younger brother reported the heir as dead long before he was released from his sufferings, and thus obtained possession of the property. It is added, that during one of his lucid intervals, the prisoner pronounced a curse upon the family of the Barcrofts, to the effect that the name should perish for ever, and that the property should pass into other hands. Some rude scribblings on one of the walls of the cellars are still pointed out as the work of the captive; and his curse is said to have been fulfilled in the person of Thomas Barcroft, who died in 1688 without male issue.[1] After passing through the hands of the Bradshaws, the Pimlots, and the Isherwoods, the property was finally sold to Charles Towneley, Esq., the celebrated antiquary, in 1795.
BERNSHAW TOWER AND LADY SYBIL.
Bernshaw Tower, formerly a small fortified house, is now in ruins, little else than the foundations being visible above the surface. It stood in one of the many beautiful ravines branching off from the great gorge of Cliviger, about five miles from Burnley, and not far from the noted Eagle's Crag. Its last owner, and heiress, was celebrated for her wealth and beauty: she was intellectual beyond most of her sex, and frequently visited the Eagle's Crag in order to study nature and admire the varied aspects of the surrounding country. On these occasions she often felt a strong desire to possess super-
- ↑ In Dr Whitaker's pedigree of this family, William Barcroft, a lunatic, is stated to have died in 1641. His elder brother, Robert, died in 1647. His younger brother, Thomas, had one son, who died in 1642, and five daughters.
