A memorial event to mark the execution of seven Renfrewshire people who had been accused of being witches is taking place next month.
A gathering will be held at the Witches’ Well on what remains of the Gallow Green in Paisley’s west end to commemorate the lives of those brutally killed in an atrocious act of injustice.
Organised by the Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 campaign group – a group of activists determined to honour those accused of being witches and remind people of the area’s gruesome past – the event will see a mini-fayre held at the historic site, with a stone carver offering workshops, with the products of these sessions going on display in the garden.
There will also be tarot readers, musicians and poets to entertain everyone who goes along.
Four women, one man and two children were strangled at the stake on Gallow Green before their bodies were burned on a blazing bonfire and the ashes buried at Maxwellton Cross where a horseshoe memorial still marks the spot.
Stephen McLaughlin, project assistant with the campaign group, said: “June 10, 1697 was the date that seven people were executed on the Gallow Green after being tried as witches.
"This part of Queen Street is the last remnant of the Gallow Green, which was common ground. People used it for farming, etc, but they also used it for more nefarious purposes like executions and burial.”
Stephen says that all are welcome to join in for the free-to-attend memorial event – and he encouraged Buddies to celebrate the area’s history.
He said: “We hope people feel welcome enough to come up and take part in it. We’re really open to telling the story and getting people interested in their town and making people feel proud of their town.
“Paisley’s suffered a lot economically over the past decades and anything that helps bring it up again should be welcomed.”
The campaign group has set its sights on highlighting Paisley’s numerous historical sites and for them to become places for people to visit.
One of those they’re targeting is Robert Tannahill’s grave in Castlehead Church, in a bid to highlight the poet’s life and work to Buddies and visitors from further afield.
“It’s a conservation project for old parts of Paisley that have been forgotten about, hopefully we can add to the heritage attraction of Paisley,” added Stephen.
Last year, then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon offered a formal apology to people accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 18th centuries.
In the wake of that apology, Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 set out to create a permanent memorial at the Gallow Green.
Recently, a plaque was unveiled at the site that smartphone users can scan to take them on an augmented reality historical tour of Paisley’s tales of witch persecution.
The area was used on Sunday to mark the Pagan holiday of Beltane.
And on Saturday, one couple were pictured at the site taking part in a handfasting ceremony – a symbolic act that takes place during a wedding ceremony, where the hands of the happy couple are bound together with ribbon or cord, to represent their commitment to each other.
It’s a tradition that is thought to date back thousands of years.
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