Witch hunting

"What's that over the hill?" asked Ian. I turned my gaze from the fields below and squinted at the bright April sky. Four small but distinct shapes were visible, silhouetted against the clouds. Soaring over the hill's brow the dark figures danced and weaved catching the wind's currents and then dropped down to the valley below. I turned to my guide, for the Pendle witch experience tour, unsure of what I'd seen. "You get a lot of para-gliders on Pendle Hill" he chuckled.

Deep within the foothills and valleys of East Lancashire and the Ribble Valley are the tiny hamlets and villages which played such a key role in the fascinating and haunting story of the Pendle witch trials, and I’d travelled to this wild and beautiful part of the country to discover more about the mysterious events of 1612.

Walking with witches

The story centres on the activities of two old matriarchs, Demdike and Chattox, whose existence depended on offering cures to local villagers. It was on a cold lonely road to Colne on a March day in 1612 as a man collapsed to the ground paralysed that the story began. His name was John Law, a pedlar from Halifax, and just moments before Demdike’s granddaughter, Alison Device, had cursed him. He would not give her the pins her grandmother wanted for a spell.

Pursued by a determined magistrate and coupled with accusation and gossip, events spiralled out of control for the two families, nine of whom were eventually found guilty of witchcraft and hanged at Lancaster Assize.

In the beginning

So, where to begin this supernatural odyssey? A good place to start is the Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford, a beautifully renovated museum and visitor centre which provides excellent background information about the story. But what I really wanted to do, accompanied by Ian, my guide, was explore the surrounding landscape and see for myself the wild beauty of this incredible setting where such strange events are alleged to have taken place – among the stone-clad walls, outhouses and fields in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

Driving toward snow capped hills, along winding country lanes, past farmers' fields, and through the tiny hamlets and villages, it wasn’t hard to imagine a more lawless time, when in local eyes witchcraft was a very real and frightening practice, fueling rumour and hearsay from settlement to settlement. Particularly when the King of England, James I, was himself obsessed with such practices and had gone as far as writing a book on the subject, Daemonology.

A strange brew

To the north of Barrowford, up a steep country track is Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, situated close to the ruins of Malkin Tower, home of Demdike and the Devices. It was here in April 1612 an investigator was sent and unearthed human bones, stolen from graves in nearby Newchurch. As I surveyed the spectacular landscape surrounding Malkin Tower Farm, the proprietors, Rachel and Andrew Turner, told me about their recent discovery of ruins on their land and their attempts to establish them as the original site of Malkin Tower. It seems there may be another chapter of this story to be told.

After bidding farewell to the Turners we drove on to the village of Newchurch, a key site in the story. If you visit the village, have a look for the Eye of God built into the stone of the church’s tower to ward off evil. It is said that Demdike sent her grandson James to the church to bring her back some communion bread. On his return journey he is supposed to have met “a thing in the shape of a hare” which threatened to pull him to pieces for failing to deliver the bread. While in Newchurch an essential port of call is the Witches Galore shop, a veritable witches grotto of books trinkets and toys!

As we continued our journey around Pendle Hill, Ian pointed out various landmarks and sites of importance, such as Moss End Farm, home to Jane Bullock, who testified at the witches trail and Roughlee, home to Alice Nutter, who lived at Crowtrees Farm. Accused of witchcraft and attending a witches Sabbath at Malkin Tower, Alice remained silent throughout the trial - perhaps she was a Catholic wishing to hide attending a Catholic mass.

The legacy

Making your way through this often wild, but beguiling land is a strange experience. The sensation of the past and of time stood still is everywhere you look, from the atmospheric and brooding landscape to the limestone farmhouses, and the rivers and tracks which weave between villages such as Blacko and Roughlee.

No witch sightings for me then, but as I travelled through the breathtaking scenery under the watchful eye of Pendle Hill, it was difficult to have little else but sympathy for the witches of Pendle. Were they malevolent people possessed by supernatural powers, or the innocent victims of a time obsessed with the pursuit and punishment of witchcraft? Certainly the dividing line between magic and religion was not clear cut in the 17th century. So maybe that’s a question you should ask yourself, but only after you’ve paid a visit to Pendle!

Thanks to Brenda Kean who organised my Pendle Witch Experience Tour, one of four tours available including special photography experience tours.
 
To book a tour with Brenda contact: pendlewitchexperience@yahoo.co.uk 
or visit the website: www.pendlewitchexperience.com

Find out more about the Pendle Witches