HISTORY - The Witchcraze: The Lancashire witches 1604-13

Why was there a greater likelihood to be witchcraft accusations in Lancashire?

• Alleged plot to blow up Lancaster Castle with gunpowder during trials

• Lancaster had a rep for having many Catholics

• As there was a new king, judges and prosecutors wanted to gain his favour

• 1604 Witchcraft Act makes prosecution much easier

How were the Lancashire trials similar to others at the time?

• Centred around local disputes/ family feuds

• Accusations included mention of Diabolical Pact

• Confessions gathered by questionable means

• Use of child witnesses (Jenette Device, 12 yrs old)

What was the Pendle economy like?

• Had limited arable land, mainly centred on production of oats

• Thriving cloth industry, done by all the family

• Some heavy industry eg: coal mining most was in pastoral farming (to do with animals)

• Also did cattle rearing

What percentage of households had cloth production equipment?

• 70%

• Useful as revenue from agriculture was unpredictable

What were many of the victims accused of?

• Damaging livestock and people

• This showed the importance of cattle to Pendle economy

How else was cattle shown to be valuable?

• Cows were £3 at the market which was what most would make in 6 months

• Old Chattox was accused of bewitching the cattle of Hugh Moore

• Her and daughter accused of killing John Nutter’s cow after the daughter begged for a dish of milk

What was inflation like in Lancashire?

• Pendle Forest went into crown ownership 1399

• Rent for cattle farms increased by 39%

• General price inflation during 16th cent.

• Those who weren’t copyholders lived in poverty

• Increases in enclosure meant tenants feared threats of eviction

How did population growth impact Lancashire?

• Mortality rate lower in 17th cent, pop increased after things like plague/ black death

• Pendle Forest grew - 1650 there were 1620 tenants = more food and religious guidance required

Why was there a clash between copyholders and the Duchy of Lancaster?

• Lawyers of the duchy questioned validity of copyholder estates

• Duchy wanted more money for the crown

What was the copyholders’ response to the duchy?

• Said in 1608 they had limited resources to pay the fees

• This led to more economic tension

• Signed a petition exaggerating their issues

How did the duchy respond to the petition?

• 1609 agreement made that copyholders pay 12 years’ rent to confirm their right

• Explains why many not inclined to give charity to those accused of witchcraft

What came as a result of the 12 years’ rent?

• Subtenants paying 25 times more than in the previous decade

• Shorter contracts for subtenants

• Many subtenants were suspected witches eg: Anne Redferne (Old Chattox’s daughter)

• there was lots of illegal squatting/ unrecorded tenancies where people suspected witches lived

What impact did the Reformation have on Lancashire?

• Little impact

• Curate of Newchurch (John Horrocks) had a rep for heavy drinking and immoral behaviour

• 1611, two Catholics were found living in hiding and not attending church - this was not acted upon

• Older witches charged with using spells based on corrupt catholic prayers

What issue came with church organisation?

• Pendle’s parish had 10,000 people in it

• This made it too big to manage effectively meaning Catholicism and superstition could poster

What did the dissolution of the monasteries mean?

• Charity and education that happened in them couldn’t any longer

• Whalley Abbey also owned land and was wealthy so could give cloth, grain and money to the poor but this was closed

What happened as a result of the absence of a Catholic abbey?

• Puritan clergy had more influence

• Lands of the abbey went to Puritan gentry

• They held more power to stop drinking etc

What were the new attitudes towards magic in Lancashire?

• The Diabolical Pact was a new idea in Lancashire

• Magic was accepted as part of religious life in some places

• The boundaries between witches and healer were blurred

• Evidence suggests Old Demdike and Old Chattox used both white magic and maleficum

What was the impact of the 1604 Witchcraft Act?

• Mad everything regarding magic including the conjuring of spirits a capital offence

• James asserted the worst aspect of witchcraft was the link to the Devil

• The Diabolical Pact threatened social order and in 1612 trials were the first evidence of this Act working

What happened before the initial encounter triggering the trials?

The Chattox and Demdike families fell out

Why did the families fall out?

• Alizon Device (Demdike’s granddaughter) found some clothes and grain missing

• Alizon said she’d seen Anne Redferne (daughter of Chattox) wearing something stolen

• Both families began accusing eachother of theft

Who of the two women was most powerful?

• Old Chattox

• She was offered settlement from Alizon’s father

• He promised to give her yearly tribute of grain which settled situation till her died a few years later

What was the economic rivalry between the two families?

• They were competing for a limited market

• Alizon said her grandmother Demdike could have saved John Law

• John Nutter asked Demdike to heal his sick cow but herbal medicine sometimes failed and they got blamed

• Having a reputation and being more successful than rivals was very important

Where did most of the families income come from?

Begging

What was the trigger for the accusations?

• Law was travelling in 1612 when he met Alizon Device who begged him for some pins

• He refused, she got angry and he immediately suffered great pain (likely a stroke)

• He saw her familiar (a black dog)

• She said her familiar asked her if she’d like him to harm Law and she said yes

Where are there contradictions in Alizon’s story?

• She later confessed to cursing Law because he wouldn’t sell her pins

• His son Abraham told the court that Alison had no money for pins but John Law had given her some

Who was Roger Nowell?

• Was an experienced JP/ local landowner

• Had strong connections with high-profile protestants

Who influenced Nowell?

