1 00:00:01,340 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,220 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,970 Speaker 1: And I'm Tracy V. Wilson. It's Halloween time, so we're 4 00:00:17,989 --> 00:00:21,650 Speaker 1: continuing some of our Halloween-y topics. And this one, this 5 00:00:21,750 --> 00:00:25,509 Speaker 1: one I suppose could be considered a sequel to the 6 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:27,970 Speaker 1: Ghosts of the British Isles episode we did last year. 7 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: because we're going to talk about screaming skulls. And screaming 8 00:00:32,540 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, although 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: specific skull lore varies. That's not to say that no 10 00:00:39,900 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: other culture has ever thought a skull was haunted or 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,970 Speaker 1: had things. It's just there is a very specific flavor 12 00:00:46,030 --> 00:00:49,330 Speaker 1: of it that is very British. And screaming skulls, by 13 00:00:49,350 --> 00:00:52,930 Speaker 1: the way, don't necessarily scream. It's really just a loose 14 00:00:52,990 --> 00:00:57,170 Speaker 1: term for a skull that people believe is haunted, possibly cursed. 15 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: maybe carries on some dismayed feelings of the deceased. So 16 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: while haunted skull might be more accurate, that doesn't alliterate 17 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,780 Speaker 1: and thus not as catchy. In the 1895 book by T.F. 18 00:01:09,819 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: Thistleton Dyer titled Strange Pages from Family Papers, which is 19 00:01:14,140 --> 00:01:16,860 Speaker 1: a title I love, there is a mention of such 20 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:21,089 Speaker 1: skulls and their shared lore. The opening passage from the 21 00:01:21,130 --> 00:01:23,730 Speaker 1: section of the book that's about screaming skulls reads, quote, 22 00:01:24,350 --> 00:01:27,110 Speaker 1: There are told of certain houses in different parts of 23 00:01:27,140 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: the country, many weird skull stories. The popular idea being 24 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:34,740 Speaker 1: that if any profane hand should be bold enough to 25 00:01:34,819 --> 00:01:38,740 Speaker 1: remove or in any way tamper with such gruesome relics 26 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:43,860 Speaker 1: of the dead, misfortune will inevitably overtake the family. Hence, 27 00:01:44,020 --> 00:01:47,420 Speaker 1: for years past, there have been carefully preserved in some 28 00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:51,940 Speaker 1: of our country homes, numerous skulls, all kinds of romantic 29 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:57,830 Speaker 1: traditions accounting for their present isolated and unburied condition. So 30 00:01:58,110 --> 00:02:02,030 Speaker 1: there are pretty commonly mentioned seven screaming skulls that are 31 00:02:02,070 --> 00:02:04,870 Speaker 1: known of in Britain. There may be more, but those 32 00:02:04,910 --> 00:02:07,110 Speaker 1: are like the ones that come up every time you 33 00:02:07,170 --> 00:02:09,410 Speaker 1: look at any lore about it. We are not covering 34 00:02:09,430 --> 00:02:11,570 Speaker 1: all of them here. We're only covering two of them today. 35 00:02:12,570 --> 00:02:14,710 Speaker 1: And the first of them is has roots in the 36 00:02:14,750 --> 00:02:17,890 Speaker 1: English Civil War, and the second one is tied to 37 00:02:17,970 --> 00:02:23,030 Speaker 1: colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade. Sort of. Maybe. 38 00:02:23,590 --> 00:02:27,340 Speaker 1: You'll see. The English Civil War has come up a 39 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,540 Speaker 1: lot of times on the podcast, and this time it's 40 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: the starting point for a Screaming Skull story. We don't 41 00:02:33,980 --> 00:02:36,180 Speaker 1: really need to get into all the particulars of the 42 00:02:36,260 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: English Civil War, but the very quick setup is that 43 00:02:39,580 --> 00:02:43,810 Speaker 1: Charles I was at odds with Parliament, And this conflict 44 00:02:43,870 --> 00:02:49,210 Speaker 1: was fueled by financial disagreements and taxation and religious tensions 45 00:02:49,290 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: between Anglicans and Catholics and levels of control within the government. 46 00:02:54,820 --> 00:02:57,980 Speaker 1: The story goes that a man named Theophilus Brougham was 47 00:02:58,020 --> 00:03:01,380 Speaker 1: a devoted royalist going into the English Civil War. But 48 00:03:01,580 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: as the war played out... The way that prisoners were 49 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,490 Speaker 1: treated by the king's army really did not sit well 50 00:03:07,530 --> 00:03:12,049 Speaker 1: with him. Seeing horrible behavior that was being carried out 51 00:03:12,130 --> 00:03:15,470 Speaker 1: in the name of the king made Brougham reconsider whether 52 00:03:15,570 --> 00:03:19,250 Speaker 1: his ideals truly aligned with the royalist cause anymore, and 53 00:03:19,290 --> 00:03:24,980 Speaker 1: he ultimately switched sides to join the parliamentarians. The war ended, 54 00:03:25,380 --> 00:03:28,139 Speaker 1: and Brougham started his next phase of life at Higher 55 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,250 Speaker 1: Chilton Farm in the village of Chilton Canelo in Somerset, England. 56 00:03:33,110 --> 00:03:36,550 Speaker 1: He lived there with his sister, but after the restoration 57 00:03:36,590 --> 00:03:39,790 Speaker 1: of the monarchy, when Charles II ascended to the throne 58 00:03:39,830 --> 00:03:44,839 Speaker 1: in 1660, Brougham, who had backed the parliamentarian roundheads, was 59 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,420 Speaker 1: considered a traitor to the throne. I will say, I 60 00:03:49,380 --> 00:03:52,260 Speaker 1: don't know if his sister was married or not. She 61 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,550 Speaker 1: is always referenced, and the only time I've seen... her 62 00:03:56,650 --> 00:04:00,430 Speaker 1: referenced as being someone's wife was in a very modern 63 00:04:01,390 --> 00:04:04,900 Speaker 1: kind of splashy story. So I don't know if that 64 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: was an assumption that she had a husband that was 65 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,940 Speaker 1: also involved, but he is not mentioned anywhere that I found. 