The Bettiscombe Skull

From Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries, volume 2 (1891).

The superstition attaching to the above skull has from time to time excited considerable interest among folk-lorists and others, and has drawn forth various comments in the press and otherwise from those who have had the opportunity of investigating its supposed origin. I thought that a detailed account of this - to me - very interesting subject might be acceptable to the readers of the S.&D. N.&Q., as it would seem that both counties are concerned in the superstition.

First, I may say that, as far as I know, I was the first person who put the matter forward in the press as an interesting bit of folklore, and this no doubt has contributed materially to the subsequent diffusion and discussion of the theory. My information was mainly derived from a Dorset lady, who in her younger days has often visited and stayed at the old Manor House at Bettiscombe, and who had learnt and treasured up the legend as she had first heard it, before time and publicity had lent a somewhat heightened and conjectural aspect to the tradition. My communication was on this wise.

About twenty years ago I sent to the pages of Notes and Queries (4th series, x.183) the following somewhat general account of the superstition, treating it simply as a matter of folk-lore, and not even stating where the skull was kept:--
"At a farm-house in Dorsetshire at the present time is carefully preserved a human skull, which has been there for a period long antecedent to the present tenancy. The peculiar superstition attachignto it is, that if it be brought out of the house, the house itself would rock to its foundations, whilst the person by whom such an act of desecration was committed would certainly die within the year. It is strangely suggestive of the power of this superstition that through many changes of tenancy and furniture the skull still holds its accustomed place 'unmoved and unremoved.'"

Upon this the late Dr. Goodford, formerly Provost of Eton, wrote (p. 436) enquiring whether I had not made a mistake as to the county, and stating that there was a similar superstition attaching to a house at Chilton Cantelo, in the adjoining county of Somerset. I replied to this (p. 509) by giving the following additional particulars:--
"The farm-house (formerly, I believe, an old Manor House), now called Bettiscombe House, in which the skull remained, or still remains, for aught I know to the contrary, lies in the parish of Bettiscombe, about six miles from Bridport in Dorsetshire. I cannot ascertain the time when this 'ghostly tenant' took up its abode in the place, but it is tolerably certain it was some considerable time ago. It has, I understand, been pronounced to be that of a negro, and the legend runs that it belonged to a faithful black servant of an early possessor of the property, - a Pinney, - who having resided abroad some years, brought home this memento of his humble follower. It is reported that a member of the above family, in recent years, has visited the house, but was unable to give any clue that might assist in clearing up the identity of the skull."

The subject was again brought forward in 1883, when I gathered from the Bridport News, that a correspondent in the Oracle had alluded to the superstition existing with respect to the skull at Chilton Cantelo, and the Editor had also referred to the similar one attaching to Bettiscombe in terms no doubt taken from my earlier contributions to Notes and Queries. In the same year also the subject was mentioned in the Daily News, for a correspondent in the Dorset County Chronicle for February of that year made enquiries relating to the skull at Chilton Cantelo, which drew a reply from Mr. A.J. Goodford (a son, I believe, of my former fellow-correspondent) stating that the skull there was believed to have been that of a Mr. Theophilus Browne, -- a member of a Warwickshire family -- whose headless remains were found underneath a tombstone in the church when that edifice was rebuilt in 1865.

So much for the Somersetshire skull; and now for its Dorset rival.

In 1884 was issued the second series of Haunted Homes, by Dr. F.A. Ingram, and in this volume appeared the following long and interesting account of the Bettiscombe skull:---

"There is a certain old farmstead known as Bettiscombe, or Bettiscombe House, in a parish of the same name, about six miles from Bridport, in Dorsetshire. This ancient dwelling, which is still inhabited, is celebrated from the so-called "Screaming Skull" that it contains. There are various versions of the cause and consequences of the malign influence exercised by this relic of humanity. Mr William Andrews, in his essay on Skull Superstitions, states that "if it be brought out of the house, the house itself would rock to its foundations, while the perpetrator of such an act of desecration would certainly die within the year. Various changes of tenancy and furniture have been made in the old homestead," says Mr. Andrews, "but the skull still holds its place. It is not known when the 'ghastly tenant' first took up its abode in the place, but it has been there for a considerable period."

