The story goes that he was en route to meet a friend at a local inn. When he failed to show up at the agreed time, his friend set out to find him. His final words were reported to have been, "Oh Jamie, Jamie, they have robbed me" - a reference to his friend Jamie Burrell who found him shortly before the fatal shot to his head ended his life.

Although a man was accused of the murder at the time, no one was ever convicted of the crime and it remains unsolved to this day.

(With thanks to Robin Smith of the Friends of Smithills Hall for his kind help in researching this page and to  Bill Learmouth for the photographs of the stump).