Malmesbury, Wiltshire, 1658 One day a woman known as “Widow Orchard” asked Mary Bartholomew, Daughter of Hugh Bartholomew the brewer, for some yeast. Mary told the widow that there was no yeast to spare, but Orchard suspected – correctly – that she was lying. Telling the young woman ominously that “Then you will give me …
Sometimes research is the most fabulous fun in the world. Other times, it leaves you tearing your hair and wondering why you ever started. This was definitely the case when I decided to look into the supposed witch burning of Elizabeth Abbot in Great Canfield, Essex. I was looking for information on something else entirely, …
Elizabeth Abbot and Dionisia Josselyn: Two Essex Witches Read More »
Isobel Gowdie, perhaps the most famous of accused Scottish witches, came to the attention of the authorites in 1662. It is uncertain just what led to her arrest, although it seems there were rumblings in the area of Auldearn, Nairnshire, for a while beforehand. What is known is that Isobel made a series of spectacular …
Baptised by the Devil: The Confessions of Isobel Gowdie Read More »
Taking a little dip today into the “Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings” section of Dorsetshire Folklore by John Symonds Udal. Here are a few of the best: A peck of worry won’t pay a pound of debt. The age old advice that worrying gets you nowhere. True, but hard to live by! Better be at the …
Greasing the Fat Sow and other Dorsetshire Sayings Read More »
In a week where the phrase “you couldn’t make it up” has been uttered more often than we could have ever imagined, it seems a fitting time to write up my recent reading on the improbable topic of “animated horse hairs.” Yes, you read that right: there once existed a belief that horsehairs were capable …
While flicking through my old favourite local history tome, The History of Ilkeston by Edwin Trueman, I came across yet another fascinating snippet that had me intrigued enough to go looking for more. “A body was drowned in the canal near Ilkeston, the means taken to discover it was as follows: a loaf of bread, scooped …
Name: Alice Nokes or Noakes Location: Lambourne, Essex Accusations: When a servant of Thomas Spycer snatched and refused to return a glove from the pocket of Alice’s twenty-eight year old daughter, Alice vowed revenge on the man. Although he insisted it was only a bit of fun, as she declared “I will bounce him well enough,” the …
Name: Anne Cade, alias Maidenhead Location: Great Holland, Essex Date: 1645 Accusations: According to her confession, around 1623, Anne had been initiated into witchcraft when she received four imps or familiars from her mother. Three of these were like mice, and called James, Prickeare and Robin. The fourth, in the form of a sparrow, was, …
According to the pamphlet, A True Account of a Strange and Wonderful Relation of One John Tonken, of Penzance in Cornwall, a youth of fifteen or sixteen years of age by the name of John Tonken or Tomkins found himself “strangely taken with sudden fits” in May, 1686. As he lay suffering in his bed, …
A Case of Cornish Witchcraft: The Sufferings of John Tonken Read More »
Name: Elizabeth Lightbone or Lightbound Location: Christleton, Cheshire Date: 1613 Accusations: Elizabeth, wife of yeoman William Lightbone, was accused of several counts of witchcraft against her Christleton neighbours. On 30 May, 1613, she was believed to have bewitched Richard Rider so that he became lame until 20 September of that year. Prior to that, on …