[134] Pendle Hill, or _Pen hull_ (_i.e._, the head hill) is situated on the borders of Lancashire, in the northern part of Whalley, and rises about 1800 feet above the level of the sea. The views from the summit are very extensive, including the Irish sea on one side, and York Minster (at a distance of nearly sixty miles) on the other. Notwithstanding the boast of the old proverb above, there are several hills round it of higher elevation. [135] Malkin Tower, in the Forest of Pendle, and on the declivity of Pendle Hill, was the place where, according to vulgar belief, a sort of assembly or convention of reputed witches took place on Good Friday in 1612, which was attended by seventeen pretended witches and three wizards, who were afterwards brought to trial at Lancaster Assizes, and ten of these unfortunate creatures being found guilty, were executed. [136] The laymen here referred to were not the patrons, but the persons officiating, who were called readers, and had no orders. Nearly every chapel in the parish of Whalley was destitute of land in 1636. [137] The Sir John was probably John Butterworth, clerk, curate of Haslingden about this period. "Sir John" was a designation frequently applied to an illiterate priest. The old allowance to the priest in Haslingden, according to Bishop Gastrell, was 4_l._ Formerly parish clerks (and perhaps the priests of poor cures also) claimed once a year a bowl of corn from each parishioner of substance. [138] The _Moore Rental_, p. 62. [139] Rev. W. Thornber's _History of Blackpool_, p. 308. [140] _MS. Description of Atherton and Chowbent in 1787_, by Dorning Rasbotham, Esq. [141] See _Transactions of Lancashire and Cheshire Historical Society_. [142] _Year Book_, part xiii. col. 1558. PART II. LOCAL CUSTOMS AND USAGES AT VARIOUS SEASONS.