"The skull has been stated to be that of a negro; and the legend was that it belonged to a faithful black servant of an early possessor of the property -- a Pinney, who having lived abroad for sometime, brought home this memento of his humble follower."

The tradition related by Mr. Andrews, however, is far too simple and conventional to satisfy the cravings of the hunter after hauntings; his premises are not tragic enough to account for such fearsome results; it is therefore comforting to learn that local legends impart a more gruesome aspect to the affair. It is needless to enter too closely into an investigation of the origin of the story; for most readers the following interesting account of a visit paid to the "screaming skull" will supply all that can be desired on the subject.

In the August of 1883, Dr. Richard Garnett, of the British Museum, his daughter and a friend, whilst staying at Charmouth, about seven or eight miles from Bettiscombe, hearing reports about the skull and its strange performance, determined to pay it a visit. The result of their expedition is told by Miss Garnett: --

"One fine afternoon a party of three adventurous spirits started off, hoping to discover the skull and investigate its history. This much we knew, that the skull would only scream when it was buried, and so we hoped to get leave to inter it in the churchyard. The village of Bettiscombe was at length reached, and we found our way to the old farmhouse, which stood at the end of the village by itself. It had evidently been a manor-house, and a very handsome one too. We were admitted into a fine paved hall and attempted to break the ice by asking for milk; we then endeavoured to draw the good woman of the house into conversation by admiring the place and asking in a guarded manner respecting the famous skull. On this subject she was most reserved; she had only lately taken the farm-house, and had been obliged to take possession of the skull also; but she did not wish us to suppose that she knew much about it; it was a veritable "skeleton in the closet" to her.

After exercising great diplomacy we persuaded her to allow us a sight of it. We tramped up the fine old stair-case till we reached the top of the house, when opening a cupboard door, she showed us a steep winding stair-case leading to the roof, and from one of the steps the skull sat grinning at us. We took it in our hand and examined it carefully; it was very old and weather-beaten, and certainly human. The lower jaw was missing, the forehead very low and badly proportioned. One of our party, who was a medical student, examined it long and gravely, and then after telling the good woman that he was a doctor, pronounced it to be, in his opinion, the skull of a negro. After this oracular utterance she resolved to make a clean breast of all she knew, which, however, did not amount to much.

The skull, we were informed, was that of a negro servant who had lived in the service of a Roman Catholic priest; some difference arose between them, but whether the priest murdered the servant in order to conceal some crimes known to the negro; or whether the negro in a fit of passion killed his master, did not clearly appear. However, the negro had declared before his death that his spirit would not rest unless his body was taken to his native land and buried there. This was not done, he being buried in the churchyard at Bettiscombe. Then the haunting began; fearful screams proceeded from the grave; the doors and windows of the house rattled and creaked; strange sounds were heard all over the house; in short there was no rest for the inmates until the body was dug up. At different periods attempts were made to bury the body, but similar disturbances always recurred. In process of time the skeleton disappeared all save the skull which we now saw before us. We were naturally extremely anxious to bury the skull and remain in the hosue that night to see what would happen; but this request was indignantly refused, and we were promptly shown off the premises. Therefore the reputation of the "Screaming Skull" of Bettiscombe House remains unimpaired."


Upon this acount in Dr. Ingram's book I should like to make a few observations. I will pass over the fact that Mr. Andrews has apparently without any acknowledgement or reference brought bodily into his "Essay on Skull Superstitions" the account I had contributed some years before to Notes and Quesries. Imay however mention that this was the first time I had ever heard that it had been called a "screaming skull," or that it was supposed to "scream only when it was buried."

It is stated that "the old farm-house stood at the end of the village by itself." I know the district pretty well myself, but I have as yet failed to discover that there was any village at Bettiscombe at all! But however this is immaterial. It is also the first time that I heard that the owner of the skull (certainly said to have been that of a negro) had been the servant of a Roman Catholic priest, and that there had been any idea of foul play in the matter; or that there had been any skeleton other than the head ever kept in the house.

