The Witches of Warboys and the Death of Lady Cromwell

The case of the Warboys Witches is perhaps one of England's most well known witch-trial cases. The details are related at length in the extensive albeit descriptively-titled 1593 pamphlet:

The most strange and admirable discovery of the three Witches of Warboys, arraigned, convicted and executed at the last Assizes at Huntingdon, for the bewitching of the five daughters of Robert Throckmorton Esquire and divers other persons, with sundry Devilish and grievous torments: And also for the bewitching to death of the Lady Cromwell, the like hath not been heard of in this age.

According to the account, when one of the daughters of Robert Throckmorton fell ill with strange fits, the family did not at first suspect witchcraft to be behind her illness. As his other daughters also started to share their sister's strange symptoms however, suspicion slowly but surely grew, and the finger was pointed at local woman Alice Samuel, fuelled by the girls themselves naming her as their tormentor, along with, eventually, her husband John and daughter Agnes.  

The Manor House at Warboys 

(With kind permission of Philip Almond)

It was mid-March 1590 when Lady Susan Cromwell nee Weeks, entered the story. Second wife to Sir Henry Cromwell, (who was not only an influential man in the area but also happened to be the landlord of the Samuel family) Lady Cromwell and her daughter-in-law visited the beleaguered Throckmorton household to offer their sympathies for the suffering of the children.

According to the pamphlet, Lady Cromwell:

'...had not long stayed in the house but the children which were there fell into their fits. And were so grievously tormented for the time that it pitied the good lady's hear to see them, insomuch that she could not abstain from tears.'

It was not long before she sent for Alice Samuel; being unable to refuse a summons from the wife of the family landlord, Alice had no choice but to attend, whatever her misgivings might have been. Much to her horror, upon Alice's arrival the condition of the ill children worsened, something that did not bode well for the Samuel family for:

'Then the Lady Cromwell took Mother Samuel aside, and charted her deeply with this work, using also some hard speeches to her.'

Being thus accused of causing the suffering of the children, Alice was understandably upset, denying the accusation and retorting that the Throckmorton's accused her unjustly. It wasn't Master and Mistress Throckmorton who accused her, Lady Cromwell reminded Alice firmly, but the girls themselves who pointed the finger, the spirit that spoke through the girls when they were in their fits vowing that Alice was to blame for their pitiful condition.  

Joan Throckmorton, hearing Alice's denial, insisted that Alice was indeed responsible despite her protestations to the contrary, and that there was a spirit with her who was saying as much at that precise moment. The girl professed extreme surprise to learn that no one else present could hear the 'spirit' speak, as she herself could hear it loud and clear. Throughout this, Alice Samuel continued to insist that she had nothing to do with the strange illness that had invaded the household, but Lady Cromwell, unconvinced, wished to question her further in the presence of a visiting divine, Master Doctor Hall.

Oliver Cromwell, Step-Grandson to Lady Susan 

(Wellcome Library, London)

Alice made excuse after excuse however, and it was clear that she intended to leave for her home without satisfying Lady Cromwell in her questions. Thus frustrated, Lady Cromwell pulled off the kerchief Alice wore over her head and cut off a lock of her hair. Not only that, but she took the old woman's hair lace and gave both to the mother of the children with the instruction to put both in the fire to burn them in order to break Alice's power over the girls. At this unexpected and unwarranted violation, Alice Samuel lost whatever composure she had remaining, uttering the fateful and – some later vowed, fatal – words:

'Madam, why do you use me thus? I never did you any harm as yet.'

What happened next goes unrecorded, but Lady Cromwell left the Throckmorton household that night to return home. She did not sleep well at all, and was 'very strangely tormented' by dreams of Alice Samuel. Her agitated state woke her daughter-in-law who was sleeping with her, and she woke Lady Cromwell in turn, at which the older woman described how a cat, sent to her by Alice Samuel had tormented her in her sleep, threatening to pick the skin and flesh from her arms and body.

