RootsChat.Com

Hi. Just to let you know I’ve picked up on your message - I’m not on RC much these days and it’s ages since I have delved into my Scottish Nicholson’s. I’m not confident I can add anything new but I’ll have a look what I have once back home as I’m on a holiday at the moment.

I note I wrote “...the will of Jonah N. wife of Janet”. I think I meant “husband” 

Maggie

Rootschat has been part of my life since 4 February 2006 when Patricia (Jones the Search) took just over half an hour to help me with a French Huguenot question and I was amazed. In recent years “Life” as interfered a bit and limited my appearances but I can never forget the help received, the fun I’ve had and the friends I’ve made and in many cases met. I too remember dear Rabbit and the hilarity we shared as we both tried to get the hang of photo restoration and all the help we received from Paula, Gadget and Pels (3 of many) on the photo board whilst we mucked around trying, and invariably failing, to improve the pics.

Also I can never forget my distant cousin in Australia, Charlotte, now sadly no longer with us. Charlotte and I had originally “found” each other in early 2006 via a Manchester Surnames board, then I discovered Rootchat (cannot remember how), I signed up and suggested Charlotte did the same. She joined the day after me and so many of our mutual Yorkshire family history questions were answered. I’d like to think we helped a bit too. And then there were the TOT boards, once I’d plucked up enough courage to say something. Yes - in addition to the wealth of knowledge readily shared on here, the friendship of Rootschat has helped me through some difficult times and I will always be so grateful for that.

Maggie

PS.   Excellent thread GS - it’s good to remember.

Jennet Device was reprieved as attitudes to supposed witchcraft had softened by 1633 - I think I’m correct in that being the date of her trial. Edmund Robinson was her 10 year old accuser but he later confessed to making up the story as some sort of money making exercise in collusion with his father. At the time the episode became the subject of various London street plays if I remember correctly. Although reprieved Jennet was not freed as her incarceration had put her in debt so as MS says she most likely died in prison.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14490790 (looks like this link rather repeats MS’s last link)

Another theory to add to the mix is that Alice Nutter, the only one of the Pendle Witches who wasn't a peasant was a Catholic and was on her way to a secret Mass when she went to/by Malkin Tower. When she was arrested and interrogated she didn't want to betray any Catholic associates. 1612 was only a few years after Robert Catesby's plot to blow up Houses of Parliament and stage a Catholic-led coup'd'etat. Lancashire was a Catholic heartland.

I tend to agree with this view MS.  Here in these parts we have a soft spot for Alice Nutter who lived in Roughlee.  Little is known about her other than she was married to a yeoman farmer and therefore rather better placed that the rest of the so called witches.  A few years ago a bronze statue depicting how Alice may have looked was erected in Roughlee.  It has rapidly become a tourist attraction.

Maggie

From our house I can see the Church of St Mary at Newchurch in Pendle - it is my parish church, my husband is church surveyor and some discoveries have come about during recent extensive restoration work on the tower.

The Eye of God feature predates the position of the 1653 date stone. Externally if consists of 2 individual curved stone pieces coming together to form a lozenge shape and the ‘eye’ is a piece of blue slate surrounded by a sand and cement infill. ie. it’s not lime mortar.  This puts the infill sometime later than 1850.  It is topped with a rectangular drip stone.  Internally (and I’ve been up the tower to have a look) the now infilled opening is roughly rectangular shaped and the shape is consistent with it having once been a window.

Therefore I think the bit that KGarrad quotes from http://www.martintop.org.uk/blog/eye-god-newchurch-pendle makes sense:-

More likely, it was carved so bell-ringers or their assistants could see approaching wedding and funeral parties, and wasn’t originally filled in. This is, after all, one of the few churches in the country that affords no views whatever of the road that approaches it.

However

"If carvings could really keep witches away, every church in the country would have had one.

I recently attended a day course of medieval graffiti on stone and wood and it was fascinating.  In more superstitious times stone and woodwork would be marked in a variety of ways in the belief that such marks would ward off evil spirits.  Doorways, window frames, gate posts etc would be marked in a huge variety of ways and most are easily missed unless you are aware what you are looking for and churches provide a rich source.  That is not to say that this explains the Eye of God at St Mary's though.

http://www.medieval-graffiti.co.uk/page7.html
http://www.medieval-graffiti.co.uk/page5.html