• He was familiar with William Perkins’ Discourse of the Damned Art of Witches 1608

• This had promoted the idea of the diabolical pact

What did Alizon confess to?

• That she had harmed Law

• She was likely put under torture like sleep deprivation

• She described the conversation with the black dog that triggered her to curse Law

Who else did Alizon name?

• Her grandmother

• She recounted how she persuaded her to get a familiar

• John Nutter asked Demdike to heal his cow but got sick

• Then she desc the rivalry between Demdike and Chattox

What were Chattox’s crimes according to Alizon?

• Guilty of murder through witchcraft

• Her rivalry with John Moore

• Hugh Moore who died after he accused Chattox of bewitching his cattle

What happened to Alizon in the end?

• She was searched for a devil’s mark

• She admitted to having one

• Nonetheless was set free along with her son, James

What did Demdike confess to?

• Had familiar traits of witchcraft confessions

• She said she couldn’t say Jesus’ name, similar to being unable to say the Lord’s prayer

• She made effigies of people to bewitch them

• These were made under torture/ threats

Why could Demdike’s confession be seen with scepticism?

• She already had a reputation

• Nowell may have convinced her she was a genuine witch

What did Demdike say about Chattox?

• Said she saw Chattox and daughter Anne making clay figures

• She suspected they were of John Nutter, Robert Nutter and Robert’s wife

What did Chattox confess to?

• Admitted she’d been asked by a man to give him her soul

• She said yes and was promised everything she’d ever wanted

• Told she could get revenge on all who’d wronged her

What did Anne do?

• She confessed to nothing

• Withstood torture and threats

• She was only implicated through the confessions of others

Before the meeting at Malkin Tower, who was supposed to be sent to be held at Lancaster Castle?

• Alizon

• Demdike

• Chattox

• Anne

Who was said to have been present at the meeting at Malkin Tower?

• Elizabeth Device, Demdike’s daughter

• James Device, Son of Elizabeth

• Jennet Device, James’ sister

• Jennet and Christopher Hargreaves

• Alice Nutter

What was the coven was accused of doing?

1. Planning to release 4 imprisoned women in Lancaster Castle by blowing it up

2. Meeting to name Alizon’s spirit but she wasn’t present so this wasn’t possible

3. Wanted to protect another witch, Jennet Preston

What role did Jennet and James Device play?

• Their evidence was doubtful as Jennet was young and James was notoriously deceitful

• They implicated their mum Elizabeth who voluntarily confessed

What did Elizabeth confess to?

• The murder of John Robinson with help from her familiar as Robinson had accused her of having an illegitimate child

• Also killed his brother

how many did Nowell detain for investigation?

Despite many accusations, only 11 were kept

What was an Assize Court and why was it used for the 1612 Trial?

• A travelling court

• Was used to reduce bias from local magistrates overseeing local cases

• This is how the two judges, Altham and Bromley, arrived

Who was Altham?

• Had a distinguished legal career

• Gentry family background

• Went to Cambridge

• Knighted by James I 1605

• Was well respected

• Protestant

• Had similar views to James on witchcraft

Who was Bromley?

• Gentry family background

• Was MP 1586 -1611

• James gave him role of mediator in HoL, showing how King trusted him

What were the judges’ motives?

• Both wanted to gain the king’s favour

• Wanted to actively accuse people of witchcraft, were not concerned about being fair or not

How was the trial structured? Why wasn’t it fair?

• Each suspect asks to say whether they were guilty or not

• All but one pleaded not guilty

• Trials weren’t fair, defendants not allowed to prepare a defence

• Judges accepted dubious evidence probably made under torture

Who was prosecutor at the trials?

Roger Nowell

What happened to Old Chattox at trial?

• Spoke plainly

• Wass most senior suspect

• Pleaded not guilty to murder of Robert Nutter

• She broke down, confessed and asked for God’s forgiveness and mercy on her daughter Anne

What happened to Elizabeth Device at trial?

• Presented by Potts as a confrontational woman

• Was not calm, taken out of court kicking and screaming

• Charged with 3 murders

• Her daughter, Jennet, testified against her

What did Jennet Device say against her mother?

• Her evidence was confident, said mum had been witch for ¾ years and had seen her mum’s familiar

What happened to James Device at trial?

• Showing signs of weakness and severe illness at trial

• Charged with two murders and he confessed to this

• Jennet confirmed this

• She also confirmed accusations he pleaded not guilty to and spoke of James’ familiar

What was the verdict on Chattox, Elizabeth and James?

All 3 found guilty

What happened to Anne Redferne (daughter of Chattox)?

• Was found not guilty for murder of Robert Nutter

• Didn’t confess

Why was Alice Nutter unusual as a suspect?

• She was of high status

• Despite this, was found guilty by the help of Jennet device

What happened to Alizon Device at trial?

• Repeated her initial confession

• John Law was present at trial

• He was asked to give evidence, gave a similar account of events

• She was found guilty

How did Thomas Potts produce his account?

• He was Clerk of the Court

• Had unique insight into the trial - first hand account

• The Judges asked him to write an account that could be made public

• Judge Bromley checked and edited manuscript before publishing it in 1613

What was Potts’ background?

• Didn’t go to university

• Was clerk in many different courts

• Later became a well-regarded civil servant

What was the name of Potts’ account?

The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches

What two objectives did The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches fulfill?

• Provided an account that justified the trials and had a scholarly air

• Protected the reputation of Potts, Bromley and Altham, enabling them to advance their careers