Lady Cromwell was so disturbed by the dream that she did not sleep again that night our of sheer terror. Not only that, we are told that 'not long after' she fell ill with a strange sickness. It might have been brushed off as coincidence, but the fits suffered by the lady were said to be similar in nature to those experienced by the Throckmorton girls. The only difference was that she was perfectly aware of the fact the whole time, unlike the girls who were periodically unaware of others in the room with them. Throughout, Lady Cromwell never forgot the words uttered to her by Alice Samuel, that she had not caused her any harm – as yet. Lady Cromwell passed away on 11^th July, 1592, a year and a quarter after her ill-fated visit to Warboys.  

It was downhill for the Samuel family from then on. In preparation, Agnes Samuel and Joan Throckmorton were lodged together in the Crown Inn in Huntingdon. Upwards of 500 people were estimated to have visited the pair, attempting and failing to bring Joan out of her fits. On the day of the assizes themselves in April 1593, John Samuel was finally compelled to utter words he had previously refused, admitting that he was a witch and had been party to the death of the Lady Cromwell and commanding Joan Throckmorton to come out of her fit. He was right to have been apprehensive about repeating the words, as the girl appeared as if cured the moment he uttered them. Alice Samuel had also been made to repeat the same words before this point and the same cure was witnessed.  

That evening the judge himself along with several gentlemen and fellow justices attended the pair and it was proved beyond doubt that the only thing that ended Joan's fits was a charge recited by Agnes. 

'As I am a witch and a worse witch than my mother, and did consent to the death of the Lady Cromwell, so I charge the Devil to let Mistress Joan Throckmorton come out of her fit at this present.'

Tragically for Agnes, the girl recovered in full view of those in attendance.  

The following day three indictments were made against the Samuels: the first and most damning was that they were to blame for the death of Lady Cromwell through bewitchment, while the other two dealt with the bewitching of the Throckmorton girls and others in the Throckmorton household. All three were criminal offences under the 1563 Witchcraft Act, but bewitching to death carried with it the death penalty, a crime of which, after the matter was debated for five hours, the Samuel family were found guilty.  

On the day of their execution, Alice Samuel was asked as she stood on the ladder in her final moments to confess again to the murder of Lady Cromwell through witchcraft. She was guilty, she told the assembled crowd, and, when asked why she had borne the lady so much animosity Alice admitted it was because Lady Cromwell had cut some of her hair and burned it along with her hair lace, and that her actions had been carried out in the spirit of revenge. She also implicated her husband in the murder, although right to the end she refused to involve her daughter, trying to protect Agnes to the end. (John Samuel himself never admitted to anything aside from the charge he was forced to recite and neither did Agnes, both going to the noose maintaining their innocence.)

Lady Cromwell's widower, Sir Henry Cromwell, received the goods belonging to the Samuel family, as his right as their landlord. There cannot have been much due to their status, but there was enough money at least to commission an annual sermon to be preached at Huntingdon against the detestable sin of witchcraft. This was carried out until 1812; by that point however the focus had shifted to become instead an indictment and warning against the believing in, rather than the carrying out, of witchcraft.  

Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch To Live: A Tour of England's Witchcraft Legislation

From the middle of the 16^th century, to be found guilty of witchcraft was officially a felony in England. Accordingly, if you were unlucky enough to be found guilty of carrying out a range of related practices, you could expect to find yourself facing punishment, from a relatively lenient stint in the pillory to facing the gallows.

What could lead to conviction? And what punishment could you expect at any given point throughout the two centuries that followed? Here is a handy run-down of witchcraft legislation in England.  

1542 Witchcraft Act: An Act against Conjurations, Witchcrafts, Sorcery, and Enchantments.

This short-lived piece of legislation appeared on the statute books in the closing years of the reign of Henry VIII, stipulating that to be found guilty of killing someone by witchcraft was punishable by death. The guilty party would also forfeit their lands and goods, and the option of benefit of clergy (the sparing of life if the condemned could read a passage from the bible) and sanctuary were also revoked.

Death was likewise the punishment for the crimes of causing wasting or illness by witchcraft (or even the intent to do so), wasting or destroying another's goods (and again the mere intent to do so was considered as bad as actually carrying out the act itself) attempting to locate treasure, money or stolen goods, and also inciting someone to love another against their will through magical means.