This version certainly, as Dr. Ingram says, "imports a more gruesome aspect to the affair," but I am afraid I must give in my adhsion to the "far too simple and conventional" tradition related by Mr. Andrews, as having been derived from occupants of the farm, considerably older in point of time than the tenant of whom Miss Garnett speaks. There is one part, however, of her interesting story to which I can give my fullest credence, and that is, that when the party from Charmouth expressed their anxiety "to bury the skull and to remain in the house that night to see what would happen, their request was indignantly refused, and they were promptly shewn off the premises!"

I will now give, with the permission of Mr. Editor, an account of a visit I myself paid to Bettiscombe House, bound much upon the same errand as the above party,  and somewhere about the same period, or proabably a little later. I happened to be in the neighbourhood, and not having at that time seen the abiding-place of the "famous skull," about which I had written some years previously, I determined to make an effort to do so, and lest I should by my visit invoke the spell of any "malign influence." I took with me the rector of the parish and a neighbouring clergyman who happened to be with him at the time.

Thus accompanied and protected, I arrived at the Manor House (situated in the Vale of Marshwood - that vale as to which Hutchins quaintly observed, upwards of a century ago, "few gentry ever resided in this tract" -- and nestling at the foot of a picturesque "combe" not far from Dorset's highest point, the famous Pilsdon Pen), evidently an early Georgian restoration of a much earlier building, as the oak beams in the hall - of considerable age - abundantly testified.  The house boasted of a handsome oak staircase, but if I remember rightly, the painted panelling was apparently of no older date than such restoration. Up this stircase we were courteously conducted, and on arriving at a small door on the top landing opening on to the attic stairs a candle was lighted, and we prepared to make the ascent to the darker regions above where the skull was supposed to dwell.

To my surprise I found on the door being opened, "from one of the steps the skull sat grinning at us," as related by Miss Garnett.* (*It is from this fact, as will be seen, that I date my visit as being rather later in time than hers). On enquiry I learnt that the skull had been placed there in order to save going up to the attic, where it formerly rested, which, owing to the ruinous condition of the timbers, was a journey of no inconsiderable danger. However, the present situation not being at all in character with the genius loci, and the "good woman of the house" being besides somewhat fearful of its being carried off by one of the dogs from where it stood, I had little difficulty in obtaining her permission to reinstate the skull in its former place. So, taking it in my hands, I carefully picked my way by the aid of the lighted candle, followed by my companions, over the crazy and broken floor to where, on a niche by the side of the huge chimney breast, lay a brick - the old shrine of the skull - upon which I reverently placed it; and there I had the satisfaction of seeing it on more than one visit in subsequent years.

Upon one of these subsequent visits I, with others, made a careful examination of the skull; and though none of us were doctors, we came to the respectful conclusion that it was not  that of a negro, but rather that of a woman, being small, but by no means of a bad shape, ethnologically speaking, and affording no trace of that "facial angle" which marks the full-blooded negro. The forehead certainly was low, but not receding. The upper half of the cranium only was preserved, the lower jaw being missing; its length was seven and a half inches, and in depth to roof of mouth five inches (full). From a phrenological point of view the "bumps" at the base were highly developed. If I remember rightly, there were no teeth left in the jaw when I saw it.

So much for the skull itself. Its surroundings were certainly of a character to add to the mystery of its existence there. The dark attic extended over the entire extent of the house - the floor in a very unsound and unsafe condition - and evidently from its appearance had long been the home of bats, owls, and other "fearful fowl," for which easy access was afforded by the many openings in the ancient, massive, and dilapidated stone-tiled roof, to say nothing of a nest of young birds I myself discovered close to the skull's resting-place.

Close to the chimney-breast above mentioned is a rectangular hole or shaft in the floor, of about 3ft. by 4ft. 6in., and of considerable depth, extending to the bottom of the floor below, where the back of a bedroom cupboard touches. At first I thought that this cupboard was an old-fashioned "powder-closet," but after careful examination I was inclined to think that it might have had some connection with the aforesaid shaft, which may well have been intended for and used as a "priest's hole" or hiding-place in the earlier and more troublous times that might have fallen upon Bettiscombe, as upon so many so many other places in the West of England. This conjecture is borne out by the fact that one end of the vast attic is divided off by a lath-and-plaster partition, in which was inserted a small doorway, constituting a chamber of about 15ft. by 12ft. immediately under the tiles, containing a small round brick fire-place, with two window apertures at the end, which were stopped up. This would have formed a secure retreat from any sudden surprise, when if danger became more imminent by a threatened search of the house it might be averted by a timely resort to the "hole." Of course, it may have had other uses, but a better place of concealment or confinement can hardly have been imagined.

