The Lancashire Witch hunt (1604-13)

• Mortality rates in England were lower in the 17th century than in the preceding three centuries, decline of incidences of the plague in the early 17th century
• The population of Pendle was around 400 at the beginning of the 17th century
• 1601- Anne Whittle(Old Chattox) and Elizabeth Southerns(Old Demdike) fell out


  1. Theft of clothing and grain from Alizon Device (granddaughter of Old Demdike) worth 20 shillings

  2. Alizon claimed that she saw Anne Redferne, daughter of Old Chattox and wife to Thomas Redferne, wearing a stolen cap and band

  3. Both families argued about accounts of theft

  4. Old Chattox offered a settlement to John Device, father of Alizon Device, he promised to pay her a yearly tribute of grain

  5. Settled the situation until John's death a few years later
• Old Demdike and Old chattox were very opposite, to which any person one liked the other hated
• Upland pastoral economy


  Limited crop farming, mainly focused on the production of oats, thriving cloth industry, many families engaged in the manufacture of cloth or cattle rearing
• As with other witch trials, any suspect accused of damaging cattle was given the same punishment as people, which shows how valuable cattle was in the economy of Pendle, due to the income gained at the cattle markets in Colne, 6 miles from Pendle
• Cows were valuable


  £3 a cow at the Colne markets, about 6 months pay for a skilled manual labourer in the early 17th century
• From the early 16th century to the early 17th century, inflation rose to landowners and on agricultural goods by 39%. Many had to pay forest entry fines and rents found that their economic situation became strained, with many tenants fearing the threat of eviction
• Clashes with the duchy of Lancaster


  1. Copyholders (someone who worked in labour on the land of a lord and could occupy small landholdings in the lord's manors) had a falling out with the duchy of Lancaster as the lawyers wanted to profit off these copyholders

  2. Copyholders stated they had little funds to give to the duchy of Lancaster, which added to economic tensions that existed in the community

  3. 1609- copyholders were forced to pay a 12 year sum of rent to confirm their rights and privileges, many copyholders were forced to sell or mortgage part of their land
• This is why in Pendle many would not be keen to pay charity to beggars who would be accused of witchcraft
• Reformation in Lancashire did not affect the region as negatively as other places. Atypical reason for witch hunt to break out as only small minor occurrences of Catholic altercations occurred in Pendle. Many stated catholics hidden in Lancashire however
• Older witches charged with saying corrupted catholic prayers so reformation may have only had a limited impact on many people
• One case of Supernatural in the Pendle forest 1594, in the household of Nicholas Starkie of Huntroyd. From this came George Mores work 'A discoverie concerning the possession and dispossession of 7 persons of one family in Lancashire' in 1600, which was used as guidelines for the Lancashire trials in 1612
• White Magic


  Blurred lines between witchcraft and the work of village healers, who used helpful, white magic. Old Demdike and Old chattox seem to have used 'white' magic as well as maleficium
• Witchcraft statute in 1604

  Before 1604, more traditional framework to any court hearing. Treated acts of witchcraft the same way as robbers and murderers. Impact of the 1604 witchcraft statute - James I obsession was an important catalyst in reforming witchcraft legislation, interviewing many suspected witches in person. Any attempt or act of conjuring spells was capital crime
• John Law


  • Made an initial accusation against Alizon Device to have bewitched him
• Alizon Device


  • Granddaughter of Old Demdike. Admitted to asking a familiar to curse John Law. Hanged
• Abraham Law


  • Son to John Law. Reported the bewitching of his father to Roger Nowell
• Thomas Potts


  • Wrote an account of the events and the trials in his work 'The wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the county of Lancaster'
• Anne Whittle (Old chattox)


  • Convicted witch in the trials. Accused of bewitching cows that belonged to Hugh Moore and Anthony Nutter, which appeared to favour Old Chattox's family rival Old Demdike
• Elizabeth Southerns(Old Demdike)


  • Died in custody. Head of the Demdikes. Grandparent to Alizon Device
• Roger Nowell


  • Local magistrate. Wanted to make this witch hunt a noticeable case. Prosecuted the suspects and used child witnesses for the first time. Central to the case and compiling the evidence. He was 62 in 1612, an experienced JP and local landowner. Connections with high profile protestants
• Jennet Device


  • Granddaughter to Old Demdike. Gave evidence against the family. Was only 9 years old
• James Device


