George Marsh: It’s the anniversary of the Bolton martyr’s death

Bolton’s first and only martyr was sentenced to death for refusing to denounce his protestant faith and become a catholic.

This was after Queen Mary declared that anyone who refused to follow her religious beliefs would be executed.

His death has withstood the test of time and it is still remembered to this day- and so has the urban legend surrounding his footprint.

George Marsh and the legend of the bleeding footprint

The footprint of George Marsh

When Queen Mary came to the throne in 1553, many protestants left the country to escape persecution.

George Marsh, who was born in Deane, remained and continued to preach his religion.

Marsh came to Smithills Hall out of his own freewill and was interrogated by Robert Barton who was the owner of the hall and also local justice of the police.

After being questioned it was ruled that he should be taken to Lancaster prison to await trial.

Legend has it that as George Marsh was being led from the Hall he stamped his foot on the flagstone as a declaration of faith, leaving a mark that has remained there ever since.

George Marsh

The story goes that his footprint will bleed each year on April 24- the anniversary of his death.

Spooky sightings

Bolton’s paranormal investigators recently went to investigate the outdoor area of Smithills Hall on Smithills Dean Road.

Founder of the group, Emma said: “We were in the grounds two weeks ago and some weird stuff came through the spirit box.”

In the middle of the investigation, the group used a spirit box, a device used to communicate with spirits and ghosts.

Smithills Hall

In their Facebook live video, an eerie voice appears to say the word 'shoe' through the device.

In the video, Emma says to her fellow investigators: "You know what's in here don't you? The footprint of George Marsh."

Speaking to the Bolton News, Emma said the connection with the word shoe to the hall didn't click immediately.

She said: “It only dawned on me a few minutes later that there was a footprint inside the hall… the spirit also talked about something bad happening here and we know that George was imprisoned and exectuted shortly after being taken from the hall ”

Could it have been the spirit of George Marsh?

Staff and visitors to the hall have reported some spooky happenings and paranormal encounters in the hall.

The Green Room is considered to be the most haunted room in the hall.

According to the Bolton Libraries and Museum Website, a visitor noticed a man at the top of the stairs near the green room as a small child despite being the only people in the hall.

To this day, the visitor is convinced that it was the spirit of George Marsh.

According to other visitor's encounters, George Marsh isn't the only spirit to be found at the hall. 

In a previous investigations, the Paranorthern team also explored the grounds of Smithills Hall.

Emma spotted a tall and thin woman in Victorian clothing; she also heard an old fashioned car horn despite there being no cars in the area.

There have also been some unexplained sightings in the chapel and another claimed to see a man’s reflection in the mirror who was dressed in black and had white, bushy hair.

A reputed psychic has reported seeing a strange looking man and a woman, both of whom appeared to be in 15th century dress.