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| Statue of Alice Nutter in Roughlee, Gawthorpe Hall, the Pendle Witch Trials and Stacey Hall's The Familiars |
During a recent trip to Scotland, Sally, Emily and I listened rapt to an audio reading of the tale of Fleetwood Shuttleworth. Stacey Hall’s novel The Familiars gives an account of pregnant Fleetwood and her choice of midwife, the enigmatic Alice Grey, and how they both get caught up in the historical events and people involved in the Pendle Witch Trials. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers about the novel but would highly recommend it if you enjoy strong female characters, historical fiction, Gothic conventions and stories of friendship, brutality, betrayal, hypocrisy, religious fundamentalism and the clash of contrasting spirits.
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| Gawthorpe Hall |
Pendle Heritage Centre and Gawthorpe Hall
Though Alice Grey is an historical name, her character is imagined. Fleetwood Shuttleworth, however, is the fabulous name of the real-life owner of Gawthorpe Hall, a mighty building open to the public right now, in the hands of the National Trust. The Elizabethan interior has panelling and ceilings of astonishing merit. Not far away is the informative and moving Pendle Heritage Centre which provides the details, amongst many other things, of:
- James I’s tightening of the screws following the Gunpowder Plot
- the Demdike and Chattox families
- pedlar John Law and his “cursing” by Alison Device
- Malkin Tower and the “Witches’ Sabbath”
- Alice Nutter, Ashlar House, Lancaster Castle, Roger Nowell
- Jennet Device and the Pendle Witch Trial and the 11 hangings that resulted
Pendle Heritage Centre (and more Gawthorpe Hall images)
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