# Padiham witch

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Margaret Pearson convicted of witchcraft

**Margaret Pearson**, also known as the **Padiham witch** because she lived in the town of [Padiham](/source/Padiham) in Lancashire, England, was among those tried with the [Pendle witches](/source/Pendle_witches) in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. This, her third trial for witchcraft, took place on 19 August at [Lancaster](/source/Lancaster%2C_Lancashire) [Assizes](/source/Assizes)[1] in front of Sir [James Altham](/source/James_Altham) and Sir Edward Bromley.

One of the Pendle witches, Anne Whittle, also known as Chattox, had accused Pearson of "riding a mare ... to death",[2] so she was charged with killing a horse.[3] 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.[2] Found guilty of non-capital witchcraft Pearson escaped execution, and was instead sentenced to be [pilloried](/source/Pillory) in Lancaster, [Clitheroe](/source/Clitheroe), [Whalley](/source/Whalley%2C_Lancashire) and Padiham on four market days, followed by a year in prison.[4][a]

## References

### Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Pillorying and imprisonment was the usual punishment for those found guilty of witchcraft but who had not killed anyone.[5]

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClayton2007168_1-0)** [Clayton (2007)](#CITEREFClayton2007), p. 168

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClayton2007171_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClayton2007171_2-1) [Clayton (2007)](#CITEREFClayton2007), p. 171

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHasted19932_3-0)** [Hasted (1993)](#CITEREFHasted1993), p. 2

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESharpe20023_4-0)** [Sharpe (2002)](#CITEREFSharpe2002), p. 3

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGibson200253_5-0)** [Gibson (2002)](#CITEREFGibson2002), p. 53

### Bibliography

- Clayton, John A. (2007), *The Lancashire Witch Conspiracy*, Barrowford Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-9553-8212-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9553-8212-3)

- Gibson, Marion (2002), "Thomas Potts's Dusty Memory: Reconstructing Justice in *The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches*", in Poole, Robert (ed.), *The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories*, Manchester University Press, pp. 42–57, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7190-6204-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7190-6204-9)

- Hasted, Rachel A. C. (1993), *The Pendle Witch Trial 1612*, Lancashire County Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-871236-23-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-871236-23-1)

- Sharpe, James (2002), "Introduction: The Lancaster witches in historical context", in Poole, Robert (ed.), *The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories*, Manchester University Press, pp. 1–18, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7190-6204-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7190-6204-9)

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