THE WITCHES OF PENDLE
Thursday December 8th, 2011
THE WITCHES OF PENDLE COTTAGE FOUND?
Workmen have discovered an old cottage with a mummified cat entombed in its walls in Pendle Lancashire. Pendle of course is famous for “The Witches Of Pendle” or “Pendle witches”.
The 17th Century cottage was unearthed by a team of water engineers whilst carrying out a construction project near by to the Lower Black Moss reservoir in Pendle. And experts are linking it to the Pendle witches.
One of the things the experts picked up on was the cat that was possibly still alive at the time of its entombing in the walls of the cottage.
Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle Witches, said: 'Cats feature prominently in folklore about witches. Whoever consigned this cat to such a horrible fate was clearly seeking protection from evil spirits.
'We're just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, which could well be the famous Malkin Tower.'
Malkin Tower is widely considered to be the notorious meeting place with the witches way back in 1612 on Good Friday.
Carl Sanders, United Utilities' project manager, said: 'It's not often you come across a fairytale cottage complete with witch's cat.
'The building is in remarkable condition. You can walk through it and get a real sense that you're peering into the past.
'Pendle Hill has a real aura about it, and it's hard not to be affected by the place.'
Frank Giecco, from NP Archaeology,who led the team which unearthed the Pendle building. said: 'It's like discovering your own little Pompeii. We rarely get the opportunity to work with something so well preserved. As soon as we started digging, we found the tops of doors, and knew we were onto something special.
'The building is a microcosm for the rise and fall of this area, from the time of the Pendle witches to the industrial age. There are layers of local history right before your eyes.'
Pretty frightening stuff for the Harbourguides Crew we thinks!!!
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