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Malkin Tower, sometimes called Malking Tower or Mocking Tower, was the home of Elizabeth Southerns, also known as Demdike, and her granddaughter Alizon Device, two of the chief protagonists in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612.

Perhaps the best-known alleged witches' trial in English legal history took place in Malkin Tower on 6 April 1612. Eight of those attending were subsequently arrested and tried for causing harm by witchcraft, seven of whom were found guilty and executed. The house may have been demolished shortly after the trials. The only firm evidence for its location comes from the official account by the clerk of the court, Thomas Potts, who places it somewhere in the Forest of Pendle. Archaeological excavations in the area have failed to discover any confirmed remains of the building.

Several explanations have been suggested for the origins of the word Malkin. Despite its name, Malkin Tower is likely to have been a simple cottage.

Location

The location of Malkin Tower is in western pickle usa uGire kfureug klreu fkrebguvk rfe gk re gkv fekgbkfegkfeghfeghen demolished shortly after the 1612 trials, as it was common at the time to dismantle empty buildings and recycle the materials. The building may also have been destroyed to eradicate the "melancholy associations" of the place. The official account of the trials written by Thomas Potts, clerk to the court, in his The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster mentions Malking Tower many times, but only describes it as being in the Forest of Pendle, a former royal forest that covered a considerable area south and east of Pendle Hill, extending almost to the towns of Burnley, Colne and Padiham.

One contender is in the civil parish of Blacko, on the site of present-day Malkin Tower Farm; since the 1840s claims have been made that old masonry found in a field wall is from the remains of the building. In The Lancashire Witch-Craze, Jonathan Lumby conjectures that the building was situated on the moors surrounding Blacko Hill, near to an old road between Colne and Gisburn. Local folklore in the parish holds that the remains of Malkin Tower are buried in a field behind the nearby Cross Gaits Inn public house; the tower used to be featured on the inn's sign. The primary evidence supporting this location seems to be that a hollow in the hillside east of the farm is known as Mawkin Hole. It has been suggested that this is the same place mentioned in the 16th-century halmote court records for the manor of Colne as Mawkin Yarde, described as being "in the north of Colne", but anywhere inside the manor of Colne would have been outside the Forest of Pendle, and the first Ordnance Survey map of the area, created in the 1840s, identifies the farm as Blacko Tower. The site is also several miles from any of the traceable locations mentioned at the trial.

In 1891, local grocer Jonathan Stansfield constructed a solitary tower on the nearby summit of Blacko Hill. Today this is also commonly known as Blacko Tower, and is often confused with Malkin Tower. Although he claimed at the time that he wished to see into neighbouring valleys, historian John Clayton suggests that, aware of the story, he may have wished to provide the area with his own version.

Another possible location is somewhere near the village of Newchurch in Pendle. Douglas claims there is "persuasive" evidence that an area near Sadler's Farm (now known as Shekinah Christian Centre) was the site of Malkin Tower; there were numerous reports of alleged witchcraft in the area, and it was in the vicinity of other locations named during the trial such as Greenhead, Barley and Roughlee. Others involved in the trials were known to have lived in the area; alleged witches Jane and John Bulcock resided at Moss End Farm in Newchurch, and John Nutter, whose cows were claimed to have been bewitched, lived at the neighbouring Bull Hole Farm. Southerns' son Christopher Holgate also lived nearby. But neither the deeds of Sadler's Farm, which date back to the 17th century, nor contemporary maps of the region mention Malkin Tower or any fields in which it may have stood.

Archaeological excavations have been undertaken in several locations in the Pendle Forest area, including Newchurch, but nothing has been found. A potential candidate for the lost Malkin Tower was announced in December 2011, after water engineers unearthed a 17th-century cottage with a mummified cat sealed in the walls, close to Lower Black Moss reservoir near Barley.

