Ghostly Battles on Merseyside?

Hi All

A few months ago, Tom Slemen on his forum wrote about ghosts associated with Bloody Acre in Childwall, perhaps due to a Civil War battle being held at the spot:

"On the evening of Wednesday 22 February, 2006, at around 9pm, Gemma and Callum, two 15-year-olds, were walking up Score Lane in Childwall when they heard a bloodcurdling female scream. The teenagers looked about but could see no one in distress. Callum walked on, escorting his girlfriend home, but upon reaching the junction at Rocky Lane, another sound was heard which sounded like a large crowd brawling somewhere in the distance. In the midst of this inexplicable riot of sound, the same female scream – then the unearthly cacophony ended. Callum took his girlfriend home, and as he returned to his home he passed Rudston Junior and Infants school, the teenager heard the same baffling sounds of uproar and commotion, punctuated by the same spine-chilling scream he’s heard earlier with Gemma. This time, an elderly man walking his dog up Okehampton Road also heard the sound as well. At my office in Rodney Street I have several reports on file of strange sounds in the Score Lane area, including an account of cannons being fired one evening in 1976. My own theory is that the sounds are the ghostly re-enactments of a past battle on Score Lane. The field that runs alongside All Saints Church in Childwall has a very sinister reputation, and Score Lane runs through part of the site. For centuries this area has been known as 'Bloody Acre' and it seems whatever happened there, a lot of lives were lost. Local historians originally thought Bloody Acre might be a reference to a Civil War battle, or perhaps a skirmish from the days of the Reformation, but it would seem that something more sinister went on in the area of Score Lane in times past, and perhaps it still echoes down the centuries to the present day."

Another location that has been tentatively associated with a battle is Bromborough on the Wirral, which some historians have thought might have been the site of the Battle of Brunanburh of AD 937. Although it is by no means proven, researchers at Nottingham University believe the battle between the combined forces of Vikings from Dublin and Scots from Strathclyde fought against the English on Bebington Heath near Bromborough, and not near the River Humber as it has been suggested. The English won the battle.

Chris

Not heard this story before so I'll put a bit of 'fact' forward:

1 - There HAS been cannonballs found in local gardens surrounding the Bloody Acre, most recently when they built the road Abbey View.

2 - The field takes its name from a skirmish during the civil war of 1640 (also known as the Childwall Riot) between new landowners and adherents of the church following Henry VIII's dispossession of Church Land.
The above has been taken from a number of sources most recently found in 'Notes on Childwall' by Charles Hand of the Lancs/Cheshire Historical Society.

3 - There is no mention of any recent (in the last 500 years) of battles taking place towards Rocky Lane though and I've poured through records on the whole of the area of Childwall. It was only centered around the area around the church and that was the only church in the area at that time.

4 - The Bloody Acre has never been built on and I am dying to have a nose around there with a metal detector and just see what's what. It's totally locked up but there are ways in to the field :)

:)

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Originally Posted by Jona76

Not heard this story before so I'll put a bit of 'fact' forward:



4 - The Bloody Acre has never been built on and I am dying to have a nose around there with a metal detector and just see what's what. It's totally locked up but there are ways in to the field :)

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oooohhh i want a metal detector!!! give us a shout if you get one on the go up there!

Hi Jona76

Thanks, Jona76, for answering. I had thought this thread might ring your chimes because you are, I gather, responsible for the Childwall website, right? :celb (23):

Actually I was wondering if there was an actual battle or whether the name "Bloody Acre" might be just a name for the plot of land. I know here in colonial America there were often some extravagent names for tracts of land (eg., Reister's Desire, Morgan's Hope, that type of thing). I am glad you think that finds of cannonballs in the area do seem to bear out a skirmish having taken place near the church.

Certainly with the town of Liverpool being held by Parliament and the Royalists under Prince Rupert advancing on the town in 1644 to lay siege and eventually capture it, such a skirmish appears possible. Frustrating that you cannot find it recorded anywhere. I might suggest that an ultimate source might be army records at the National Archives in Kew. I also agree that archaeology in Bloody Field might help to answer the question and come up with some interesting additional finds.

Chris

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Originally Posted by ChrisGeorge

Hi Jona76

Thanks, Jona76, for answering. I had thought this thread might ring your chimes because you are, I gather, responsible for the Childwall website, right? :celb (23):

Chris

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Aye, that's my baby :)

There is always speculation of the area being connected to Monks but nothing out of the ordinary has come up so far. Although the bloody acre does get its name from the skirmish that happened there, it also comes from the fact that when all the bushes are cut down (and this hasn't happened for years), the actual grass and shrubbery seems almost a reddy colour. Photo's of the field I've got are only either black and white or up to date with everything growing like mad!

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Originally Posted by theninesisters

2 - The field takes its name from a skirmish during the civil war of 1640 (also known as the Childwall Riot) between new landowners and adherents of the church following Henry VIII's dispossession of Church Land.
The above has been taken from a number of sources most recently found in 'Notes on Childwall' by Charles Hand of the Lancs/Cheshire Historical Society.

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I don't know if its a typo on your part or some very sloppy history by Mr Hand but the dissolution of the monastries was about 1530s-40... 100 years earlier than the supposed 'riot'.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by theninesisters

4 - The Bloody Acre has never been built on and I am dying to have a nose around there with a metal detector and just see what's what. It's totally locked up but there are ways in to the field :)

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Wouldn't bother,you'll only find a load of old balls. :)

Found only one reference to this date at http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk/regiment.asp?RN=Tillier


"Thus ended the 1644 campaign season, Tilliers must have been grateful for the chance to rest and recuperate.

The war restarted with a vengeance on 22nd February 1645. While Tillier?s regiment were on a foraging expedition the Shrewsbury garrison was surprised and captured by Colonel Thomas Mytton. Thirteen Irish troops were hanged the next day, only the English troops being allowed to march out. Chester was now the last major Royalist garrison in the North West and this is where the remnants of Tillier?s gathered."

There is a 1644 map of Liverpool drawn up presumably while under Royalist Governorship of Sir Robert Byron.
It's in the British Library.

Well, as any who attempt to Google Battlefield Archeology will discover the cemtre for this is in Liverpool University although this is mostly to do with the 'recent' world wars.
I did come across this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Lathom_House

Bro Cad, do you know where the cannonballs are now?