Image magic, i.e. creating an image of a person and causing harm to them through the pricking or otherwise tormenting of the image, was also included in the list of actions leglislated against in the act. 

The digging up of wayside crosses to find treasure that was suspected to be buried underneath was clearly a problem in Tudor England, and accusations and arrests for this offence were still taking place well into the first quarter of the 17th century. 

Interestingly, the actions mentioned in the Act were those more often associated with men than women, with the exception of love magic, suggesting that the stereotypical woman witch was not the true target of this piece of legislation. 

The act was repealed by Henry's son, Edward VI upon his accession to the throne in 1547.

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The remains of Woodhey Cross, Cheshire

(Image by Espresso Addict)

1563 Witchcraft Act: An Act against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts

Witchcraft didn't return to the English statute books until 1563, during the reign of Elizabeth I, and this Act marked the first concerted move against witchcraft and related actions. 

Causing death by witchcraft was still punishable by death and the removal of benefit of clergy and sanctuary still applied. (Where loss of goods and lands were concerned however, dower portions and inheritance were  now exempt from the general rule.) 

A sliding scale of offences came into force with this act, as the wasting of another or causing lameness or likewise destruction of goods was punishable on a first offence not by death, but by imprisonment for twelve months. The guilty party would also have to suffer a stint in the pillory four times during that year, along with publically confessing to their crime, but it was still, arguably, better than the previous blanket alternative. (Given the state of the prisons and the frequency of outbreaks of illness however, many unfortunately did not survive their incarceration.)

 A second offence was treated less leniently however, and to be found guilty a second time for the offence of causing wasting or destruction of person or goods resulted in death. A second offence of intending to cause wasting and lameness or destroying goods was punished by imprisonment for life, as was attempted treasure hunting and provoking others to unlawful love.  

Victims of this Act include:

Agnes Waterhouse, the first to be executed for witchcraft in England, executed 1566

Alice, Agnes and John Samuel, The Warboys Witches, executed 1593 

(Image: Wellcome Collection)

1604 Witchcraft Act: An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits.

This Act was one of the earliest pieces of legislation to be passed in the reign of James I – hardly surprising from a monarch with such a personal interest in witches. (James published his anti-witchcraft Daemonologie in 1597, and he was believed to hold a personal vendetta against witches due to his belief that the Berwick Witches had tried to kill him and his Queen.)

As with previous legislation, death was the punishment for bewitching someone to death. Causing illness or destroying goods was again punishable by death for a first offence rather than the two-tiered approach of the 1563 Act. For intending to cause illness or harm to goods, treasure hunting or love magic, a first offence brought imprisonment for a year and four stints in the pillory (for 6 hours at a time) and a repeat offence of any of these acts however brought the death sentence.

A noteworthy departure made the calling up of or communicating with spirits or familiars punishable by death for the first time, rather than just causing death by such means. An additional crime listed in this Act was the exhumation of corpses for use in witchcraft.  

Victims of this Act include:

Anne Whittle and Elizabeth, Alizon and James Device, among the infamous Pendle Witches - executed 1612

Mary Lakeland, one of England's very few verifiable witch burnings, executed 1645

1736 Witchcraft Act:

Under this act in the reign of George II witchcraft ceased to be a felony; instead the belief in witchcraft became the crime and those who accused others of being a witch could and did find themselves – often bewildered to be doing so – before the courts at the instigation of those they had accused.  

Despite the passing of the Act, belief in witchcraft and related superstitions was slow to decline, and particularly in areas such as Devon and Dorset, suspected witches continued to be attacked and accused outside of the court room well into the 19^th century and beyond.

The Act itself was used well into the 20^th century, most famously in the case of the prosecution and imprisonment of spiritualist medium Helen Duncan in 1944. The Act was not repealed until 1951, when it was replaced by The Fraudulent Mediums Act.  