66 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: As Brougham was reaching his relative old age in the 1660s, 67 00:04:14,710 --> 00:04:17,310 Speaker 1: so he was born in 1601. He would have been 68 00:04:17,330 --> 00:04:20,130 Speaker 1: getting into his late 60s. He worried that that in 69 00:04:20,190 --> 00:04:22,690 Speaker 1: his death he could be made an example of. And 70 00:04:22,730 --> 00:04:26,570 Speaker 1: his fear was that after he was buried, royalist agents 71 00:04:26,630 --> 00:04:29,330 Speaker 1: would dig up his body, cut off his head, and 72 00:04:29,410 --> 00:04:32,250 Speaker 1: put it on a pike for display as what happens 73 00:04:32,510 --> 00:04:34,740 Speaker 1: to a traitor to the throne. And this was not 74 00:04:34,750 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: a cockamamie idea that he made up in a fit 75 00:04:37,260 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: of paranoia. This had happened to Oliver Cromwell, who had 76 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,300 Speaker 1: died in 1658 and then was exhumed for a posthumous 77 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,539 Speaker 1: execution for regicide in 1661-61. after the monarchy was restored. 78 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,219 Speaker 1: And Cromwell's dead body was hanged at Tiburn in London 79 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,350 Speaker 1: and then beheaded, and his head was displayed on a 80 00:04:57,380 --> 00:05:00,990 Speaker 1: pike at Westminster Hall. That was where Charles I had 81 00:05:01,010 --> 00:05:05,529 Speaker 1: been tried by Parliament. Two of Cromwell's colleagues, Henry Ireton 82 00:05:05,589 --> 00:05:09,029 Speaker 1: and John Bradshaw, had also been exhumed, hanged, and displayed, 83 00:05:09,050 --> 00:05:13,390 Speaker 1: as Cromwell had. So this was not a fate that 84 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:17,110 Speaker 1: Theophilus Broome wanted for himself. So his solution... was that 85 00:05:17,150 --> 00:05:19,530 Speaker 1: he asked his sister to cut off his head when 86 00:05:19,570 --> 00:05:22,700 Speaker 1: he died and keep it in the house. And she 87 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: agreed that she would honor his wishes. So Broome died 88 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,980 Speaker 1: in 1670, and his sister kept her word. His body 89 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,870 Speaker 1: was buried in a crypt at the church in Chilton Canelo, 90 00:05:35,390 --> 00:05:39,750 Speaker 1: but his head, as requested, was kept in the house. Incidentally, 91 00:05:39,990 --> 00:05:43,830 Speaker 1: Oliver Cromwell's head was still on display on the pike 92 00:05:43,850 --> 00:05:46,610 Speaker 1: when this happened. It stayed at Westminster until it was 93 00:05:46,730 --> 00:05:52,190 Speaker 1: stolen sometime in the mid-1680s. When Brougham's sister died, it 94 00:05:52,330 --> 00:05:55,610 Speaker 1: seems without a next of kin, the property passed through 95 00:05:55,630 --> 00:05:58,370 Speaker 1: a number of hands, and then over the centuries, a 96 00:05:58,510 --> 00:06:03,130 Speaker 1: lot of stories have accumulated about Theophilus and his skull. 97 00:06:03,890 --> 00:06:06,529 Speaker 1: The first tenants of the home who lived at Higher 98 00:06:06,570 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: Chilton Farm after Brougham's sister were absolutely not interested in 99 00:06:10,660 --> 00:06:14,370 Speaker 1: cohabitating with the skull, so they buried it, but immediately 100 00:06:14,790 --> 00:06:18,989 Speaker 1: experienced strange noises and an unsettling feeling in the house. 101 00:06:19,770 --> 00:06:24,150 Speaker 1: The skull was retrieved and those problems stopped. Then, believing 102 00:06:24,190 --> 00:06:27,950 Speaker 1: that maybe the skull just needed a consecrated location for 103 00:06:27,990 --> 00:06:31,290 Speaker 1: its final resting place, the head was buried in the churchyard. 104 00:06:31,810 --> 00:06:33,930 Speaker 1: And according to legend, the man who was in the 105 00:06:33,970 --> 00:06:37,270 Speaker 1: process of burying the skull was killed on the spot 106 00:06:37,850 --> 00:06:41,089 Speaker 1: when a piece of slate from the church's roof suddenly 107 00:06:41,150 --> 00:06:44,130 Speaker 1: broke off and fell directly onto him. The first time 108 00:06:44,150 --> 00:06:48,290 Speaker 1: the Brougham story appeared in print was in 1791, in 109 00:06:48,310 --> 00:06:53,210 Speaker 1: a three-volume publication titled The History and Antiquities of the 110 00:06:53,250 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: County of Somerset, collected from authentic records and an actual 111 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: survey made by the late Mr. Edmund Rack. adorned with 112 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,100 Speaker 1: a map of the county and engravings of Roman and 113 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:10,420 Speaker 1: other relics, town seals, baths, churches, and gentlemen's seats. This 114 00:07:10,460 --> 00:07:15,140 Speaker 1: was written by the Reverend John Collinson. His description of 115 00:07:15,290 --> 00:07:19,130 Speaker 1: Chilton Canelo is quite charming. Quote, the parish contains 28 116 00:07:19,130 --> 00:07:24,310 Speaker 1: houses and about 150 inhabitants. Most of the houses formed 117 00:07:24,430 --> 00:07:28,270 Speaker 1: two straggling streets near the church building. The situation is 118 00:07:28,410 --> 00:07:31,820 Speaker 1: low and woody, but the lands are strong clay, very good, 119 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,660 Speaker 1: and worth on an average from 30 to 50 shillings 120 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:39,420 Speaker 1: an acre. A small stream rising at Sanford Orcas runs 121 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: under a stone bridge of one arch and turns a 122 00:07:42,740 --> 00:07:46,510 Speaker 1: gristmill in this parish. And then at the end of 123 00:07:46,570 --> 00:07:52,110 Speaker 1: his brief entry on Chilton Cantelo, Collinson gets to the skull, writing, quote,' 124 00:07:51,850 --> 00:07:54,610 Speaker 1: At the north end of the transept is a stone 125 00:07:54,630 --> 00:07:58,390 Speaker 1: with this inscription.' Here lie at the body of Theophilus 126 00:07:58,450 --> 00:08:01,220 Speaker 1: Brougham of the Broughams of the House of Woodlows near 127 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,660 Speaker 1: Warwick Town in the County of Warwick, who deceased the 128 00:08:04,900 --> 00:08:09,540 Speaker 1: 18th of August, 1670, age 69. A man just in 129 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,300 Speaker 1: the actions of his life, true to his friends, forgave 130 00:08:13,340 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: those that wronged him and died in peace. So this 131 00:08:17,220 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: writing then goes on to describe the decoration that's on 132 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,730 Speaker 1: the stone. Arms sable on a chevron argent, three sprigs 133 00:08:24,900 --> 00:08:28,050 Speaker 1: of broom proper. And then it continues, quote, there is 134 00:08:28,090 --> 00:08:31,190 Speaker 1: a tradition in the parish that the person here interred 135 00:08:31,250 --> 00:08:33,770 Speaker 1: requested that his head might be taken off before his 136 00:08:33,830 --> 00:08:37,170 Speaker 1: burial and be preserved at the farmhouse near the church 137 00:08:37,650 --> 00:08:41,219 Speaker 1: where a head chopped fallen enough is still shown, which 138 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: the tenants of the house have often endeavored to commit 139 00:08:44,059 --> 00:08:46,580 Speaker 