Lichfield Lore

@DrCJ_Houldcroft Sorry not on here really now but yes we do have theories! I think I've got your email so will send sth over

@LichfieldLore I don't suppose you know how Moat Back Lane, between Hammerwich and Wall, acquired that name? Makes me wonder what's under the fields.

@AnnieWHistory Brill, thank you. We listened to one of your fab podcasts on the way back from Farnham recently by the way!

@LichfieldLore Found you and followed😊

I'm on Bluesky @lichfieldlore.bsky.social and also Threads/Instagram @lichfieldlore. If you're there too, say hello 💙

I've read of a house in Uttoxeter, with green glass windows, inscribed with this verse 'I bleeding at your feet do lie Unless you yield, or else, I die, Harmless Ann Wood, Soul & body murdered here, I shall never rest till I see my dear' Let's fire up the mystery machine folks!

@jestrain Possibly just coincidence as it's the time the event started at and they decided to have it at the beginning of the opening ceremony

@LichfieldLore I wonder why 11 o'clock was chosen in 1916, before the 11/11 1100am Armistice? Was there a previous tradition of silences held at this time?

As we prepare to pause on Remembrance Sunday, I thought people would be interested to see this plaque I found, claiming Castle Street, Farnham in Surrey, is where the first ever two minute silence was observed.

@ABoyandastick1 @historyinmemes Ooooh interesting thanks. I'm not a witch but they would definitely confuse me!

These are Witches' Stairs. It is believed that the design was thought to confuse or trap witches, preventing them from easily climbing the stairs due to the staggered pattern. Unlike traditional stairs with a regular series of steps, witches' stairs alternate, with each step offset to either the left or right. This design creates a zig-zag pattern, allowing for a steep incline without requiring a large horizontal space. You will occasionally find them in very old New England homes.

@Portaspeciosa I bet you can. I'd love to know what my great grandparents thought of the story! Also, talking of the train, these are apparently tank blocks.

@LichfieldLore You can see the church ruins from the train. On a misty day it’s easy to imagine Alice wafting from her grave.

Many of you macabre types out there wanted to know more about the woman buried alive here in Basingstoke. Twice. In 1674, Alice Blunden was presumed dead after drinking poppy water & was buried prematurely. Schoolboys heard cries from her grave & when it was re-opened...

@collectorofdoom Another coincidence? In Farnham it was the idea of businessman JA Eggar. In July 1916, a businessman in Cape Town called JA Eagar, suggested a 2 min silence at his church. A fellow worshipper was Sir Percy Fitzpatrick who later took the idea to Lord Milner who took it to George V

@LichfieldLore That's a brilliantly weird coincidence.

@collectorofdoom Coincidence? Seems it was the starting time of the event & it had been agreed that prior to the opening ceremony there would be 'silence for 2 minutes as a token of respect to the memory of those who have fallen in the War, to the Wounded, to the Prisoners & those fighting'

@LichfieldLore I wonder why 11am?

@SteveTeratsia @Donald_G_Redman Can't believe I live here sometimes!

@LichfieldLore @Donald_G_Redman Thank you!

#SteepleSaturday #SpireSaturday Show off your steeples or spires.

@Donald_G_Redman #steeple #lichfield

@SteveTeratsia @Donald_G_Redman That is stunning.

The Gardens of Remembrance, created in 1920, and with the three spires of Lichfield’s medieval cathedral behind. This year’s ceremony starts today at 11am.

@Grizzlegutweed1 In the 1980s, a headless skeleton was found in the wall. The other bones were wrapped in silk. It's always intrigued me.

The chapel of st Chads head. - a first floor chapel at Lichfield which as its name suggests was originally where the head of Chad was kept. Ruined in the civil war- 1640s and heavily but beautifully restored in the late 19thc

On the stroke of six o'clock, a woman is seen walking into Farnham Church through the north door but is never seen inside, even by those who have just followed her in.

@crewedave1 @ArchieDuke14 The Town was sued for negligence and quite rightly so.

@LichfieldLore @ArchieDuke14 First time is an accident. Service time looks remarkably like carelessness

Somewhere amidst the ruins of the Chapel of the Holy Ghost at Basingstoke is the vault of a woman buried alive. Twice.

@Pott_Shrigley_ I'm guessing so. I think it may have been a sleep remedy in small quantities. There are versions of the story which say it was supposed to have been a brandy

@LichfieldLore Presumably the poppy water was made from opium poppies?

@ArchieDuke14 Sounds a lot sunnier than Staffordshire. Zero light today. Proper November day. And my pleasure!

@LichfieldLore Thank you so much - very kind of you. I shall have a thorough peruse a little later today - too bright and sunny at the moment to do it justice! I am indeed a "macabre type" - I put it down to spending my childhood with my pals Lovecraft, Stoker, James and Poe!👀 All the best.

@DaisyShylass Yes, although there are suggestions the story has been somewhat embellished over the years

@LichfieldLore It's unfathomable to think what horrors that poor woman suffered. 😢