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 25th 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.
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