1: to the bowels of the earth, but have been as 140 00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:51,300 Speaker 1: often deterred by horrid noises, portentive of sad displeasure, and 141 00:08:51,340 --> 00:08:54,660 Speaker 1: about 20 years since, which perhaps was the last attempt, 142 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,349 Speaker 1: The sexton, in digging the place for the skull's repository, 143 00:08:58,890 --> 00:09:02,150 Speaker 1: broke his spade in two pieces and uttered a solemn 144 00:09:02,250 --> 00:09:06,530 Speaker 1: asseveration never more to attempt an act so evidently repugnant 145 00:09:06,610 --> 00:09:10,579 Speaker 1: to the quiet of Brougham's head. According to a 2022 146 00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: article in the Somerset Live paper, during restoration work on 147 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,580 Speaker 1: the village church, Brougham's crypt was opened and the skull 148 00:09:17,620 --> 00:09:21,230 Speaker 1: was missing. This would corroborate the story, and the St. 149 00:09:21,270 --> 00:09:25,329 Speaker 1: James Church at Chilton Cantaloupe did undergo restoration work in 150 00:09:25,350 --> 00:09:29,150 Speaker 1: the 1820s, but Holly wasn't actually able to locate any 151 00:09:29,230 --> 00:09:32,189 Speaker 1: reports from the time suggesting that the crypt had been 152 00:09:32,370 --> 00:09:36,809 Speaker 1: opened and the remains examined. So maybe. We're going to 153 00:09:36,850 --> 00:09:41,569 Speaker 1: talk about more stories of Theophilus Brougham's skull after we 154 00:09:41,590 --> 00:09:49,020 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. In 1985, parapsychologist Peter Underwood 155 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: published a book titled Ghosts of Somerset that included several stories. 156 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: about the skull. He published a lot of books, so 157 00:10:03,179 --> 00:10:04,660 Speaker 1: this one is a little tricky to get a hold of, 158 00:10:05,020 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: but I managed through a weird secondhand book dealer. One 159 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,860 Speaker 1: of these stories dates back to 1826 when the farmhouse 160 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,820 Speaker 1: was undergoing renovations. According to the story, two of the 161 00:10:16,860 --> 00:10:19,900 Speaker 1: workmen took the skull from the cabinet where it was 162 00:10:19,980 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 1: kept and drank beer out of it. But they put 163 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,380 Speaker 1: it back when they were done and nothing bad happened. 164 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: This is often pointed to as evidence that the skull 165 00:10:28,179 --> 00:10:30,500 Speaker 1: just wanted to stay in the house. You didn't have 166 00:10:30,540 --> 00:10:37,709 Speaker 1: to be super reverent with it. Then in 1977, two 167 00:10:37,830 --> 00:10:40,830 Speaker 1: researchers from London visited the farm and they asked to 168 00:10:40,870 --> 00:10:44,220 Speaker 1: see the skull. They were given permission to see and 169 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,450 Speaker 1: examine it, but as they did, they talked about not 170 00:10:47,510 --> 00:10:51,150 Speaker 1: believing that the screaming skull story was legitimate, and maybe 171 00:10:51,390 --> 00:10:54,870 Speaker 1: they even made jokes about it. They left the skull 172 00:10:54,970 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: at the farm and they headed back to London, but 173 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,980 Speaker 1: during the drive home, one of them collided with a tree. 174 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:05,340 Speaker 1: After thinking he saw headlights coming directly at him, he 175 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 1: survived but was badly injured. The other researcher suffered severe 176 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,650 Speaker 1: burns on his leg after accidentally dropping a match into 177 00:11:15,690 --> 00:11:19,970 Speaker 1: the cuff of his pants. Yeah, they attributed this to 178 00:11:20,010 --> 00:11:24,270 Speaker 1: the skull. Underwood also interviewed the couple that was living 179 00:11:24,390 --> 00:11:26,510 Speaker 1: at High Chilton Farm at the time he was writing 180 00:11:26,530 --> 00:11:29,140 Speaker 1: the book. That was a Mr. and Mrs. Curtin. And 181 00:11:29,179 --> 00:11:32,939 Speaker 1: they seemed very comfortable with Theophilus' brome skull staying in 182 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,690 Speaker 1: the house. They told Underwood that they knew he wouldn't 183 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:37,980 Speaker 1: harm them as long as his head remained in the 184 00:11:38,020 --> 00:11:39,959 Speaker 1: home and that they sort of viewed him as a 185 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: guardian to the property. They did add, though, quote, he 186 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,780 Speaker 1: doesn't like being handled too much. If he objects, he 187 00:11:46,860 --> 00:11:49,150 Speaker 1: soon lets us know. But as long as he is 188 00:11:49,210 --> 00:11:52,170 Speaker 1: treated with respect, he never causes trouble. I don't mean 189 00:11:52,190 --> 00:11:53,790 Speaker 1: to laugh at the dead, but it sounds like when 190 00:11:53,809 --> 00:12:00,670 Speaker 1: you're talking about a difficult cat. Not everyone over the 191 00:12:00,710 --> 00:12:04,870 Speaker 1: centuries has believed that Brougham was haunting the house. In 192 00:12:04,890 --> 00:12:09,130 Speaker 1: a 1910 letter to the Taunton Courier, Bristol, and Exeter Journal, 193 00:12:09,350 --> 00:12:12,730 Speaker 1: the contributor, who's not named in the publication, makes their case, quote, 194 00:12:13,330 --> 00:12:16,930 Speaker 1: The signature of Theophilus Brougham, now in the writer's hand, 195 00:12:17,100 --> 00:12:19,239 Speaker 1: does not at all suggest he was the sort of 196 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: man to make a silly fuss about the interment of 197 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,850 Speaker 1: his skull. The signature... is as clear as the day, 198 00:12:27,130 --> 00:12:31,439 Speaker 1: October 4th, 1650, when it was written. Nearly every letter 199 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:36,020 Speaker 1: is written separately and as legibly as possible. The letter 200 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,020 Speaker 1: describes the document as being about an annuity to be 201 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,590 Speaker 1: paid to Theophilus Brougham by the Earl of Bristol and 202 00:12:42,730 --> 00:12:45,650 Speaker 1: to Brougham's wife in the event of his death. Brougham 203 00:12:45,670 --> 00:12:47,710 Speaker 1: had to prove he was still alive and had not 204 00:12:47,770 --> 00:12:50,890 Speaker 1: sold the annuity. And then in this missive to the paper, 205 00:12:50,950 --> 00:12:54,849 Speaker 1: after laying out these particulars, the writer concludes with, quote,' 206 00:12:54,790 --> 00:12:58,030 Speaker 1: It seems from this that he had not himself taken 207 00:12:58,130 --> 