Adam Kerks found Bolton Parish Church was haunted THE blood-curdling comings and goings of Ye Olde Man & Scythe fascinated visitors at the weekend.

Scores of people were given conducted tours around Britain's fourth oldest pub as part of National Heritage open day.

The grisly tales of the massacre of Bolton in 1644 had locals gripping the edge of their seats as they sat in the ancient premises on Churchgate.

Licensee John Jewitt hosted more than 20 tours of the 12th century building on Saturday and Sunday.

John said: "I conduct professional tours anyway. But this is the first time that the pub has taken part in the Civic Trust heritage open days.

"We've have a huge interest. Only a few days ago, I was asked to do a tour for a Canadian family whose great-grandfather had been licensee in the 1800's. He told them about a tunnel that runs from the pub to the Parish Church. Historians have always denied this. But the tunnel starts in the cellar and runs underneath the bar area."

As part of the national heritage initiative, All Souls Church, Astley Street, Turton Tower, Smithills Hall, Hall i'th' Wood and Bolton Parish Church also opened their doors to the public.

Visitors to Bolton Parish Church went "up in the world." They had an opportunity to view the entire town, and beyond, as the caretaker of Bolton Parish Church took interested onlookers into the church tower.

The Gothic church, opened in 1871 replacing its 15th century predecessor. A number of artifacts and exhibitions were also on display.

Vicar Michael Williams said: "The weekend has been going quite well.

"The fuel crisis hasn't affected us and there has been a steady stream of visitors on both days."

Turton Tower was literally besieged by visitors keen to see the outbuildings which include the stable block, kitchen, garden and 19th century semi-restored privies.

Martin Dowland, who is keeper of the historic house in Chapeltown Road, said: "I'm amazed. The number of visitors has risen at least 80 per cent on last year's figures."

Scores of visitors piled into the museum at Hall i'th' Wood and the fuel crisis was not a factor as most people wanting to see the historic house were from the nearby estate.

A big attraction at the hall was the access all area tour which included a peep at the attic space where Samuel Crompton hid his famous spinning mule.

Visitors to Smithills Hall joined in a treasure hunt as well as taking along interesting objects for "It's A Mystery" which involved a team of experts helping to identify unusual household items.

Pete Brown from Bolton Museum said: "We've had lots of local interest at Hall i'th' Wood and plenty of children from the estate here all weekend. We really want to build-up a good relationship with the local community and this was a good start.