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, …
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 …
Name: Elizabeth Kennit/Kennet, alias Smith Location: Stepney, Middlesex Date: 1659 Accusations: Elizabeth was accused of bewitching Sarah Rose on 1st April 1659. Sarah was “wasted, consumed, pained and lamed”, and was still in the same lamentable condition in June of that year when Elizabeth was before the courts. Interestingly, it appears that the widowed Elizabeth …
Name: Rebecca JonesLocation: St. Osyth, EssexDate: 1645Accusations: In the midst of the fresh surge of witchcraft accusations during the Civil War period, Rebecca was accused of causing the deaths of Thomas Bumpstead and his wife Katherine through witchcraft. After her apprehension she confessed that nearly a quarter of a century beforehand, she had been in …
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, …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