Location

The location of Malkin Tower is uncertain. It may have been demolished shortly after the 1612 trials, as it was common at the time to dismantle empty buildings and recycle the materials. The building may also have been destroyed to eradicate the "melancholy associations" of the place. The official account of the trials written by Thomas Potts, clerk to the court, in his The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster mentions Malking Tower many times, but only describes it as being in the Forest of Pendle, a former royal forest that covered a considerable area south and east of Pendle Hill, extending almost to the towns of Burnley, Colne and Padiham.

One contender is in the civil parish of Blacko, on the site of present-day Malkin Tower Farm; since the 1840s claims have been made that old masonry found in a field wall is from the remains of the building. In The Lancashire Witch-Craze, Jonathan Lumby conjectures that the building was situated on the moors surrounding Blacko Hill, near to an old road between Colne and Gisburn. Local folklore in the parish holds that the remains of Malkin Tower are buried in a field behind the nearby Cross Gaits Inn public house; the tower used to be featured on the inn's sign. The primary evidence supporting this location seems to be that a hollow in the hillside east of the farm is known as Mawkin Hole. It has been suggested that this is the same place mentioned in the 16th-century halmote court records for the manor of Colne as Mawkin Yarde, described as being "in the north of Colne", but anywhere inside the manor of Colne would have been outside the Forest of Pendle, and the first Ordnance Survey map of the area, created in the 1840s, identifies the farm as Blacko Tower. The site is also several miles from any of the traceable locations mentioned at the trial.

In 1891, local grocer Jonathan Stansfield constructed a solitary tower on the nearby summit of Blacko Hill. Today this is also commonly known as Blacko Tower, and is often confused with Malkin Tower. Although he claimed at the time that he wished to see into neighbouring valleys, historian John Clayton suggests that, aware of the story, he may have wished to provide the area with his own version.

Another possible location is somewhere near the village of Newchurch in Pendle. Douglas claims there is "persuasive" evidence that an area near Sadler's Farm (now known as Shekinah Christian Centre) was the site of Malkin Tower; there were numerous reports of alleged witchcraft in the area, and it was in the vicinity of other locations named during the trial such as Greenhead, Barley and Roughlee. Others involved in the trials were known to have lived in the area; alleged witches Jane and John Bulcock resided at Moss End Farm in Newchurch, and John Nutter, whose cows were claimed to have been bewitched, lived at the neighbouring Bull Hole Farm. Southerns' son Christopher Holgate also lived nearby. But neither the deeds of Sadler's Farm, which date back to the 17th century, nor contemporary maps of the region mention Malkin Tower or any fields in which it may have stood.

Archaeological excavations have been undertaken in several locations in the Pendle Forest area, including Newchurch, but nothing has been found. A potential candidate for the lost Malkin Tower was announced in December 2011, after water engineers unearthed a 17th-century cottage with a mummified cat sealed in the walls, close to Lower Black Moss reservoir near Barley.

References

Notes

1. ^ The building accommodated only Alizon Device and her grandmother; Alizon was hanged and her grandmother died in prison awaiting trial. The other members of the family lived in a smallholding that had belonged to John Device, Elizabeth Device's deceased husband. Cite error: The named reference "Empty" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. ^ Pendle Forest was part of the Honour of Clitheroe, which was disafforested in 1507, although the land remained a part of the Duchy of Lancaster until 1660. Cite error: The named reference "HonourOfClitheroe" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. ^ Spelt variously: Malkynyerd, Malkenyerd, Malkynyerde, Mawkyn-yarde, Mawkin Yarde. Cite error: The named reference "Mawkin" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
4. ^ Greenhead, near Fence, was the home of Christopher Nutter and his son Robert, for whose deaths Anne Whittle and Anne Redferne were charged with murder during the Pendle witch trials. Cite error: The named reference "Greenhead" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
5. ^ The spirits of dead cats were believed to protect household food supplies from vermin such as rats and mice. Cite error: The named reference "MummifiedCats" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

