• Who were the Pendle witches?

Posted: **Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:51 pm**

The question was brought to my mind when the BBC published this:

'Witch's cottage' unearthed near Pendle Hill, Lancashire

Engineers have said they were "stunned" to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a cat skeleton, during a construction project in Lancashire.

The cottage was discovered near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

Archaeologists brought in by United Utilities to survey the area found the building under a grass mound.

Historians are now speculating that the well-preserved cottage could have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.

The building contained a sealed room, with the bones of a cat bricked into the wall.

It is believed the cat was buried alive to protect the cottage's inhabitants from evil spirits.

'Tutankhamen's tomb'

Carl Sanders, United Utilities' project manager, said: "It's not often you come across a fairytale cottage complete with witch's cat.

"The building is in remarkable condition. You can walk through it and get a real sense that you're peering into the past.

"Pendle Hill has a real aura about it, and it's hard not to be affected by the place.

"Even before we discovered the building, there were lots of jokes from the lads about broomsticks and black cats. The find has really stunned us all."

Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle witches, said: "In terms of significance, it's like discovering Tutankhamen's tomb.

"We are just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, right in the heart of witching country. This could well be the famous Malkin Tower - which has been a source of speculation and rumour for centuries.

"Cats feature prominently in folklore about witches. Whoever consigned this cat to such a horrible fate was clearly seeking protection from evil spirits."

'Something special'

United Utilities routinely brings in experts before turning the topsoil in areas believed to have archaeological significance.

Frank Giecco, from NP Archaeology, who unearthed the building, said: "It's like discovering your own little Pompeii. We rarely get the opportunity to work with something so well preserved.

"As soon as we started digging, we found the tops of doors, and knew we were on to something special.

"The building is a microcosm for the rise and fall of this area, from the time of the Pendle witches to the industrial age. There are layers of local history right before your eyes."

The building also contains a 19th Century kitchen range, still in its original position.

Many artefacts from the building's latter years, such as Victorian crockery, a tin bath and a bedstead, were discovered around the site.

Posted: **Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:06 pm**

The Pendle Witch Trial of 1612

Does anyone know what parts—if any—are true, what parts—likewise—are false? Gotham, you seem the most adept at this. Have you heard of these legends?

Much of what I’ve read seems Hollywood-ized—or what inspired Hollywood, at least.

No offense is meant to wiccans or others. It was just a news story that caught my interest.

Posted: **Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:27 am**

I am reluctant to offer too much commentary, as I'm a bit unconventional as far as practitioners go. That is, I'm not from any grand tradition and am very much a product of my (very, very modern) times.

There are a few things known, but I suppose a few things must be remembered.

1: Most writings on witches are by Christians who barely understood a thing about them in many cases.

2: Witchcraft is a pretty blanket term. What renaissance humanists practiced was not what English peasants practiced (or pretended to practice). It's true now (I'm a pracittioner, but I'm neither Wiccan nor neopagan) and it was true then.

These women lived and died at a time where fear of witches not only existed in Europe, but was quite strong. After James I's ascension to the throne about twenty years prior, he had developed an interest in, and subsequent fear that witches (Scottish ones) were plotting against him. The death penalty had been put in place for anyone proven to have killed someone via witchcraft - even though most evidence was of course, flimsy.

Lancanshire was considered a lawless backwater where theft, violence, and sex supposedly reigned, and understanding of Christian doctrine was limited. Considering the amount of territory that the parish of Whalley covered - over a hundred square miles - part of the lack of understanding stemmed from the parish's inability to administer teachings to such a large area. Lancanshire also had a much higher rate of witch trials than other counties - the Pendle trials alone resulted in 2% of all those killed in 15th-16th century with trials. Despite similar economic and religious conditions, neighboring Cheshire had a grand total of 47 people charged, of which only 11 were were ever convicted guilty.

However, to make this somewhat more confusing, 'folk witchcraft' was quite common in rural England, with any number of those who specialized in healing, love magic, and the like about. Some of course just found it easy to make a living to be a witch. Witchcraft, thus, did not just appear in a vacuum - there had been some form of 'folk religion' (pardon the term for those who are religiously sensitive) for some years.

The investigation into the Pendle witches occurred originally due to an investigation related to people who avoided going to church to attend mass and receive communion - a crime punishable by death in early 1612. A Justice of the Peace had caught wind that a pedlar had been made lame by a woman after refusing to sell her something - something that she supposed confessed to, as well as worshiping Satan.

This of course snowballed into a series of further accusations towards family members of the original confessee - one Alizon Device - by one another. A series of confessions of murder or harm upon others led the matter to be taken to a higher court for charges of maleficium, where the Pendle group, as well as one from Samlesbury were put on trial.

The end result saw 11 hangings amongst the Pendle and Samlesbury groups and one sentence to the pillory. This included Elizabeth Southerns (aka Dembike), her daughter Elizabeth, her son James, and her granddaughter, Alizon Device - the original hexer who resulted in all of this coming to the authories' attention. Alizon was reported to sincerely believe that her victim's fall was her doing. Ironically, Dembike's daughter, Bennet Device, who had helped condemn members of her family to death, may have also been later convicted of withcraft. Also executed were Anne Whittle (alias Chattox), whose family was possibly in competition with Dembike's for business.

The short of it is it's difficult to say with certainly what happened, though it seems factual that these people were executed. Whether they were truly 'witches' or simply what the British called 'Cunning Folk' - those who posed as witches to beg, extort, or earn coin through services remains to be seen. Both Chattox and Dembike had been noted to be practicing witchcraft for most of their adult lives (and both were in their 70s-80s). Why those families were so willing to confess (I haven't found record of physical coercion to get it out of them) is a mystery as well.

From a practitioner point of view, however, there are some 'genuine' elements in the claims. The sacrifice of cats to ward evil spirits is a common one, something my father told me that his mother used to do - whether it works, I don't know, though I have heard it argued that it's the act of the ritual, not the specifics of what is sacrificed, which does the work. The claims demonstrated, technically, are probably all possible... but any number of things can cause floods, falls, unleavened bread, etc.

The skinny is I'd take it with some skepticism until proof comes about otherwise - difficult for an investigator of the paranormal.

Hope that's of some help.

PS: You can call me Mel or Melissa if you'd like, Rowan.. Seems like everyone else does around here.

Posted: **Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:39 pm**

a thought Well it would be vary hard to prove one way or anther at this point. witch can mean a lot of things to different people. in some ways it is rather like the term pagan or christian that can describe people of many different thealagis and then there is the realm of the packet witch... which is where some one makes a packet with something. in exchange for power and offers something in Return could be life long serves there soul there first born.... ect... it could also mean to those whom where good with herbs charms and potions... or it could be they fallowed the old religion... as for you mel in the broadest terms because you practice sorcery you could also be described as a witch...

Where those women and men some form of witch.... I would kind of doubt it.. rember I am am a hereditary druid. My family often found it easier to hide in plain sight by taking the trappings of Christianity.....

with the Renounces and the rise of the age of reason we where able to hide in the early science. religion and Science made it easier for use to use or skills in order to help others as holy men and men of science are expected to help people with illnesses

Who were the Pendle witches?

Who were the Pendle witches?

A strange answer.

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