Margaret Pearson, also known as the Padiham witch because she lived in the town of

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

in Lancashire, England, was among those tried with the

Pendle witches The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged ...

in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. This, her third trial for witchcraft, took place on 19 August at Lancaster Assizes in front of Sir

James Altham Sir James Altham (died 1617) was an English judge and briefly a member of the Parliament of England. A friend of Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon, Altham opposed Edward Coke but advanced the Equity (law), laws of equity behind the fastness of the Exc ...

and Sir Edward Bromley. One of the Pendle witches, Anne Whittle, also known as Chattox, had accused Pearson of "riding a mare ... to death", so she was charged with killing a horse. The only other evidence submitted against her came from a fellow resident of Padiham, Jennet Booth, who said that on a visit to Pearson's husband while Margaret was in prison a toad had jumped out of a pile of firewood. Found guilty of non-capital witchcraft Pearson escaped execution, and was instead sentenced to be pilloried in Lancaster,

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, Whalley and Padiham on four market days, followed by a year in prison.__NOTOC__

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* * * * {{refend 1612 in law 1612 in England History of Burnley Borough Lancashire folklore People convicted of witchcraft People from Padiham Witch trials in England