Padiham witch
Margaret Pearson,also known as thePadiham witchbecause she lived in the town ofPadihamin Lancashire, England, was among those tried with thePendle witchesin the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. This, her third trial for witchcraft, took place on 19 August atLancasterAssizes[1]in front of SirJames Althamand Sir Edward Bromley.
One of the Pendle witches, Anne Whittle, also known as Chattox, had accused Pearson of "riding a mare... to death",[2]so she was charged with killing a horse.[3]The only other evidence submitted against her came from a fellow resident of Padiham, Jennet Booth, who said that on a visit to Pearson's husband while Margaret was in prison a toad had jumped out of a pile of firewood.[2]Found guilty of non-capital witchcraft Pearson escaped execution, and was instead sentenced to bepilloriedin Lancaster,Clitheroe,Whalleyand Padiham on four market days, followed by a year in prison.[4][a]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Clayton (2007),p. 168
- ^abClayton (2007),p. 171
- ^Hasted (1993),p. 2
- ^Sharpe (2002),p. 3
- ^Gibson (2002),p. 53
Bibliography
[edit]- Clayton, John A. (2007),The Lancashire Witch Conspiracy,Barrowford Press,ISBN978-0-9553-8212-3
- Gibson, Marion (2002), "Thomas Potts's Dusty Memory: Reconstructing Justice inThe Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches",in Poole, Robert (ed.),The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories,Manchester University Press, pp. 42–57,ISBN978-0-7190-6204-9
- Hasted, Rachel A. C. (1993),The Pendle Witch Trial 1612,Lancashire County Books,ISBN978-1-871236-23-1
- Sharpe, James (2002), "Introduction: The Lancaster witches in historical context", in Poole, Robert (ed.),The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories,Manchester University Press, pp. 1–18,ISBN978-0-7190-6204-9