Pendle Witch photo album

Some beautiful scenery for inspiration in this cold and dark time of year!

This is the view of Pendle Hill taken from the back of my house, taken in May 2009.

My mare Boushka adorned on Midsummer’s Day, 2009. My equine muse makes a cameo appearance in my new novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, as Alice Nutter’s horse.

Stanfield Tower on Blacko Hill. This tower is a Victorian folly not far from the site of Malkin Tower, my heroine Mother Demdike’s home. Malkin Tower no longer exists, unfortunately.

Modern outbuilding in West Close, near Fence. Mother Demdike’s friend and rival, Mother Chattox, lived in a cottage near this site. Alas, her home no longer exists either.

St. Mary’s Church, Newchurch, in Pendle. The village is named after the church, which was built in the mid-16th century.

If you look closely, you can see the image of the eye on the church tower, possibly intended to ward against witchcraft and evil. Some believe that Alice Nutter was buried in this churchyard, although it is unlikely.

Image of a witch on a private home in Roughlee Village, not far from Roughlee Hall, possibly the home of Alice Nutter, although some argue that she lived at Crow Trees Farm, also very close to where this photo was taken.

You see these images of witches everywhere in Pendle. It freaks some visitors out! And sometimes it makes it hard to remember that the Pendle Witches weren’t folkloric figures but real women and men who lost their lives on account of ignorance and hysteria.

Closing on a more uplifting note:

A blooming hawthorn tree in a wild meadow.