Location: Roughlee Nelson
Artist: David Palmer
Unlike many accused of witchcraft, Alice was a member of a wealthy family who owned land in Pendle.
She was accused of being present at a witch meeting on Good Friday in 1612 and of later causing the death of Henry Milton. Her principal accuser was a nine-year-old girl. Nutter protested her innocence although others pleaded guilty.
Nutter's trial began at Lancaster Castle on 18 August where the accused were denied access to lawyers or the right to call witnesses. She was subsequently hanged at Gallows Hill in Lancaster on 20 August 1612. The others hanged were Anne Whittle ("Old Chattox"), Ann Redfearn, Elizabeth Device ("Squinting Lizzie"), Alison Device, James Device, Katherine Hewitt, Jane Bulcock, John Bulcock and Isobel Robey.
In 2012, to honour the 400th anniversary of the infamous witches trials, a statue of Alice Nutter was unveiled in Roughlee village. Alice Nutter was one of the group of people tried for murder after being accused of using witchcraft 400 years ago.
The statue was designed by David Palmer who lives in the village and carried out much research into her story and studied the costume of the early 1600’s era to inform the design. It has been fabricated out of brass and corten steel where the artist portrays Alice as a dignified person rather than your stereotypical hooked nose, warts and ugly profile.
