Today's blog post is a recommendation to watch a BBC TV programme, The Pendle Witch Child by poet Simon Armitage about the Pendle Witch trial. The programme also features one of my favourite historians, Ronald Hutton. The programme examines the social, religious and political forces that led to the witch trials of the early 1600s. It concentrates on the little girl Jennet who gives evidence in court condemning her own mother and brother as well as other neighbours as witches. The programme shows how the Pendle Witch Trial paved the way for the even more infamous Salem Witch Trials across the Atlantic in America.
The subject matter of the programme is fascinating and disturbing and the setting and filming really set a macabre and spellbinding scene. The Lancashire countryside it's self playing a starring role. But maybe most compelling is Simon Armitage's narration, which is poetic, earthy and incredibly sensitive. I could listen to Simon Armitage read the phone book but I'm not exaggerating in saying he is completely absorbing. You have 28 days to watch it on the iPlayer and I really can't recommend it enough!
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