A poem by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy has been carved into the landscape of a new 51-mile walk created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches.
The 10 tercets will appear on cast iron mileposts installed along the Lancashire Witches Walk which follows the route taken by the ten women and men who were executed as witches in August 1612.
The poem, The Lancashire Witches, begins:
One voice for ten dragged this way once
by superstition, ignorance.
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Witch: female, cunning, manless, old,
daughter of such, of evil faith;
in the murk of Pendle Hill, a crone.
Heavy storm-clouds here, ill-will brewed,
over fields, fells, farms, blighted woods.
On the wind’s breath, curse of crow and rook.
‘I was struck by the echoes of under-privilege and hostility to the poor, the outsider, the desperate, which are audible still,’ said Ms Duffy. Manchester-based textural artist Stephen Raw is creating the ten mileposts; each will feature the full poem, the name of one of the ‘witches’ and a verse in specially designed letters so a rubbing can be taken.
The poem was commissioned by North Lancashire-based arts organisation Green Close as part of their programme of artistic events to mark the witches’ anniversary this summer. The poem mileposts, 30 carved brick waymarkers, signposts and a booklet about the footpath will be ready in the autumn when there are guided walks planned.
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