What's been going on at the Museum...part five

The next area of our tour of the refurbishment of the Museum is 'Persecution'.  The walls and woodwork have been painted black and a new area has been added to house the weighing chair.  This section now focuses on trials and methods of "proving" witchcraft so it includes the weighing chair, the pricking pin and a section on swimming.

A major addition to the Persecution display is a Timeline of laws relating to, or impacting upon, magic and witchcraft which starts in the time of Ancient Babylon and goes up to 2008.

The main persecution display includes a life size "figure of persecution".  This model has been dressed in seventeenth century style clothing and has on a scold's bridle, manacles, a waist shackle and thumbscrews.  We have also extended our display of persecution texts.  Previously, only James I's Daemonologie was on display but now visitors can see works by Jean Bodin and Joseph Glanvill.

This part of the Museum also remembers those who died as a result of persecution with a list of the names of some of those who died and a memorial to the Pendle witch case of 1612.