From time to time   I have heard other rumours as to the ownership of the skull, one amongst them, that it belonged to a young lady who had died or had been made away with, after a long period of confinement in the house. To this story, if the skull be that of a woman, which I believe it is, the eistence of this partioned-off chamber lends a certain amount of corroboration; but of the negro variant as related by Miss Garnett I do not remember ever to have heard.

Whatever may be its origin, the superstition is still - I will not say believed in - but sufficiently established, to afford protection to the skull around which it clings; an amusing instance of which I can relate A former tenant of the farm once, in incredulity or in anger, threw the skull into a duck pond opposite the house. It was said that Farmer G. had had a bad time of it during the interval and had been much disturbed by all kinds of noises! Whether these noises were caused by any other agency than that of the bats, owls, &c., before mentioned, operating upon a conscience rendered unusually susceptible by such a terrible "act of desecration," this deponent knoweth not. Suffice to say that there the skull rests "in its accustomed place," -there, in the words of Macaulay- "To witness if I lie."

And there may it long remain to attract and awe those visitors and lovers of folk-lore whose reverent feelings may lead them to make a pious pilgrimage to its shrine -- not, let us hope, to the annoyance of the "good woma of the house," who must find it hard sometimes to retain her good-nature under the many inuisitive and often irreverent remarks of her visitors.

I have recently endeavoured to turn these pilgrimages to some practical account; and on my last visit to Bettiscombe before leaving Dorset, I procured a "Visitors' Book," on the fly-leaf of which I rwrote the account of the history of the skull and its superstition as I had first heard it, and as it appeared in Notes and Queries some twenty years ago.

I further suggested to the goodwife of the occupant of the farm (who was the churchwarden of a parish which had little but the offerings of a very limited agricultural class to support its church) that a "box" should be kept in the hall for the purpose of obtaining contributions for the much needed repairs on the church from such visitors as might be willing to make some slight return for the kindness with which they are invariably received and shewn over the house. After laying the "foundation coin" of this new charity I turned my back on the old house, feeling assured that its "ghostly tenant" would no longer pine for burial, when by staying above ground it might afford the means of benefitting that church in whose soil it ought now to be resting.

J.S.Udal. Fiji, June, 1891.

P.S. -- In the Bridport News of Sept., 1890, appeared some verses on "The Skull at Bettiscombe," from a Lyme Regis correspondent, which afford evidence that the writer was aware of the suggested negro origin of the skull, and of the story that it had at one time been thrown into the water. They were however, though not devoid of literary merit, written in rather too jocular and flippant a vein for me to include them in the more serious literature on the subject.

I might be allowed to add that I have recently come across a very interesting parallel to this superstition amongst the South Sea Islanders, which I discovered in perusing a recent Blue Book on the affairs of the British New Guinea (1889) an account of which I sent last year to Notes and Queries (7th S. x. 461), and which , so far as is now material, is as follows: "When the protectorate was declared over British New Guinea by the late Sir Peter Scratchley, in October, 1885, on his arrival at the village of Miopa he found the skulls of seven Chinamen, who had been killed some years before, hanging on a platform in the centre of the village. Sir Peter desired that these skulls should be taken down and buried. After considerable hesitation the chief assented, and in the presence of two thousand natives the skulls were taken down by the native teachers and buried on the spot. Not one of the natives would touch them, for it was a most earnest belief amongst them that anyone touching the skulls for the purpose of removing them would be immediately attacked by sickness, if not by death. It should be added that the natives of New Guinea are as much skull-hunters as the North American Indians are scalp-hunters, and often cannibals to boot, though in some parts the practice is looked upon with abhorrence.