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Meeting.....
Earlier that year, while begging near Colne, Alizon Device
came upon a pedlar who refused to give her some pins.
Suddenly a fierce, black dog appeared which Alizon ordered
to lame the pedlar. He immediately fell to the ground,
paralysed down the whole of his left side.
Accusation.....
Alizon Device was accused of witchcraft and taken before
Roger Nowell the Justice at Read Hall. During questioning,
Alizon implicated herself, her infamous grandmother (Demdike)
and Chattox in the deaths of a number of people in and
around Pendle. Alizon claimed that Demdike had taught
her how to call a spirit to do her bidding (hence the
black dog) and that she had seen Chattox using a clay
image to bring about the demise of a small child.
Interrogation.....
Alizon’s revelations resulted in herself, Demdike,
Chattox and her daughter Anne being interrogated at Ashlar
House in Fence. It was here that both Demdike and Chattox
freely confessed to being witches. They described the
spirits they used to carry out their evil deeds and how
they brought about harm to their victims by sticking pins
into clay images. As a result of their confessions, the
four witches were detained and sent for trial at Lancaster.
Plot.....
On Good Friday 1612, a Great Assembly and Feast of witches
took place at Malkin Tower, the home of Demdike. Its purpose
was to plot the release of those awaiting trial at Lancaster
and to murder the gaoler. News of the gathering soon spread
and once it reached the ears of Roger Nowell he again
took steps to investigate. Nowell’s enquiries led
to more witches being sent for trial and to additional
allegations being made against those already held. Demdike
and Chattox were further accused of robbing a Newchurch
graveyard when bones and clay images were uncovered at
Malkin Tower.
Trial.....
The trial of the Pendle witches took only a few
days. It culminated on the 20th of August 1612 with their
public execution at Lancaster.
Index
The
Island Magee Witches
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