Dandy by Marjan Wouda

Dandy – A new sculpture that helps tell the story of the Lancashire Witches. Stainless Steel Sculpture By Marjan Wouda 

In 1612, when James Device was interrogated by the local magistrate, he confessed to having a “familiar spirit” whom he named “Dandy”. In fact, he said it was the dog who appeared to him, instructed him and bade him ‘ever after’ to call it “Dandy”. It was believed in those days that witches and cunning folk were assisted by a spirit in the form of an animal or human being. James, who grew up in the household of his grandmother Elizabeth Southern, spoke of a black dog that offered him a means of revenge when he felt wronged. 

“I set out to tell Lancashire’s most compelling story by creating this familiar spirit; imagining what this dog, that could speak to us and magically come to our aid when we needed it, might look like. It had to be larger than life; a potentially dangerous friend – as indeed it turned out to be for our James.” Marjan 

This portrayal of a familiar connects Clitheroe to its landscape setting in the shadow of Pendle Hill. Clitheroe Castle itself is very likely to have played a part in the story as a stop-over for those on their way to Lancaster Gaol. Margaret Pearson, one of the 12 accused in 1612, who is also referred to as the Padiham Witch, was sentenced for bewitching a horse, and made to stand upon the pillory in Clitheroe on 4 successive market days. 

Dandy, installed in 2024, is the first sculpture in the public realm, that imagines a familiar spirit. It is located close to Clitheroe railway station and BOOTHS supermarket. 

Find out more about the Lancashire Witches here  

Click here to discover more about Dandy