & Estate Agents
Mary Seward Wife Female 1883 37 Appley Bridge, Lancashire, England Home Duties

https://www.facebook.com/ParanormalInvestigationsUK/posts/haunted-uk-appley-bridge-wigan-englandthe-skull-houseappley-bridge-is-a-small-af/1609900579146285/

I think the bit about Oliver Cromwell is confusing the man with Thomas Cromwell, who in the previous century had been complicit in The Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Posted by: greencastle56 (1) 11th Jul 2022 at 00:34
This is a really old thread but I thought I'd add to it .I used to live in Skull House on Beacon View .The skull was never there while I lived there for a few years .The owners often sent it away for preservation ,display etc .No ill befell them or me .There was a cupboard above the fireplace where it used to be housed , allegedly .The house was full of character and quirks , but not all frightening or spooky .I lived there alone (F) and felt perfectly safe .Myths have sprung around Skull House for years but it was just a very lovely old house with an odd name .

Plenty of information here about Skull House
https://wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Appley_Bridge

I think it to be a load of twaddle, could you honestly see all the monks at the famous monastery and Abbey at Appley Bridge, start running away from the squareheads to this house to play at sardines and all try to hide in the normal sized fireplace? how many monks can you cram into a normal sized fireplace isn't in the Guinness book of records.

Also if the skull was removed, (and interred into a cemetery, as I believe it should be,) the only bad luck that would befall the owners of the house would be that a good selling point would be lost and the house value could fall.

You are welcome to stay here at the Skull House Motel, I Norman will welcome you personally, my mother no longer sees to the motel anymore, you can see her in her rocking chair in the rear lounge window. So remember when passing do call in, I'm sure you'll be liking it, and so much so you'll never be wanting to leave.