A Hunt for the Derby Axe
In 1651, the Earl of Derby was executed in Bolton for the part he had played in a massacre of the townspeople during the Storming of Bolton. He was beheaded at the market cross, outside the Man & Scythe. The headsman's axe which was used to decapitate him reportedly stayed in the hands of the executioner's family, and before changing hands a number of times over the next two hundred years, was eventually lost.This blog post is an exploration of historical records relating to the alleged owners of the axe, the intention of which was to shed some light on where it might now be.
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| The Execution of James, 7th Earl of Derby (Photo credit: Manx National Heritage) |
