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.
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