00:13:01,450 Speaker 1: any part against Parliament in the Civil War. A man 208 00:13:01,570 --> 00:13:04,470 Speaker 1: named Theophilus with an annuity and a wife could have 209 00:13:04,650 --> 00:13:10,170 Speaker 1: no excuse for making horrid noises because his skull was buried.' Yeah, 210 00:13:10,190 --> 00:13:12,089 Speaker 1: and I will say that annuity was no joke. It 211 00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:14,309 Speaker 1: was like 20 pounds a year, which in the 1650s 212 00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:17,110 Speaker 1: was a lot of money. It was basically like saying, look, 213 00:13:17,150 --> 00:13:19,150 Speaker 1: he was set. He didn't need to be fussy about 214 00:13:19,190 --> 00:13:23,370 Speaker 1: his skull. Today, the Higher Farmhouse is a listed building 215 00:13:23,450 --> 00:13:26,750 Speaker 1: on the National Heritage List for England. The description of 216 00:13:26,790 --> 00:13:29,990 Speaker 1: the house in the list entry describes its physical attributes, 217 00:13:30,050 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: its architectural style, the times it has been renovated, and 218 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 1: mentions that part of the building is still being used 219 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,380 Speaker 1: to make cider. Of Theophilus, it says, quote, In Hall, 220 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:45,510 Speaker 1: Brougham's Head, a skull recorded by Collinson, 1791, which has 221 00:13:45,570 --> 00:13:51,390 Speaker 1: defied many attempts at burial. The 1897 book, The Haunted 222 00:13:51,490 --> 00:13:55,420 Speaker 1: Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain, starts its discussion 223 00:13:55,540 --> 00:13:58,740 Speaker 1: of this next skull this way, quote, There is a 224 00:13:58,780 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: certain old farmstead known as Bediscombe or Bediscombe House in 225 00:14:03,540 --> 00:14:06,599 Speaker 1: a parish of the same name. about six miles from 226 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 1: Bridport in Dorsetshire, this ancient dwelling, which is still inhabited, 227 00:14:11,740 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: is celebrated for the so-called Screaming Skull that it contains. 228 00:14:17,059 --> 00:14:21,180 Speaker 1: While the haunted skull story associated with Bediscombe had appeared 229 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: in print for more than two decades at that point, 230 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,900 Speaker 1: this appears to be the earliest appearance of the lore 231 00:14:26,940 --> 00:14:31,170 Speaker 1: that is most associated with it That being the story 232 00:14:31,450 --> 00:14:34,010 Speaker 1: that it was the skull of a Black person who 233 00:14:34,050 --> 00:14:37,170 Speaker 1: was either enslaved or who worked as some sort of 234 00:14:37,270 --> 00:14:40,790 Speaker 1: house servant at the manor. We will be digging into 235 00:14:40,830 --> 00:14:46,140 Speaker 1: that shortly. The 1891 book, Notes and Queries for Somerset 236 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: and Dorset, says this of the Bediscombe skull. Quote, the 237 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,239 Speaker 1: superstition attaching to the above skull has from time to 238 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:58,050 Speaker 1: time excited considerable interest amongst folklorists and others. and has 239 00:14:58,070 --> 00:15:01,430 Speaker 1: drawn forth various comments in the press and otherwise from 240 00:15:01,450 --> 00:15:05,670 Speaker 1: those who have had the opportunity of investigating its supposed origin. 241 00:15:06,550 --> 00:15:10,979 Speaker 1: The story of the skull has a lot of missing information. 242 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,220 Speaker 1: The main version of it goes like this. There was 243 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: a plantation owner in Dorset named Azariah Penny, and he 244 00:15:18,780 --> 00:15:24,260 Speaker 1: somehow acquired an enslaved man whose name remains unknown. Penny, 245 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,740 Speaker 1: according to some people, was himself involved in the slave trade, 246 00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 1: although that seems like it might be a conflation of 247 00:15:30,620 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: different details. We'll talk more about that in a bit. 248 00:15:34,210 --> 00:15:37,930 Speaker 1: There is also a murder component to this story, although 249 00:15:38,150 --> 00:15:42,770 Speaker 1: some versions cast the enslaved man as the victim, while 250 00:15:42,870 --> 00:15:46,530 Speaker 1: others name him as the perpetrator. In the version where 251 00:15:46,550 --> 00:15:49,180 Speaker 1: he was the murderer, he was put to death for 252 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:53,700 Speaker 1: the crime. So both versions indicate that this man died 253 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: in Dorset. Another variation indicates that this person was not 254 00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: enslaved when he died, but had been earlier in his life, 255 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: and upon being freed, he became a house servant to 256 00:16:04,660 --> 00:16:08,060 Speaker 1: the Penny family. In a lot of versions of this story, 257 00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:12,100 Speaker 1: he is described as a, quote, loyal servant. And in 258 00:16:12,180 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: line with other Screaming Skull stories, this person did not 259 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: end up being laid to rest where he desired. He wanted, 260 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: according to the lore, to be returned to the West 261 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: Indies where he was born and lived before his time 262 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,990 Speaker 1: in England, specifically the island of Nevis. But instead, he 263 00:16:29,030 --> 00:16:32,970 Speaker 1: was buried in the churchyard at Bediscombe. From the time 264 00:16:33,010 --> 00:16:35,650 Speaker 1: this unnamed person was buried, the story goes that the 265 00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:38,790 Speaker 1: house and the community became riddled with a series of 266 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:43,500 Speaker 1: disturbances of a ghostly nature. These have been described as 267 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,470 Speaker 1: screams coming from the grave itself, windows in the house 268 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:51,410 Speaker 1: at Bediscombe rattling, doors making noises and shaking in their frames, 269 00:16:51,870 --> 00:16:57,250 Speaker 1: and other strange noises in the house like creaking and thumping. Finally, 270 00:16:57,410 --> 00:17:01,010 Speaker 1: the inhabitants of the home exhumed the body and these 271 00:17:01,090 --> 00:17:05,330 Speaker 1: strange disturbances stopped. After a while, he was buried again, 272 00:17:05,390 --> 00:17:08,990 Speaker 1: but the problem popped back up. And then this cycle 273 00:17:09,190 --> 00:17:13,340 Speaker 1: of burial, haunting, exhumation, peace for a little while, then 274 00:17:13,380 --> 00:17:15,770 Speaker 1: somebody buries it, and it all starts over, and so 275 00:17:15,850 --> 00:17:19,430 Speaker 1: on and so on began. And over time, according to 276 00:17:19,530 --> 00:17:21,949 Speaker 1: various owners of the house, the main part of the 277 00:17:21,990 --> 00:17:25,510 Speaker 1: skeleton was lost, but the skull remained, and that was 278 00:17:25,570 --> 00:17:30,090 Speaker 1: apparently enough to continue the haunting. Eventually, the skull was 279 00:17:30,170 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: moved to the attic of the house, and this ended 280 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: the paranormal activity, and from that point on, any subsequent 281 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,820 Speaker 1: owners had to take the skull along with the property. 