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.
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