Perhaps one of the most infamous tales then is not of the Devil himself, but of a Demon pig. One such Demon is said to reside in the small Village of Winwick (formally Lancashire, now Cheshire due to recent boundary changes). Winwick, is a small parish in Warrington that boasts the beautiful thirteenth century church of St Oswald. That church’s location resides on a small hill that was supposedly chosen by the Demon Pig himself.

After the death of King Oswald of Northumbria, who later became St Oswald, it was decided that a church should be built in his honour. This resulted in St Oswald’s Church which also resides close to a local healing well known as St Oswald’s Well (near Golborne, Wigan). However, during construction of the church, strange things began to happen.
Local stone masons and architects were hired and commissioned to build the church, they would ready the ground and lay out all of their tools and stone, ready to begin work the next day. However, when they would return the next day, they would find all of their equipment gone and ground back to normal. As though no foundations had been prepared at all! Perplexed, the team would redo the work and come back to find it all dismantled and moved again! This went on for many days when at last, someone tasked two Nightwatch men to hide in the darkness of the hedgerows and keep a watch for what was happening, and then report back the next day.

Well, the Nightwatch men were employed and given sufficient supplies to last them through the cold night. Hours passed and it was looking as though nothing would happen, especially as dawn would soon arrive, and all of the prepared ground and stonework still remained in place. Debating on whether or not they should just head home early or not, they each heard a distant movement in the darkness. A snuffling, rustling sound…
For a minute, neither man could place the sound, too big for a fox and not human in sound, the men began to peer out from their hiding place. To their shock and horror, a huge pig, three times the size of any normal pig, and with flaming red eyes was stalking around the foundations of what was meant to be the church site, snuffling and grunting at the disturbance to his land. All of a sudden, the pig stood on its hind legs like a grotesque human-like imitation, and reached for the foundation stones with its two front trotters, which now acted like hands…

With one swift heave, the Demon Pig lifted the stone and began to carry it away. A few minutes later, he came back for another, and then another. Unfortunately, though, one of the nightwatchmen let out an involuntary sneeze, which alerted the pig to their presence. The Demon Pig dropped the stone and spun around to face the watchmen’s hiding place. Its eyes glowed red like coals and it let out a high-pitched scream and then a snorting piggish squeal “ween-wick” “ween-wick” before running off in the direction of its lair.
By now, the blackened sky was beginning to be dusked with the faint light of the mornings dawn, but still the Nightwatch men dared not move for fear that the Demon Pig lay in wait somewhere to attack them. Instead, they waited for the full light of dawn and the protection of daybreak before they ventured from their hiding place and ran to the safety of a local inn, where each man gave a collaborating account of the supernatural events of the night before.

A great meeting was called in the village, and it was decided that a local bishop would be called to come and exorcise the land in which they wanted to build the church. In the hopes that this would banish the Demon once and for all.
The holy man came and performed his ritual and the day after, construction of the church began again.
The foundation was dug, the stones set aside for the start of construction and tools left ready and waiting. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, the very next day all of the stonework had been moved again and the ground left as new! To make things worse, many of the villagers had been kept awake most of the night with a terrible howling screeching sound of “ween-wick! ween-wick!” being trailed up and down the Village. An ominous warning if ever there was one.

The next day’s investigation found that the stones had once again been moved and placed upon the small hill right on the edge of the village. The same place as before. A second meeting was held, where it was decided that there was no other choice, the first chosen location for the church was useless, and the church was now to be built upon the hill of the Demon’s choice.

And there it still sits to this day, upon a steep and slightly dizzying hill, especially when stood beneath the stone carving of the demon pig above the main door!

The masonic carving of a pig sits strategically next to another carving that supposedly depicts St Anthony Egypt; who interestingly enough is a patron saint of pigs…

There is some debate as to whether or not this carving is supposed to be that of a pig, some speculate it to be a lion emblem for a local family that used to live in the area. However, the shape of the animal is nothing like a lion and is very much like a pig. It also has a bell tied to its neck – bells were also apparently prized by St Anthony of Egypt. They were also sometimes used on livestock to keep track of where they were grazing. But I cannot think of an occasional where a lion wore a bell around it’s neck…

I think in order to understand the outer wall’s art, we have to look at the front outside wall of the church as a whole.
For St Anthony is not just randomly placed next to the pig for mere decoration, nor are they entirely separate pieces of art. The depiction of St Anthony is looking down towards the pig with a look of both warning and suspicion. As though keeping a protective watch over the pig’s behaviour. A reminder that in the Christian faith, God and the Saints see all and drive away evil. As well as a depiction of bells, a tool used within many branches of Witchcraft to both protect, warn and purify, the figure of St Anthony also has the hand closest to the Demon Pig clenched threateningly; perhaps a staunch warning for evil to back away or feel the wrath of the hand of God…

Given other local Lancashire stone mason art and symbology upon churches, for example that of the evil eye on St Mary’s church in Newchurch in Pendle, an act of Christian sympathetic magic to supposedly keep Witches out of the churchyard, it perhaps isn’t such a far-fetched notion to ponder if this depiction of a Demon Pig and St Anthony is another form of Lancashire apotropaic magick designed to keep both church and village safe from demonic pigs…

One thing I have noticed about Lancashire church art, that makes it stand out from other English counties, is how often churches do in fact incorporate apotropaic symbols and folk art in order to protect its holy sites. This is either a local regional folk magick choice, or a sign of lingering doubt in the minds of locals that perhaps even God needs a little extra power lending to him from time to time. That being consecrated ground alone is not always enough.

Unfortunately, unlike St Mary’s in Newchurch which does document it’s intended use of implementing an evil eye, there are no such documents stating why it was chosen by church officials or masons to implement this likely apotropaic art upon the church of St Oswald. We are left then only to research, as I have done, and assumption.

Why the Demon Pig did not want a church built in the original location is still a mystery. If anything, one would think it would be a case for the opposite, that the hill in Winwick would be seen as a pre-pagan site or fairy hill that was not to be built on. The hill does stand out as unusual for the area. But for whatever reason, the field originally chosen was seen as favourable to the Demon.

Or perhaps it is that the hill is a pre-pagan site of significance, there is after all a healing well nearby, so perhaps the powers of darkness wanted an area of good and of healing swallowed up and bound by the new and advancing Christian church? The truth is we will never know.

But the legend of the demon pig of Winwick lives on, even in the village’s name, which is why the Demon was said to have screeched “Ween-Wick” as it rampaged in the night. No such sightings or hearing of the Pig has been heard in centuries, so perhaps the masonic apotropaic carvings have worked in keep the village safe, or maybe the pig was satisfied that it’s ground would not become sanctified. I must admit that I never saw or heard anything untoward when I stayed in the hotel opposite the church the night before my wedding and handfasting in 2020.

So here is to many a quiet night in Winwick and the binding of Demon Pigs.

Through the time, mists and distance between us, blessings from me to you.