Heritage Talk: The Gothic Landscape of the Pendle Witches - The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery

Join Alex Bevan and Hannah Singleton for two talks which explore the ways the trial and executions of the Pendle Witches are remembered through tourism, souvenirs, and artworks in the Lancashire landscape. Since the 1612 execution of the ten accused Pendle Witches, many writers and artists have imagined their story for modern audiences, positioning the places they lived and traversed as Gothic landscapes that are haunted by a mysterious and troubled history.

This Heritage talk will be introduced by Emma Liggins, Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies, as part of the Gothic Centre's series of public heritage-based events for 2026/27.

Alex Bevan's talk will examine the fifty-one-mile 'Lancashire Witches Walk' as a mode of literary Gothic tourism which enables the walker to embark on a storytelling journey through the Lancashire countryside while connecting with a range of Gothic literature, including William Harrison Ainsworth's 'The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest' (1849) and Carol Ann Duffy's modern-day poem embedded on stone tercets throughout the walk. The literary tourist retraces the alleged witches' steps to uncover a disturbing and misrepresented past.

Hannah Singletons talk will explore how the history of the Pendle Witches is represented and retold through the landscapes of Lancashire, examining the ways this traumatic past appears through tourism, everyday objects, and artworks. The talk considers how visitors encounter and participate in this history, how perceptions of the events have shifted over time, and how creative responses to the history can help shape these. It also reflects on what it means to use this complex and often troubling past as part of the regions heritage identity.Dr Alex Bevan is an Associate Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Lincoln, with research specialisms in Gothic literature and spatial philosophy. She has published a book titled 'Gothic Literary Travel and Tourism' (UWP: 2023), along with other publications on the London underground, theme park Gothic and the legacy of Dracula tourism in Whitby.

Dr Hannah Singleton is a Senior Lecturer within Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. She teaches on Art Theory and Practice and Fine Art programmes, with a particular emphasis on material cultures, place and histories. She has published academic articles on the Pendle Witches, the gothic practices of female mediums, and performance art archives.