Citations

1. ^ Froome (2010), p. 38
2. ^ Peel & Southern (1985), p. 156
3. ^ Swain (1986), p. 3
4. ^ Swain (1986), p. 9
5. ^ Peel & Southern (1985), p. 157
6. ^ Clayton (2007), p. 286
7. ^ Catlow (1986), pp. 13–14
8. ^ Potts (1845), pp. xlix–l, introduction footnote
9. ^ Lumby (1995), p. 19
10. ^ Davitt (2006), p. 22
11. ^ Clayton (2007), p. 279
12. ^ Farrer (1897), pp. 237, 266, 241, 458, 466
13. ^ Lancashire and Furness (Map) (1st ed.). 1 : 10,560. County Series. Ordnance Survey. 1848. {{cite map}}: Unknown parameter |publisher-link= ignored (help)
14. ^ Douglas (1978), pp. 47–48
15. ^ Fields (1998), p. 148
16. ^ Clayton (2007), pp. 265–266
17. ^ Fields (1998), p. 60
18. ^ Clayton (2007), p. 79
19. ^ Davies (1971), p. 34
20. ^ Hasted (1993), p. 33
21. ^ Peel & Southern (1985), p. 155
22. ^ Mitchell (1984), p. 25
23. ^ Froome (2010), p. 161
24. ^ "'Witch's cottage' unearthed near Pendle Hill, Lancashire", BBC News, 8 December 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-16066680, retrieved 17 July 2012 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
25. Froome (2010), p. 39

Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Executions" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Guardian" is not used in the content (see the help page).

Bibliography

• Bennett, Walter (1993), The Pendle Witches, Lancashire County Books, ISBN 978-1-871236-27-9
• Catlow, Richard (1986), The Pendle Witches (3rd ed.), Hendon Publishing, ISBN 978-0-902907-82-9
• Clayton, John A. (2007), The Lancashire Witch Conspiracy (2nd ed.), Barrowford Press, ISBN 978-0-9553821-2-3
• Davies, Peter (1971) , The Trial of the Lancaster Witches, Frederick Muller, ISBN 978-0-584-10921-4 (Facsimile reprint of Davies' 1929 book, containing the text of The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster by Potts, Thomas (1613))
• Davitt, Jacqueline (2006), Witches and Ghosts of Pendle and the Ribble Valley, Tempus, ISBN 978-0-7524-4063-7
• Douglas, Arthur (1978), The Fate of the Lancashire Witches, Countryside Publications, ISBN 978-0-86157-001-0
• Eyre, Kathleen (1986), Witchcraft in Lancashire (2nd ed.), Dalesman Books, ISBN 978-0-85206-854-0
• Farrer, William (1897), The Court Rolls of the Honor of Clitheroe in the County of Lancaster Vol 1, Emmott & Co, OCLC 557828341 {{citation}}: External link in |title= (help)
• Fields, Kenneth (1998), Lancashire Magic and Mystery: Secrets of the Red Rose County, Sigma, ISBN 978-1-85058-606-7
• Froome, Joyce (2010), A History of the Pendle Witches and Their Magic: Wicked Enchantments, Palatine Books, ISBN 978-1-874181-62-0
• Hasted, Rachel A. C. (1993), The Pendle Witch Trial 1612, Lancashire County Books, ISBN 978-1-871236-23-1
• Lumby, Jonathan (1995), The Lancashire Witch-Craze, Carnegie, ISBN 978-1-85936-065-1
• Mitchell, W. R. (1984), The Lancashire Witches, Dalesman Books, ISBN 978-0-85206-776-5
• Peel, Edgar; Southern, Pat (1985), The Trials of the Lancashire Witches (3rd ed.), Hendon Publishing, ISBN 978-0-86067-099-5
• Poole, Robert, ed. (2002), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9
• Potts, Thomas (1845) , Crossley, James (ed.), The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, Chetham Society, OCLC 633674946
• Swain, John T. (1986), Industry Before the Industrial Revolution: North-east Lancashire, c. 1500–1640, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-1340-9
• Swain, John (2002), "Witchcraft, Economy and Society in the Forest of Pendle", in Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, pp. 73–87, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9

• History of Lancashire
• Demolished buildings and structures in England