People convicted under this Act include:

Helen Duncan, the last person to be imprisoned under the Act, imprisoned January 1944

Jane Rebecca Yorke, for pretending in the existence of spirits of the dead, (last person convicted under the Act) bound over and fined £5, July 1944

Helen Duncan displaying the 'ectoplasm' for which she was 

so famously known.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

  

The Heart of the Matter: Two Cases of Devonshire Witchcraft

Belief in witches and their ability to cause harm to others was prevelant throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. One popular way to counter the bewitchment and to break the bold of the witch over an individual or his family and livestock was to remove the heart of a dead and bewitched animal.  This would then be stuck with pins and/or then burned. The continuation of such beliefs after official persecutions and prosecutions for the crime of witchcraft is particularly evident in the South West of England,  as these two newspaper reports from Devon testify. 

The first took place in Drewsteignton, Devon,  and was reported in January, 1861. According to the Devices and Wiltshire Gazette,  two horses belonging to "a certain farmer" residing on the western side of the parish had died.  Although the writer attributes this to old age,  the farmer,  his workman,  William,  and their neighbours,  believed the deaths to have been caused by witchcraft.  

After consultation with a "White Witch", the bodies of the dead animals were dug up and the heart of each removed. The hearts were then "stuck all over with pins and blackthorn and wrapped in brown paper." At nightfall,  the organs were burned in a huge fire built nearby,  with a quart of coal used to ensure maximum heat. 

The second incident took place a few years later in 1869, this time in Dittisham.  When a publican lost several pigs in quick succession with no obvious cause,  he was persuaded that witchcraft was behind the death of his animals.  Following the advice of a friend,  he had the heart of one of the dead pigs removed,  and stuck pins all over it.  The Heart was then placed in front of the fire until it "charred to a cinder."

Image from 'The Evil Eye' by Frederick Thomas Elworthy (1895)

sacred-texts.com

Newspaper credits: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

A-Z of the Accused: Isobel Roby

Name: Isobel Roby

Location: Lancashire

Date: 1612

Accusations: One of the less well-known  of the "Pendle Witches", Isobel Roby was unusual in that she was not actually indicted for a specific act of witchcraft against a named victim.  Several people however spoke against her, including Peter Chaddock of Windle, Jane Wilkinson,  Margaret Lyon,  and Margaret Parre, who between them stated that a man had fallen ill after falling out with Isobel,  and that a woman who had refused her milk had experienced an unexplained pinch to her thigh. 

Outcome: Despite the scarcity of evidence or word against her and a plea of 'not guilty',  Isobel was found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death with the rest of the Pendle victims. She was hanged on 20th August,  1612.

The Missing Mercer's Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Katherine Atkins

Tales of strange disappearances and people being transported from one place to another through mystical means are not uncommon in English myth and folklore. What is perhaps more surprising is to find them contained in accounts that purport to be a more 'accurate' telling of historical events.

Such an example is the 1652 pamphlet detailing the trial for witchcraft of several people from Cranbrook, Kent. Tacked onto the end of (and seemingly utterly unconnected to) the telling of the unhappy end of those accused, is 'A true Relation of one Mrs Atkins, a Mercer's Wife in Warwick, who was strangely carried away from her house in July last.' If this were not enough to grab the attention of the reader, it transpired that the missing woman had not been seen since.

(Creative Commons, Colin Craig)

It all started on the night of Saturday 24 July, 1652. Mrs Katherine Atkins had been standing at her door, when a 'certain unknown woman' approached and asked for two pence. Mrs Atkins however, pleading a lack of money herself, refused. Not to be put off, the woman then asked for the pin that Mrs Atkins had on her sleeve. This was duly removed and given to the woman, who seemed most grateful for the gift. Touched by her display of thanks, Mrs Atkins invited her to stay a while, offering to prepare some food, or, if she preferred, the gift of some thread or something else from the shop. The woman however took offence at this and she answered:

'she would have nothing else, and bid a pox on her victuals, and swore (by God) saying 'You shall be an hundred miles off within this week, when you shall want two-pence as much as I.'

With this ominous pronouncement, the woman went away, still grumbling to herself and leaving Katherine Atkins suitably shaken.