282 00:17:40,790 --> 00:17:44,710 Speaker 1: So that's the very basic, often-repeated story of the Bediscombe 283 00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:48,510 Speaker 1: Screaming Skull. So to look at it a little more closely, 284 00:17:48,550 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: let's unpack the Pennys, because elements of their family story 285 00:17:52,180 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: seem to have informed the skull lore, but in a 286 00:17:55,260 --> 00:17:59,380 Speaker 1: way that really seems to tangle fact and fiction. Azariah 287 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: Penny was born in 1661, and when he was 23, 288 00:18:03,220 --> 00:18:07,250 Speaker 1: he participated in the Monmouth Rebellion, That was a rebellion 289 00:18:07,310 --> 00:18:09,890 Speaker 1: led by James Scott, who was the Duke of Monmouth 290 00:18:10,010 --> 00:18:15,129 Speaker 1: and also Charles II's illegitimate son. Charles did not have 291 00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:18,379 Speaker 1: a legitimate heir, and his brother James, the Duke of York, 292 00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: was next in line for the throne. But the Duke 293 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: of York was Catholic, so when Charles II died in 1685, 294 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: it set off a conflict. There is more to this 295 00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:31,410 Speaker 1: whole event, but the short version is that the Duke 296 00:18:31,450 --> 00:18:35,700 Speaker 1: of Monmouth attempted a rebellion to seize power. and Azariah 297 00:18:35,740 --> 00:18:39,470 Speaker 1: Penny was part of it. After the rebellion, which was 298 00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:44,050 Speaker 1: a pretty sloppy affair that was suppressed, Monmouth was put 299 00:18:44,109 --> 00:18:48,190 Speaker 1: to death, and 600 of his followers faced their accusations 300 00:18:48,369 --> 00:18:50,950 Speaker 1: in a series of trials known as the Bloody Assizes. 301 00:18:51,869 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: Azariah Penny, like the rest of them, was tried for 302 00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:57,460 Speaker 1: high treason. He was found guilty, and he was sentenced 303 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: to death. But his family managed to leverage their connections 304 00:19:01,780 --> 00:19:06,170 Speaker 1: and standing to have that sentence commuted. Instead of execution, 305 00:19:06,310 --> 00:19:09,449 Speaker 1: Azariah was sent to Nevis as an indentured servant to 306 00:19:09,490 --> 00:19:12,770 Speaker 1: work on a sugar plantation. But he also did not 307 00:19:12,850 --> 00:19:16,389 Speaker 1: serve out his 10-year indenture because that indenture was purchased 308 00:19:17,090 --> 00:19:21,090 Speaker 1: by his family. A little bit of, like, wealth-making loopholes. 309 00:19:21,230 --> 00:19:24,880 Speaker 1: So he really didn't face any long-term consequences for treason 310 00:19:24,890 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: aside from being shipped to the Caribbean. But that forced 311 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: travel seems to have worked out for him because once 312 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: he was free, he started his own plantation on Nevis. 313 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,330 Speaker 1: and made a fortune. Azariah returned to England around 1700, 314 00:19:39,330 --> 00:19:42,410 Speaker 1: leaving family members to run the plantation. And he died 315 00:19:42,450 --> 00:19:44,730 Speaker 1: in London circa 1720. I saw one that said he 316 00:19:44,770 --> 00:19:52,129 Speaker 1: died in 1719, so somewhere around there. In records from 1765, 317 00:19:52,130 --> 00:19:55,910 Speaker 1: three enslaved people are listed in the plantation book for 318 00:19:55,950 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: the Penny Nevis property. They're named Bediscombe, Bridport, and Weymouth 319 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,939 Speaker 1: after the family properties back in England. Some accounts say 320 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,859 Speaker 1: that these were births, but others list these as purchases. 321 00:20:09,790 --> 00:20:12,570 Speaker 1: This has got some theories attached to it, and we're 322 00:20:12,590 --> 00:20:15,449 Speaker 1: going to talk through those. There were members of the 323 00:20:15,490 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 1: Penny family on Nevis until 1830, and at that point, 324 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,260 Speaker 1: the family holdings in the Caribbean were liquidated and the 325 00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:26,640 Speaker 1: remaining Pennys returned to England. Azariah or one of his 326 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:33,190 Speaker 1: sons built Bediscombe Manor in Dorset sometime around 1700. His son, 327 00:20:33,250 --> 00:20:36,889 Speaker 1: John Frederick Penny, owned the Nevis estate until his death 328 00:20:36,970 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: in 1762. At that point, according to property records, it 329 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,530 Speaker 1: passed to John Penny, who was perhaps his son or 330 00:20:45,609 --> 00:20:49,570 Speaker 1: another relative. That person had been living in England, but 331 00:20:49,670 --> 00:20:53,510 Speaker 1: went to Nevis in 1764. So it kind of seems 332 00:20:53,550 --> 00:20:56,130 Speaker 1: like the story that has been ascribed to the Screaming 333 00:20:56,190 --> 00:21:00,409 Speaker 1: Skull of Beddiskum is really a pastiche of family history 334 00:21:00,450 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: that plays pretty fast and loose with the timeline. In 1842, 335 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,859 Speaker 1: Anna Maria Penny went through all of the family records, 336 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:12,020 Speaker 1: going back 200 years, to compile a comprehensive family history. 