Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Malkin Tower

Malkin Tower
This nomination predates the introduction in April 2014 of article-specific subpages for nominations and has been created from the edit history of Today's featured article/requests. 
 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/October 31, 2013 by BencherliteTalk 16:23, 17 October 2013‎

 Malkin Tower is the site of perhaps the best-known alleged witches' coven in English legal history. It was the home of Elizabeth Southerns and her granddaughter Alizon Device, two of the chief protagonists in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. A pedlar collapsed soon after refusing to sell Alizon some pins. She and her grandmother were summoned to the home of local magistrate Roger Nowell on suspicion of causing harm by witchcraft, and were thereafter detained in the gaol at Lancaster Castle. Friends met at Malkin Tower on 6 April 1612 (Good Friday), allegedly to plot their escape by blowing up the castle. Nowell learned of the meeting and concluded that it had been the scene of a witches' coven. Eight of those attending were subsequently arrested and tried for causing harm by witchcraft, seven of whom were found guilty and executed; the house may have been demolished shortly after the trials. The only firm evidence for its location comes from the official account by the clerk to the court, who places it somewhere in the Forest of Pendle. Archaeological excavations in the area have failed to discover any confirmed remains of the building.

Sample blurb for, and  to play with. Thoughts? It'd get a point for date relevance and I think that this would the first TFA for both TiB and BigDom (can you confirm?) so 1 or 2 points. Last UK geography article was Postman's Park in August, so within three months and no bonuses. BencherliteTalk 18:17, 16 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Only one thought so far, which is that I think the picture of Lancaster Castle might give the wrong impression. On further reflection I'd think I'd argue that it isn't really a geography article, but then as the building no longer exists and we know almost nothing about it it's hardly an architecture article either. Categorisation is so difficult! Eric   Corbett  18:35, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Moving my comment from earlier to this nom. Better a pagan/witchcraft relationship than the stereotypical horror theme and I agree with Eric that the picture is somewhat misleading.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:48, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I wrote the blurb in a hurry before dashing for a train and wasn't sure at the time about the castle image. The other images in Malkin Tower and Pendle witches don't seem terribly blurb-worthy, but I may be missing a trick somewhere. BencherliteTalk 21:49, 16 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Support - Between this and "Witchfinder General", I would choose this one to be up for Halloween. Seeing that for the past two years have seen horror films take the spot, would be good to see something different there. GamerPro64  23:56, 16 October 2013 (UTC)