28-06-2025
The dark secrets of Bolton's past uncovered to mark National Crime Month
The intriguing dark chapters of Bolton's history have to come to light once again to mark National Crime Month.
Bolton Library is marking the month with a series of events, including visits by crime authors - and a trip to the archives where secrets of the town's past dating back to the 1500s are kept.
(Image: Leah Collins) The tour, which was led by archivist Caroline Furey, shows Bolton Library and Museum's collection of historical, court, business and church records taking back to 1525.
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Located under the Grade II listed building on Le Mans Crescent, the Bolton archives currently have two miles worth of shelving, with about three miles in total when combined with Bolton documents stored at other sites.
The tours are led by archivist Caroline Furey. (Image: Leah Collins) Other records include old newspaper articles from the Bolton Chronicle, including detailed court coverage of previous crimes of the past.
Caroline said: 'These sessions are ongoing to get people interested in the work we do here at the archives. A lot of people don't even know that they exist under here.
'Bolton library was actually the third public library in the country, so people here really did have a thirst for knowledge.'
One of the documents in the collection include an indictment file relating to a 15-year-old pickpocket, James Costello, who was prosecuted for stealing a silver box containing coins from a lady in Bolton.
The tours are proving popular with residents for National Crime Month. (Image: Leah Collins) Old court records show that he pleaded guilty to the offences and was transported for ten years to Tasmania.
Police records describe James as 'bad and idle, bad in every respect' with records from his time in Tasmania describing an incident when he purposefully damaged his boots so that he couldn't work.
Other records detail an Anges Lawless, who stole £5 from her employer in Bolton in 1881 and was sentenced to six months of hard labour as a result.
Records from an old police book detail the crimes of James Costello. (Image: Leah Collins) A rather unusual case detailed in the records was Betty Eccles, an elderly lady from Bolton who was convicted for poisoning children with arsenic.
Caroline said: 'We have lots of information on the criminals here in Bolton. With James, we know that he passed away in 1892 aged 66, which is a long life for someone of the time.
'We are keen to get in contact with anybody in Tasmania who might be part of his ancestry.
The Bolton Library archives have about two miles of shelves in total. (Image: Leah Collins)
'All the information kept in the archives has to be original, and it must be about Bolton. We are keen not to have information that is duplicated and, in the case, when collections become too big to store, we would have to keep a sample.
'It is not all digitalised, this would be a massive job. Some stuff has been digitalised, it's normally external companies that come and do this for us, but it is a long and slow process.'
Also discussed was the 1838 murder of Scotch traveller, George Henderson, on Winter Hill.
He had set off early one morning across the cloud-shrouded hill, but never arrived at his destination. Later that day, a young boy found him moaning in a ditch, grievously injured by a gunshot to his head, which hours later claimed his life.
The man charged with his murder was acquitted, so it's a crime that remains unsolved to this day.
Crime author Shari Lapena will be at Bolton Library on July 16 and free tickets available on Eventbrite.