337 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,190 Speaker 1: And she didn't live at Bediscombe, but her grandfather did, 338 00:21:15,350 --> 00:21:19,210 Speaker 1: and she visited in 1847. And at that time, she 339 00:21:19,270 --> 00:21:21,489 Speaker 1: met with a farmer's wife in the village who knew 340 00:21:21,510 --> 00:21:24,730 Speaker 1: the whole story about the skull. And that woman told 341 00:21:24,859 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: Anna that as long as the skull stayed in the 342 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,100 Speaker 1: house and not in the ground, the house would not 343 00:21:29,140 --> 00:21:34,190 Speaker 1: be haunted. And Anna Maria collected this information for family records, 344 00:21:34,250 --> 00:21:37,429 Speaker 1: but none of it was published until the 1870s. And 345 00:21:37,470 --> 00:21:39,270 Speaker 1: then it kind of took on a life of its own. 346 00:21:40,190 --> 00:21:43,470 Speaker 1: We will talk about how the Bediscombe Skull story got 347 00:21:43,580 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: even more embellishment starting in the late 19th century. But first, 348 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,219 Speaker 1: we will hear from the sponsors that keep the show going. 349 00:21:50,240 --> 00:22:03,390 Speaker 1: The Bediscombe Skull That 1895 book, Strange Pages from Family Papers, 350 00:22:03,430 --> 00:22:05,290 Speaker 1: that we mentioned at the very top of the show, 351 00:22:05,970 --> 00:22:08,650 Speaker 1: includes a narrative that was relayed to the author by 352 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:13,139 Speaker 1: a Miss Garnett, who in 1883 went with her father, Dr. 353 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: Richard Garnett, and a family friend to visit Bediscombe in 354 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: the hopes of learning more about the skull. And her 355 00:22:19,619 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: story begins with, quote, one fine afternoon, a party of 356 00:22:22,900 --> 00:22:27,090 Speaker 1: three adventurous spirits started off, hoping to discover the skull 357 00:22:27,190 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: and investigate its history. This much we knew, that the 358 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: skull would only scream when it was buried, and so 359 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:37,210 Speaker 1: we hoped to get leave to inter it in the churchyard. 360 00:22:38,050 --> 00:22:42,250 Speaker 1: Miss Garnett describes the trio simply going to the house 361 00:22:42,450 --> 00:22:46,169 Speaker 1: and asking its then-owner, a woman who had recently acquired 362 00:22:46,210 --> 00:22:49,590 Speaker 1: the farmhouse, for a glass of milk, and then trying 363 00:22:49,630 --> 00:22:53,250 Speaker 1: to subtly work in questions about the skull again. The 364 00:22:53,310 --> 00:22:56,350 Speaker 1: woman told them the skull was there, but that she 365 00:22:56,390 --> 00:22:58,750 Speaker 1: didn't know much about it, except that she, quote, had 366 00:22:58,790 --> 00:23:02,300 Speaker 1: been obliged to take possession of the skull also when 367 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,020 Speaker 1: she bought the property. And the Garnetts and their friend 368 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,700 Speaker 1: convinced this woman to let them see the skull. They 369 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,340 Speaker 1: did see it in the Holmes attic. The account then states, quote, 370 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:16,119 Speaker 1: we tramped up the fine old staircase till we reached 371 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,210 Speaker 1: the top of the house. When opening a cupboard door, 372 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: She showed us a steep, winding staircase leading to the roof, 373 00:23:23,540 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: and from one of the steps, the skull sat grinning 374 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,740 Speaker 1: at us. We took it in our hands and examined 375 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,980 Speaker 1: it carefully. It was very old and weather-beaten and certainly human. 376 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: The lower jaw was missing, the forehead very low and 377 00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: badly proportioned. One of our party, who was a medical student, 378 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:45,940 Speaker 1: examined it long and gravely, and then after first telling 379 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,940 Speaker 1: the good woman that he was a doctor, pronounced it 380 00:23:48,980 --> 00:23:53,820 Speaker 1: to be, in his opinion, the skull of a Negro. So, 381 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,300 Speaker 1: once this medical student identified the skull as having belonged 382 00:23:57,340 --> 00:24:00,020 Speaker 1: to a Black person, the farmhouse owner told them the 383 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 1: whole story of the skull as she knew it. That's 384 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,619 Speaker 1: where the uncertain story of the murder was apparently introduced. 385 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,129 Speaker 1: This woman told the three visitors that, yes, the skull 386 00:24:10,170 --> 00:24:13,389 Speaker 1: had belonged to a Black servant, quote, who had lived 387 00:24:13,430 --> 00:24:16,650 Speaker 1: in the service of a Roman Catholic priest. Some differences 388 00:24:16,710 --> 00:24:19,470 Speaker 1: arose between them, but whether the priest murdered the servant 389 00:24:19,650 --> 00:24:22,109 Speaker 1: in order to conceal some crimes known to the Negro 390 00:24:22,150 --> 00:24:24,380 Speaker 1: or whether the Negro, in a fit of passion, killed 391 00:24:24,410 --> 00:24:29,100 Speaker 1: his master did not clearly appear. Yeah, you'll notice none 392 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:33,340 Speaker 1: of that involves the pennies. Not in any way. Some 393 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:38,420 Speaker 1: other person who is priest. Research into the Penny family 394 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,500 Speaker 1: and their connection to this skull was done in the 395 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:45,239 Speaker 1: early 1900s by a judge named John Simmons Udall. He 396 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: described sort of stumbling across the Penny's name in Nevis 397 00:24:48,660 --> 00:24:52,219 Speaker 1: this way, quote, in my capacity of chief judicial officer 398 00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:54,859 Speaker 1: of the colony, it is my duty to go on 399 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,860 Speaker 1: circuit from time to time to the principal presidencies constituting 400 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: the Leeward Islands, and last February brought me to the 401 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:06,260 Speaker 1: island of Nevis. One day, on passing through a sugar plantation, 402 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: I by chance inquired of its name, and was informed 403 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,100 Speaker 1: that it was called Penny's, and further inquiry elicited the 404 