Come morning, her mind was still unsettled when she thought of what had occurred, and Mrs Atkins sought the advice of several friends for what to do. No one seemed to be able to offer a solution however or much in the way of reassurance, and on 29 July the tormented woman confided in a family member that she was very worried indeed about what the visitor had foretold. There was a glimmer of hope however; the time that the woman had pronounced her fate was to occur was almost passed: it might therefore not transpire as had been predicted after all.

This tentative optimism turned out to be premature: on Thursday night that week between eight and nine, Mrs Atkins visited her husband's shop. The unfortunate woman was last seen in the entrance way, before vanishing immediately before the very eyes of witnesses. No one knew where Mrs Atkins had gone or how she had been whisked away, and her whereabouts were unknown at the time of the pamphlet being printed. The tale ends with the entreaty that:

'The desire of her husband and friends is of all the inhabitants of this Nation, that if they hear of any such party in such a lost condition as is before expressed; that there may be speedy notice given thereof to her Husband in Warwick, and that all convenient provisions both of horse and money may be made for the conveying of her to the place aforesaid.'

As well as exhorting anyone who located the missing woman to aid her return to her home and family, the author goes on to ask most earnestly that ministers everywhere across the country, and in London in particular, could offer their prayers to God to help Mrs Atkin's return.

A fantastical story indeed. While the events themselves are questionable to say the least, the Atkins family of Warwick did in fact exist. Thomas Adkins or Atkins was baptised at St Mary's, Warwick, in 1612 to John and Elizabeth Adkins, and he had at least one brother, John, baptised 1615. There is no record of Thomas' marriage, but the parish registers contain baptism records for several children to Thomas and Katherine Adkins, including Alicia Adkins baptised 1634 and Anna Adkins baptised 1639. Further evidence regarding the couple can be found in the Hearth Tax index for Warwick which includes a Thomas Adkins living in Market Place, Warwick, and the records confirm that he was also known as Atkins.

Warwick St Mary, as it is today.

(Creative Commons, Chris Nyborg)

How Katherine returned to her home in Warwick or how long she was missing for is unknown, but it appears the situation had a favourable outcome. Several more children were baptised to the couple in the years that followed her supposed disappearance, and Katherine herself was buried in Warwick St Mary's 25^th January 1669. The truth behind her absence and the identity of the mysterious woman who cursed her remains a mystery, although it is unlikely that either were quickly forgotten by Katherine and Thomas Atkins.

A-Z of the Accused: Agnes Hurst

Name: Agnes Hurst

Location: Westhoughton, Lancashire

Date: 1665

Accusations: Jane Gregory testified that her husband Thomas had been taken ill after an encounter with Agnes Hurst, a woman reputed to have been a witch for the last twenty years. He had helped in transporting the old woman in a chair with a group of others, and she had taken him by the hand. This seemingly innocent gesture was, in hindsight, taken as malevolent in nature, as the following day Thomas Gregory was certain he thought he saw someone on the chimney of his house, only to find no one there when he reached home. This was the prelude to his symptoms, as upon entering the house he was taken ill, feeling as if he were being 'pricked' with an awl. Convinced that Agnes and her daughter Margaret had bewitched him, Thomas went to their house to accuse the women; he and Agnes exchanged heated words, during which Agnes said she hoped to see the end of him. Several other members of the Gregory family supported Jane and Thomas' story.

Outcome: Although nothing came of the matter at the time, Agnes and Margaret were indicted three years later for the murder by witchcraft of Thomas Gregory, who according to the burial register for Westhoughton died in 1667. The pair were cleared of the crime however, with Agnes living on until 1670 and her daughter until 1684. 

