The Pendle Witches
In August 1612 more than 19 people were charged with witchcraft at Lancaster Assizes, and ten from the Pendle Area of Lancashire were sentenced to death. The key witness in the case was a nine year old girl, and three of the people executed as a result of her testimony were her own mother, sister and brother.
Waymark 7 of The Lancashire Witches Walk at Caton Windfarm in Lancashire.
The 51 mile walk, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches trial and hangings in 1612, runs between Barrowford and Lancaster Castle. Ten cast iron waymarkers created by Stephen Raw have been positioned along the route with each waymarker commemorating one of the "witches".
This waymark at Caton is dedicated to Anne Redferne. Each waymark is inscribed with one tercet of The Lancashire Witches poem by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
Tercet 7 reads:
'below which Demdike, Chattox, shrieked,
like hags, unloved, an underclass,
badly fed, unwell
Their eyes were red.'
Tercet 8, The Lancashire Witches Walk, Crook O'Lune, Halton, Lancashire.
The 51 mile walk, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches trial and hangings in 1612, runs between Barrowford and Lancaster Castle. Ten cast iron waymarkers created by Stephen Raw have been positioned along the route with each waymarker commemorating one of the 'witches'.
This waymark at the Crook O'Lune is dedicated to Jane Bulcock. Each waymark is inscribed with one tercet of 'The Lancashire Witches' poem by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
TERCET 8:
"But that was then- when difference
made ghouls of neighbours; child beggars,
feral, filthy, threatened in their cowls."
Tercet 8 of The Lancashire Witches Walk beside East Railway Bridge at the Crook O'Lune, Halton, Lancashire.
Waymark 9 of The Lancashire Witches Walk at the Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park, Lancaster, Lancashire.
The 51 mile walk, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches trial and hangings in 1612, runs between Barrowford and Lancaster Castle.
Ten cast iron waymarkers created by Stephen Raw have been positioned along the route with each waymarker commemorating one of the 10 "witches" hung on Gallows Hill in Lancaster. This waymark in Williamson Park points towards Lancaster Castle where they were "tried" without counsel, and is dedicated to Anne Whittle.
Each waymark is inscribed with one tercet of The Lancashire Witches poem by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
TERCET 9:
"Grim skies, the grey remorse of rain;.sunset’s crimson shame; four seasons,.centuries, turning, in Lancashire,"
The main doorway to the 1625 Judges Lodgings on Church Street, Lancaster.
This building, Lancaster's oldest town house was originally home to Thomas Covell, Keeper of Lancaster Castle, whose investigation brought the Pendle Witches to their death in 1612. From 1776-1975 the house was a residence for judges visiting the Assize Court at the Castle.
The Union Flag flies at half-mast on the Gatehouse of Lancaster Castle in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11, the Duke of Lancaster (21 April 1926
- 8 September 2022).
A carpet of crocus in front of the Gatehouse of Lancaster Castle in Lancashire.
The Romans built the first of at least 3 military forts on the site in 79AD. In 1093, Roger de Poitou, built a small motte and bailey castle here which was replaced fifty years later by the large stone keep still standing today. The castle was used as a prison from 1196 until March 2011. The famous Pendle Witches were imprisoned and tried here in 1612. They were not allowed any defence counsel or witnesses. Ten were hung on Gallows Hill near the site of Williamson Park. The Crown Court is the oldest working court-room in Britain and has seen more death sentences passed than any other in the UK.
Waymark 10 of The Lancashire Witches Walk at Lancaster Castle, Lancaster, Lancashire.
The 51 mile walk, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches trial and hangings in 1612, runs between Barrowford and Lancaster Castle. Ten cast iron waymarkers created by Stephen Raw have been positioned along the route with each waymarker commemorating one of the 10 "witches" hung on Gallows Hill in Lancaster. This final waymark pointing to the castle where they were "tried" without counsel, is dedicated to James Device.
Each waymark is inscribed with one tercet of The Lancashire Witches poem by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
TERCET 10:
"away from Castle, Jury, Judge,.huge crowd, rough rope, short drop, no grave;.only future tourists who might grieve."
Golgotha: 'Place of the Skull' is an area on the outskirts of Lancaster where executions took place, including the Pendle Witches.
Tercet 5, The Lancashire Witches Walk, Slaidburn in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.
The 51 mile walk, created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches trial and hangings in 1612, runs between Barrowford and Lancaster Castle. Ten cast iron waymarkers created by Stephen Raw have been positioned along the route with each waymarker commemorating one of the "witches".
This waymark at Slaidburn is dedicated to Alice Nutter.
Each waymark is inscribed with one tercet of 'The Lancashire Witches' poem by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
TERCET 5:
"At daylight’s gate, the things we fear
darken and form. That tree, that rock,
a slattern’s shape with the devil’s dog."
EXTERNAL WEBSITE : Lancashire Witch Trials