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: fact that until about a century ago, it belonged to 405 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 1: a family of that name. The story of the Bediscombe 406 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:22,470 Speaker 1: skull at once flashed across my memory, and I thought, 407 00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:25,869 Speaker 1: how strange, and with all interesting, it would be if 408 00:25:25,970 --> 00:25:29,010 Speaker 1: I had come across the actual home or source of 409 00:25:29,050 --> 00:25:32,490 Speaker 1: the legend. Because up to this time, though the story 410 00:25:32,530 --> 00:25:35,550 Speaker 1: had been told in print for several decades, no one 411 00:25:35,670 --> 00:25:39,229 Speaker 1: ever had any kind of information to pinpoint when the 412 00:25:39,270 --> 00:25:43,770 Speaker 1: alleged burial and haunting had begun. Judge Udall went on 413 00:25:43,850 --> 00:25:47,070 Speaker 1: to explain that a couple of days later, he saw 414 00:25:47,109 --> 00:25:50,430 Speaker 1: a memorial inscription in a church for John Penny, which 415 00:25:50,530 --> 00:25:53,150 Speaker 1: stated that he was the only son and heir to 416 00:25:53,290 --> 00:25:57,010 Speaker 1: Azariah Penny. The family crest was the same as the 417 00:25:57,070 --> 00:26:02,050 Speaker 1: Penny family of Dorset, Udall also connected several other instances 418 00:26:02,150 --> 00:26:05,949 Speaker 1: of Penny's on the island back to Azariah, including one 419 00:26:05,990 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: that said his cousin, John Frederick Penny, inherited the house 420 00:26:09,619 --> 00:26:13,790 Speaker 1: on Nevis, after which it passed to John's nephew, John Praetor, 421 00:26:14,350 --> 00:26:17,730 Speaker 1: who changed his last name to Penny when he assumed 422 00:26:17,790 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: the ownership of the house. Udall weighed the likelihood that 423 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,460 Speaker 1: there could be two Azariah pennies from Bediskam who both 424 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 1: participated in the Monmouth Rebellion and were sentenced to death 425 00:26:30,859 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: and then shipped to Nevis. He came to the conclusion 426 00:26:34,660 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: that the odds of that were quite long. But then 427 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 1: he wonders in the writing if Azariah or one of 428 00:26:42,700 --> 00:26:48,790 Speaker 1: his descendants brought the skull home from Nevis. So the skull... 429 00:26:49,260 --> 00:26:53,420 Speaker 1: not a living person who came to work on the property. 430 00:26:54,580 --> 00:26:56,859 Speaker 1: And if this was a descendant, he kind of wonders 431 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,220 Speaker 1: if this could be the skull of the enslaved man 432 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: named Bediscombe, who he believed must have been dead at 433 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,260 Speaker 1: that point based on just the timeline. Additionally, Udall pointed 434 00:27:08,300 --> 00:27:11,710 Speaker 1: out that Bediscombe, the person, does not appear in the 435 00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:15,490 Speaker 1: plantation book in the early 1800s, so he says that's 436 00:27:15,570 --> 00:27:18,930 Speaker 1: evidence that he must have died already. And he published 437 00:27:18,990 --> 00:27:22,890 Speaker 1: this work, first as a paper, in 1904. So Udall 438 00:27:22,930 --> 00:27:25,489 Speaker 1: had pieced together the family lore and had used his 439 00:27:25,550 --> 00:27:29,850 Speaker 1: time in Nevis to examine available records there. He was 440 00:27:29,910 --> 00:27:32,649 Speaker 1: the one who discovered the record of the enslaved person 441 00:27:32,670 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: named Bediskum and put forth the theory that the skull 442 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 1: could possibly be that person's. But that was an awful 443 00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: lot of speculation. Still, it was more than anyone had 444 00:27:43,820 --> 00:27:47,619 Speaker 1: in hand before that regarding the skull and its possible provenance, 445 00:27:48,010 --> 00:27:51,310 Speaker 1: and the story quickly became cemented in local lore and 446 00:27:51,350 --> 00:27:57,590 Speaker 1: took on additional embellishments in various retellings. In 1934, Bediscombe 447 00:27:57,630 --> 00:28:00,949 Speaker 1: was visited by five men from Australia who were all brothers. 448 00:28:01,990 --> 00:28:04,949 Speaker 1: At that time, the home was inhabited by Michael Penny, 449 00:28:05,210 --> 00:28:08,700 Speaker 1: and the brothers informed him that their father had worked 450 00:28:08,940 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: on the farm when he was young and that at 451 00:28:10,900 --> 00:28:14,040 Speaker 1: one point he had thrown the skull into a pond. 452 00:28:14,980 --> 00:28:17,860 Speaker 1: He or somebody else must have retrieved it at some point, 453 00:28:18,710 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: Another account was shared with the owners by the sons 454 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,740 Speaker 1: of a former tenant. A few years after that, they 455 00:28:23,900 --> 00:28:26,899 Speaker 1: said that when they were tiny and lived on the 456 00:28:26,940 --> 00:28:30,260 Speaker 1: farm there, they had hidden the skull in a haystack 457 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,959 Speaker 1: and then moved it to the stables. That night, the 458 00:28:34,030 --> 00:28:36,310 Speaker 1: china in the house started to shake and the boys 459 00:28:36,369 --> 00:28:40,430 Speaker 1: brought the skull back in. Those are fun stories that 460 00:28:40,510 --> 00:28:43,790 Speaker 1: would seem to corroborate all of this haunting stuff, but 461 00:28:43,830 --> 00:28:48,130 Speaker 1: the claims themselves cannot really be corroborated. Yeah, like saying, oh, 462 00:28:48,150 --> 00:28:50,110 Speaker 1: we used to live here and this kooky stuff happened 463 00:28:51,510 --> 00:28:55,530 Speaker 1: is fun. But like, there's no evidence of that kooky stuff. Ah, 464 00:28:55,570 --> 00:28:59,670 Speaker 1: but wait. In the 1960s, the skull was examined by 465 00:28:59,750 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: Gilbert Causey of the Royal College of Surgeons. And his findings, 466 00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:06,670 Speaker 1: published in the Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and 467 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 1: Archaeological Society, kind of destroyed the entire Bediscombe skull story. 