A-Z of the Accused: Alice Gooderidge

Name: Alice Gooderidge

Date: 1596

Location: Stapenhill, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire

Accusations: In February 1596, Alice was accused of bewitching young Thomas Darling after meeting the boy when he got lost in the woods while hunting with his uncle. Shortly afterwards, Thomas suffered from vomiting and hallucinations; when the doctor called to attend him could do nothing to ease his condition, it was noted that the boy became worse when praying or reading the bible, and witchcraft was diagnosed. When Thomas told of his meeting with the old woman, (and her anger when he happened to break wind in front of her) the finger of blame was soon pointed at sixty-year old Alice Gooderidge, although some also believed her mother, Elizabeth Wright, was actually the woman in question. Upon examination, Alice initially admitted she had been in the wood, but not to seeing Thomas there. Upon being unable to say the Lord's Prayer properly however, the local Justice was called, and Alice and her mother were apprehended by the constable, leading to  Alice finally admitting to having met Thomas Darling. Further evidence was forthcoming: a hole was discovered on Alice's belly, the site, it was said, where she had desperately tried to remove the evidence of the witch's mark that would incriminate her, and although she said the injury was caused by a fall from a ladder, this explanation was not believed. Alice was imprisoned and Thomas Darling continued to suffer: the boy was plagued by hallucinations, fits and, incredibly, was said to have been threatened by a spectral bear.

Outcome: After undergoing inducement to confess, including having the shoes on her feet heated to unbearable temperatures before the fire, Alice finally broke. On 2 and 3 May she confessed that she had bewitched Thomas, and sent the Devil after him in the form of a red and white coloured dog named Minny. She was also charged with bewitching a cow belonging to a man named Michael. Thomas Darling was exorcised by the soon to be infamous exorcist John Darrell, after which the boy recovered from his bewitchment. Alice was not so fortunate; it is believed that she was sentenced to a year in gaol, and although there is no further record of her, it is believed she died during her imprisonment. Tragically, three years later, Thomas Darling confessed that he had fabricated the entire story and his subsequent illness. Darrell, after playing a prominent role in several high-profile possession cases, was like-wise discredited as a fraud.

A-Z of the Accused: Margaret Flower

Name: Margaret Flower

Date: 1619

Location: Bottesford, Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire

Accusations: After Margaret was dismissed from service at Belvoir Castle by the wife of the Earl of Rutland, she was accused along with her mother Joan and sister Philippa of bewitching two of the Earl's sons to death in revenge. The magic was worked against them in turn using a glove belonging to each boy, items Margaret was responsible for procuring. An unsuccessful attempt was likewise made on the life of Katherine, the Earl's daughter, and it was believed that the Flower women had also made sure the Earl and his wife would have no further children.

Outcome: The three women were arrested, and after her mother died on the way to Lincoln, Margaret and her sister made the rest of the journey to Lincoln Castle where they were imprisoned and tried. Margaret related how spirits and devils had appeared to her in her gaol cell; it was only then that she realised her own guilt in the matter and had not before that point thought herself a witch. No doubt terrified and confused, the two sisters incriminated themselves and each other, and Margaret and Philippa were found guilty and hanged. 

A-Z of the Accused: Margaret Ellnore

Name: Margaret Ellnore

Date: 1694

Location: Ipswich

Accusations: Francis Hutchinson recorded in his Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft that when a man named Rudge refused to let Margaret Ellnore a house, his wife fell ill soon afterwards and Margaret was blamed. The woman remained unwell for three years, only improving during the periods when Margaret was arrested and chained up; as soon as Margaret was released, Mistress Rudge once again fell ill. Further accusations were made against her by others, who said they had fallen ill after likewise quarelling with Margaret. To make matters worse, it was said that Margaret's Grandmother and aunt had previously been hanged for witches, (the grandmother having passed her own imps on to her children) something that made her guilt all the more believable as witchcraft was known to run in families.

Outcome: One of the later witchcraft trials to take place in England, Margaret Ellnore had the good luck to be tried by Sir John Holt, a judge who was responsible for acquitting several accused witches during his career and had a reputation for leniency where this particular crime was concerned. Margaret was accordingly found innocent of the crimes of which she was accused. It seems that Holt's leniency only bought Margaret a few more years; a burial record for Maragret Elmore in Ipswich suggests she died in 1697.