  • Grandson to Old Demdike. Hanged
• Elizabeth Whittle, daughter to Old Chattox


  • Accused, alongside her mother Old Chattox, of killing a cow owned by John Nutter after she begged him for a dish of milk
• Anne Redferne


  • Husband to Thomas Redferne. Daughter of Old Chattox. Accused previously of stealing from Alizon Device. Hanged
• Kathrine Hewitt (Mouldheels)


  • Convicted witch in the trials
• George More


  • 'A discoverie concerning the possession and dispossession of 7 persons of one family in Lancashire' 1600. Used as guidelines for the trial
• James I


  • Introduced the witchcraft statute in 1604- capital offence to be a user of witchcraft or spells
• Jennet Preston


  • Released from previous witchcraft suspicions in York. Hanged
• Sir James Altham


  • Baron of the exchequer (senior important judge). Led the court trials and sent 10 people to death
• Sir Edward Bromley


  • Baron of the exchequer. Led the court trials and sent 10 people to death. Invited Roger Nowell and Thomas Potts to be involved in the court proceedings
• March 1612- Alizon Device meets Pedlar John Law and is accused of bewitching him


  1. Alizon was begging on the Pendle forest road to Colne, and asked him for some pins. He declined and she acted angrily, to which he then suffered a great pain down his side of his body (a stroke) and was unable to speak. Claimed he saw a familiar of a black dog and Alizon briefly appeared to him

  2. Alizon at her testimony stated that she told the familiar that showed up immediately after the altercation to 'lame' John Law but was shocked it happened so quickly. Thomas Potts, the man who published each step of these trials in Lancashire, made this look like a witch retaliation
• March 29th 1612- Abraham Law, son of John Law, takes Alizon to his father and she seeks forgiveness and is given it


  1. Abraham, not happy, informs local magistrate Roger Nowell

  2. Abraham Law accused Alizon of bewitching his father

  3. Alizon interrogated by Nowell using torture methods (sleep deprivation, pricking, etc). Confessed she spoke with a black dog to hurt John Law
• Nowell could press charges now but Alizon went into further details, telling Nowell Old Demdike (grandma) persuaded her to take on a familiar


  1. Told 3 other examples of Demdike's witchcraft:

  2. Local farmer John Nutter's cow became ill. Demdike has a reputation with white magic, asked by Nutter to heal the cow. Old Demdike is blind so Alizon took her there. Cow died the next morning, Alizon claimed she bewitched it

  3. Alizon claimed Old Demdike turned some milk into butter

  4. Feud between her and Richard Baldwin. Old Demdike needed assistance to leave the house. Next day Baldwin's daughter became ill and died a year later. Alizon claimed she was cursing the daughter
• Alizon told Nowell about rivalry- said Old chattox and Old Demdike both witches but Old chattox worse
• 2nd April 1612- Old Demdike, Old Chattox and Anne Redferne (daughter to Old Chattox) detained and questioned


  1. Nowell brought local women to testify against them

  2. Old Demdike could not say Jesus' name. Confession most likely under torture. Claimed to have a familiar called Tibb

  3. Old chattox claimed she gave her soul to a stranger. Had a familiar called 'fancie', encouraged her to hurt people

  4. Anne Redferne was not questioned to a level as them
• 10 April 1612- The meeting at Malkin Tower, home of Old Demdike


  1. Lead to more accusations

  2. JP Hargreaves visited Malkin Tower with James Device, brother to Alizon. Found clay models and teeth, suspected witchcraft

  3. Jennet Device, who was 9 years old, told the court that James Device killed a sheep to be eaten at a coven at Malkin Tower. Said 20 witches were present. Named 6 then named more later
• List of those present at Malkin Tower

  • Elizabeth Device, daughter of Old Demdike
  • James Device, son of Elizabeth
  • Jennet Device, daughter of Elizabeth
  • Christopher Howgate, son of Old Demdike
  • Elizabeth Howgate, his wife
  • Jennet Hargreaves
  • Alice Nutter
  • Christopher Hargreaves
  • Elizabeth Hargreaves
  • John Bulcock
  • Jane Bulcock, his mother
  • Alice Gray
  • Katherine Hewitt
  • Anne Cronkshaw
  • Grace Hay
  • Jennet Preston, recently released from trial in York
• Only 11 people were detained, John and Jane Bulcok, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, Alice Gray, Elizabeth and James Device