468 00:29:12,060 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: Because in Causey's estimation, this was not the skull of 469 00:29:14,860 --> 00:29:17,390 Speaker 1: a man who had died in the 18th century. It 470 00:29:17,430 --> 00:29:20,900 Speaker 1: was dated as being much older, perhaps thousands of years old. 471 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: And it was also determined to be a woman's skull, 472 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:28,140 Speaker 1: most likely European, who had been between 25 and 30 473 00:29:28,140 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: when she died. So now that would mean there is 474 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,530 Speaker 1: another nameless person attached to the skull. But honestly, we 475 00:29:34,570 --> 00:29:37,050 Speaker 1: know as much or more about her than the mystery 476 00:29:37,150 --> 00:29:39,970 Speaker 1: enslaved person who may or may not have ever existed. 477 00:29:40,310 --> 00:29:44,209 Speaker 1: at Bediscombe Manor. Yeah, and so if his assertion is 478 00:29:44,290 --> 00:29:46,850 Speaker 1: correct in this paper, that would mean this person has 479 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:51,190 Speaker 1: absolutely nothing to do with Nevis. Because if it's a 480 00:29:51,260 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: woman whose skull is thousands of years old, she would 481 00:29:54,440 --> 00:30:01,490 Speaker 1: have died in Dorset. In that general area, at least. Yes. Yes. 482 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: And remember, Udall is the one who is like, I 483 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:05,740 Speaker 1: bet they brought that skull back from Nevis. And he 484 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: just kind of was putting pieces of a puzzle together 485 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 1: that were basically white blanks that he was drawing on. 486 00:30:15,460 --> 00:30:19,650 Speaker 1: In 1999, a man named Christopher Marsden Smedley, a descendant 487 00:30:19,850 --> 00:30:23,990 Speaker 1: of Azariah Penny, appeared on the BBC series Untold Britain's 488 00:30:24,150 --> 00:30:27,150 Speaker 1: Slave Trade, which examined the role that slavery played in 489 00:30:27,210 --> 00:30:32,380 Speaker 1: establishing many of the economic successes of Britain. Marsden Smedley 490 00:30:32,620 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 1: emphasized on that program that while the Penny family did 491 00:30:36,020 --> 00:30:39,960 Speaker 1: definitely have enslaved people on their plantation, they were not 492 00:30:40,220 --> 00:30:43,140 Speaker 1: a part of the slave trade as a business. Yeah. 493 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: They were not out there actually, uh, dealing in, uh, 494 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: human bodies for their own personal gain. Today, the Bediscombe 495 00:30:53,620 --> 00:30:57,020 Speaker 1: skull is kept in an inset wall cabinet in the 496 00:30:57,060 --> 00:31:00,620 Speaker 1: Bediscombe farmhouse. It is unfortunately not open to the public, 497 00:31:01,110 --> 00:31:03,050 Speaker 1: but perhaps if you go ask for a glass of milk, 498 00:31:03,090 --> 00:31:08,370 Speaker 1: it'll be an entree into a conversation. Um, Those are 499 00:31:08,410 --> 00:31:10,470 Speaker 1: two screaming skulls. That means we have plenty more to 500 00:31:10,510 --> 00:31:12,790 Speaker 1: talk about in the future. Yeah. I don't have any 501 00:31:12,830 --> 00:31:15,410 Speaker 1: plans to do it this Halloween season, but one never 502 00:31:15,490 --> 00:31:19,630 Speaker 1: knows what could come up later on. Do you have 503 00:31:19,650 --> 00:31:23,500 Speaker 1: some listener mail for us? I do. I do. This 504 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: one is from our listener, Shauna, who just made me 505 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: laugh and laugh. Shauna writes, Hello, ladies. I could not 506 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,590 Speaker 1: believe when y'all mentioned Baby Alive in a recent behind-the-scenes episode. 507 00:31:35,070 --> 00:31:37,550 Speaker 1: I'm listening September 20th. I'm a bit behind and it 508 00:31:37,590 --> 00:31:40,070 Speaker 1: happens to be my birthday. Well, we're a bit behind 509 00:31:40,110 --> 00:31:43,210 Speaker 1: in wishing you happy birthday. I hope it was wonderful. 510 00:31:43,830 --> 00:31:45,710 Speaker 1: As soon as you mentioned it, I called my mother 511 00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:48,460 Speaker 1: because she got me a baby alive for my eighth birthday. 512 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,220 Speaker 1: I hadn't thought of that thing in years. My recollection 513 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:54,820 Speaker 1: was that I took it everywhere and kept diapers in 514 00:31:54,860 --> 00:31:58,260 Speaker 1: my backpack. Her recollection is that it was super gross 515 00:31:58,350 --> 00:32:00,270 Speaker 1: and she kind of hated how much I loved it. 516 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: I think that was probably a pretty common feeling among 517 00:32:03,340 --> 00:32:06,940 Speaker 1: parents whose children had baby alive. Shauna writes, thank you 518 00:32:06,980 --> 00:32:10,190 Speaker 1: for this hilarious and delightful memory. Well, delightful for me. 519 00:32:10,370 --> 00:32:12,890 Speaker 1: I think my mom wishes I hadn't reminded her. And 520 00:32:12,930 --> 00:32:15,190 Speaker 1: thank you for being my favorite podcast. I'm so grateful 521 00:32:15,310 --> 00:32:18,530 Speaker 1: for the work y'all do. All the best, Shauna. Shauna, 522 00:32:18,590 --> 00:32:20,030 Speaker 1: I love this. I love that I was not the 523 00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:22,660 Speaker 1: only person who was like, baby alive and got really excited. 524 00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:26,950 Speaker 1: Because listen. The toys of my youth are still very 525 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,060 Speaker 1: delightful to me. My husband and I collect toys. We 526 00:32:30,100 --> 00:32:31,959 Speaker 1: have a lot of them in the house. So I'm 527 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,540 Speaker 1: always delighted to hear that other people have fun memories 528 00:32:34,620 --> 00:32:38,620 Speaker 1: kicked off by my blathering about the toy world. If 529 00:32:38,660 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, talk about your toys, 530 00:32:40,980 --> 00:32:43,580 Speaker 1: because I'm here for that for sure. You can do 531 00:32:43,620 --> 00:32:47,780 Speaker 1: that at historypodcast at iheartradio.com. If you would like to 532 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: look at the show notes for this episode or any 533 00:32:50,580 --> 00:32:54,010 Speaker 1: of our episodes, you can find those at missedinhistory.com. Just 534 00:32:54,050 --> 00:32:56,590 Speaker 1: click in the episode link and you will find all 535 00:32:56,610 --> 00:32:59,430 Speaker 1: of the resources we used in putting these together. If 536 00:32:59,470 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 1: you would like to subscribe to the podcast, that is 537 00:33:01,940 --> 00:33:04,220 Speaker 1: as easy as can be. Anybody can do it. Even 538 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 1: a monkey can do it. You can do that on 539 00:33:06,100 --> 00:33:09,240 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 540 00:33:14,590 --> 00:33:17,700 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 541 00:33:17,980 --> 00:33:22,530 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 542 00:33:22,690 --> 00:33:24,610 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.