The Chilling True Story of the Pendle Witch Trials

Join host, Alice Loxton, as she delves deep into the mysterious and haunting story of the Pendle Witch Trials that took place in 17th-century England. Alice speaks to local historian Simon Entwistle and Lancaster Castle's Museum Manager, Dr. Colin Penny to shed light on the secrets and significance of this chilling trial.

Alice steps back in time to explore the landscapes of Pendle Hill, the ordinary town which became the heart of witchcraft allegations in Lancashire. She finds out how fear, superstition, and religious tensions conspired to ignite one of the most infamous witch trials in English history.

She spends time learning the real stories of Alice Nutter, Elizabeth Device, and other women who were entangled in the web of accusations and examines the evidence against the accused, exploring potential motivations behind their persecution.

Film directed by Mark Bowsher.

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[ursulaclark]

We live in the house of an alleged 19th century Yorkshire witch. Investigating her history uncovered a very curious story and previously unknown family connections to the Pendle Witches.

For over 150 years nothing much was known about her life other than the enduring accusations of witchcraft based on the flimsiest of anecdotal stories. Eventually I was able to establish her maiden name, the key to many a genealogical impasse. I discovered she was born Margaret Clark, sharing our family name and, astonishingly, more besides. The stories turned out to be malicious gossip, seemingly related to money and inheritance, but they clearly hit home. After her death, Margaret (or her surviving family) went so far as to have the accusations alluded to on her gravestone in the village churchyard.

In 2016, whilst I was researching her life I also discovered that, far from being the ‘incomers’ we believed ourselves to be when we relocated here in the 1990s, our family has historic connections to the village dating back to the early 1700s. We now know that one of my husband’s direct ancestors was the corn miller here in Margaret’s lifetime.

Not only that, but Margaret was related to that ancestor, albeit distantly through marriage, which of course means that Margaret turns out to be part of our wider family tree too.

Following the revelations of my husband’s ancestry in the village I began to investigate more deeply my own ancestry which hails from the cotton-spinning towns of south Lancashire. In early 2017 I discovered that before the Industrial Revolution drew them into the mill towns in search of work, my ancestors had lived for at least ten generations in the villages and hamlets around Pendle Hill. Further research revealed that three members of my family had been named by Potts as being amongst the accused: one, the older sister of my ten times great grandmother, ‘fled to save herself’; the other two, a mother and son, were not so fortunate.

It is not known what became of the ancestor who fled but it is not difficult to imagine what the legacy must have been for the families caught up in such accusations of witchcraft. How very curious that my own family’s history and experience should have turned out to have connected so intimately, and resonated so closely, with those of the woman whose house we now occupy and whose story I had been compelled to investigate. What do they say about truth being stranger than fiction?!

[emom]

Alice Loxton is a wonderful host for programs such as this. Thank you for a warm, sympathic summary of this horrible history.

[eloquentsarcasm]

Not sure exactly what it is about Alice, but she has a wonderful enthusiasm for history, and a goofy, relatable manner that just makes watching her presentations a joy. She reminds me quite a bit of the Time Team members, folk that you could imagine sitting around a table with a generous supply of ale/whisky and talking for hours. Another great History Hit video!

[TheTristanmarcus]

There was an unforgettable documentary about this with Simon Armitage presenting it, in his elegiac and poetic way 🙏🏽 Worth looking out for ❤

[Madmerlined]

Live relatively local to the Pendle area, very happy to see this. I did my dissertation on these ladies

[xx_blasphemer_xx]

Past and present always reminds us of how awful we can be to each other :( I never used to get bothered by history but as I grow older the stories weigh heavy on me.

[williamrobinson]

Beautifully compiled and presented. I have been to the pub on Pendle Hill.. To our surprise, when we arrived there was a Roundhead, complete with horse and tankard, drinking his beer outside. These poor people's loss has been feeding the tourist industry up there ever since this shameful series of trials.. Nice one Alice. 🌟👍

[anthonystevens]

This is such a tragic tale, many of the very vulnerable would have tried and believed in almost anything just to survive, these victims probably had no idea what they were confessing to. A well made and educational video of these dark times. Humbly narrated and well presented Alice. Thanks for sharing.

[Bobbythebuilder]

I'd love to see Alice have her own history documentary on the bbc

[chizwiffle]

Alice is an incredible presenter! There are a few Pendle Witch Trial documentaries out there but for someone who watches pretty much every documentary, I couldn’t get myself to watch those. Finally we have one that is brilliant! Thank you, Alice! Please keep presenting history for us!

[martinhew]

I love the Alice's style. Love her videos and loved her book. Another very interesting documentary.

[mrparkuksmith]

I live in Clitheroe! I know Simon Entwistle well. A great guy. Hope you liked the surroundings Alice!

[tonycowin]

This is the most sympathetic and respectful documentary on the subject I've seen. Thank you.

[TJS]

I just love way Alice talks about history, enthusiasm and knowledge unmatched.

[normasouthwood]

I went on a coach trip around the Ribble Valley. There was a speaker on board, the wonderful Simon Entwhistle. Mesmerising. A born storyteller.

I'm from Pendle. It's a gorgeous place and i grew up listening to stories of the witches.

[Sanniz]

I was in some of the places around Pendle Hill and Lancaster 2015. My Trevor (from UK and Lancashire area) took me there, cause he knew my intrest in Witches and those tragic witch trials.
In the museum for Pendle Hills Witches I was talking with an older man about all and compared with same tragic story from my country Sweden. And he also gave me more printed facts about Pendle Hills Witch Trials. I still got them today and they are in the shelf with the books I bought there.
Also recogniced Witches Galore, cause we stopped there too.
Plus I have been in Williams Park in Lancaster too.
Thanks for the history and I love how it was presented. But I don't like that so many died cause of this type of trials.

[beagleissleeping]

Janette herself was accused of being a witch as an adult. She was found innocent, but died in prison after they wouldn't release her because she couldn't afford to pay the costs keeping her in prison.

[kariannecrysler]

Excellent video. I wouldn’t mind more about the greater world around the witch hunts. There was no shortage of blaming women going on then sadly.

[tick]

Originally called Pen.
Pen = hill in celtic
The Saxons then called it Pen Hill
Pen Hill became Pendle
Pendle became Pendle Hill.
Meaning hill hill hill