A-Z of the Accused: Agnes Duke

Name: Agnes Duke

Location: Hatfield Peverel, Essex

Date: 1566-1589

Accusations: Agnes' first official step on the wrong side of the law was not actually for witchcraft. At the Brentwood Assizes on 14 March 1566, she was indicted along with William Spayne on the charge of burglary;  on 15 December the previous year, the pair had stolen goods from the house of Richard Harris in Agnes' native Hatfield Peverel in Essex. Agnes was found guilty, but was remanded, possibly because she pleaded pregnancy. Her accomplice wasn't as fortunate; Spayne is recorded as having died in prison, a common occurrence given the unsanitary conditions prisoners were frequently held in. 

Agnes was still in prison in March 1567, but was apparently released some time after that, as the next mention of her is not until the Chelmsford Assizes of 1584 when she was again before the courts, this time indicted for murder by witchcraft. It was said that on 7 February 1584 she bewitched John Byrde, who died 25 that same month. Agnes was found not guilty and, again, released. Finally on 13 March 1589 Agnes was again up for charges of witchcraft at Chelmsford, this time working with John Heare to bewitch Joan Hawkins in November 1588, their victim languishing until 10 March the following year. Agnes was again, surprisingly, found not guilty. 

Outcome: Despite being cleared and escaping the noose, Agnes was still listed as a gaol prisoner at the February Chelmsford sessions in 1590. The end result for Agnes is ultimately unknown as mention of her dries up in the Assize records for the period; one might hope she was released, although death in prison was, potentially, more likely. 

A-Z of the Accused: Joan Cason

Name: Joan Cason

Location: Faversham, Kent

Date: 1586

Accusations: When Sarah Cooke's young daughter fell ill, a traveller told her that the girl had been bewitched. To cure her, the worried mother was advised to procure a roof tile from the house of the woman she suspected was responsible: Joan Cason. Sarah was to place the tile in the fire, where it would 'sparkle and fly round the cradle' if the child was indeed bewitched. Sarah Cooke duly carried out the ritual using a tile from the roof of Joan's house, and the result proved positive. To further compound her guilt in the eyes of her neighbours, Joan herself came to the Cooke's house not long afterwards to see how the child did, with disasterous consequences: four hours after looking Joan in the face, young Jane Cooke was dead. Although Joan denied any culpability it did her little good; seven people vouched for the fact that several years ago a rat-like spirit used to visit Joan's house to aid her in her mischief. Despite Joan insisting that those who spoke against her did so out of malice, she was arrested and charged.

Outcome: Joan was indicted on the charge of invoking spirits and also of bewitching young Jane Cooke to death. She was acquitted of the murder charge however and only charged with the conjuring of spirits, after she admitted that the rat-like creature had indeed been a frequent visitor to her own house and others in Faversham. This 'leniency' was due, according to the account in Holinshed, to the jury being reluctant to convict Joan of a crime punishable by death. It seems, however, that their consideration was actually Joan's downfall; a lawyer who was present quibbled the matter of conjuring spirits, and Joan was hanged anyway three days later.

A-Z of the Accused: Jane Brooks

Name: Jane Brooks

Location: Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Date: 1657/8

Accusations: The elderly Jane, along with her sister, was accused of tormenting young Richard Jones. Jane had begged bread from him, and in return had given the boy an apple; after taking a bite from it he had suffered a fit and could not move or speak. Jane and her sister were said to then have continued to torment the boy, visiting him in spectral form; on one momentous occasion the apparition was stabbed in the hand by one of Richard's relations, only for the same injury to be discovered on Jane herself shortly afterwards. 

The boy continued to suffer strange fits and was seen to be in great agony, and matters continuing to escalate, despite rumours that the sisters had offered Richard money to drop the case against them. Most memorably, it was claimed by witnesses that on 25 February 1658 Richard Jones was lifted into the air by an invisible force and transported for three hundred yards – a journey that included clearing a stone wall – after which he was thrown to the ground with such force that he lost consciousness. Jones claimed upon waking that Jane had been responsible and had lifted him into the air – no mean feat for an elderly and frail woman. On another occasion, Richard was discovered floating up by the ceiling of his house, remaining there for quarter of an hour much to the amazement of the several witnesses who saw him.

Outcome: Jane and her sister were sent to the Shepton Mallet House of Correction before being tried at the Chard Assizes in March, 1658. The pair were sent to gaol on 10^th March, from which point Richard Jones ceased to suffer further fits. This did not save Jane however, and she was executed on 26^th of March, while her sister died in prison.

New Year's Witchcraft

Wishing everyone a very happy start to 2018, and hoping that the festive period was a positive one, however you chose to spend it! I'm back blogging with tales of witches and everything weird and wonderful, and what better way to start than with some new year's accusations of witchcraft? 

Agnes and her husband John Godfrey were married 25th January, 1578 at St. Andrew's, Enfield, and had at least six children in the years that followed. There is no evidence one way or another as to how their marriage fared, but relations within the local community were certainly less than harmonious as Agnes was accused of bewitching Thomas Phillippes, a one-year old infant, on 1st January, 1596/7, and another child, William Harvey, on 1st January 1597/98. Both died. In November 1609, Agnes was indicted for both crimes. She was also charged with bewitching a 'steer' (castrated cow), a pig, a 'little pig' and a mare belonging to local gentleman William Durrant, bewitching Frances Baker and causing her illness and wasting, and causing the death of Jasper Tappes. Agnes pleaded 'not guilty' to all charges, but was found guilty of killing William Durrant's animals and also murdering Thomas Phillippes in 1596/7. 

The sentence passed against Agnes is unknown, but she clearly escaped the noose as she was indicted again several years later in 1621 on more charges of witchcraft. The previous enmity between Agnes and William Durrant had not been resolved, as this time she was accused of harming the man himself, causing his body to be wasted. Agnes was also accused of using witchcraft to murder William and Robert Coxe and Henry Butterfield in the years since her previous indictments.

Agnes pleaded 'not guilty' again and was this time acquitted on all counts. This was hopefully the end of at least official accusations for witchcraft for Agnes, as she does not appear in the court records again for any reason. 

(As I can't let these things lie, I am currently pursuing research to find out how long Agnes lived after her acquittal. Watch this space!)

A-Z of the Accused: Anne Ashby

Name: Anne Ashby, (alias Anne Cobler)

Location: Cranbrook, Kent

Date: 1652

Accusations: Anne, a spinster, was accused of bewitching the three year old daughter of Richard Wilding to death, and another infant on 4^th December the year before. She was also accused along with four other women of bewitching Elizabeth Osborne on 19^th April, 1652, causing her to languish until she died on 15^th July that same year. Anne was named as the main 'actress' in the drama that unfolded, and not only confessed to the crimes she was charged with, but also to having let the Devil have carnal knowledge of her. 

Anne appeared to be possessed by a spirit named Rug and to have control over said spirit; she was observed to fall into 'an ecstacy' whilst in court, and when she recovered informed those present that 'the spirit Rug came out of her mouth like a mouse.' According to Anne, the Devil had given the women a piece of flesh and told them that if they touched it they would get whatever they wanted. She also revealed the location of this grisly object, 'of a sinewy substance and scorched,' and, if the account be believed, it was discovered in the place she named. Anne, along with two others of the accused, pleaded pregnancy in an attempt to avoid their fate.  

Outcome: Three of the women were reprieved, but Anne was found guilty at the Maidstone Assizes on Friday 30^th July 1652 and hanged not long afterwards. 

Further details of the case are related in the pamphlet A Prodigious and Tragical History of the Arraignment, Trial, Confession and Condemnation of six Witches at Maidstone, in Kent', printed in London, August 1652. 

A-Z of the Accused

As anyone keeping an eye on my Twitter feed will already know, I've been busy enjoying the challenges of a new addition to the family for the last few months, which has left little time for blogging and all that goes with it. To get back into the swing of things I've decided to have a bit of fun: a set of posts working through the alphabet, each looking at a different accused witch. 

To start with I'll be focusing on English witches; can I find one for each letter? Watch out for a new post each Monday and keep up with previous witches below. 

A: Anne Ashby

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z