Name:Anne Ashby, (alias Anne Cobler) Location:Cranbrook, Kent Date:1652 Accusations:Anne, a spinster, was accused of bewitching the three year old daughter of Richard Wilding to death, and another infant on 4th December the year before. She was also accused along with four other women of bewitching Elizabeth Osborne on 19th April, 1652, causing her to languish until she died …
As anyone keeping an eye on my Twitter feed will already know, I’ve been busy enjoying the challenges of a new addition to the family for the last few months, which has left little time for blogging and all that goes with it. To get back into the swing of things I’ve decided to have …
Superstition. Cunning. Manipulation. Murder. On 20 March 1809, Mary Bateman was executed in York for the murder of Rebecca, wife to William Perigo. Although the last, this was likely not the first murder to Mary’s name, ‘The Yorkshire Witch’ leaving a trail of theft, poisoning and deceit behind her as she took her place at …
As most readers of this blog know, we had a new addition to the family back in March. It was an eventful occassion in many ways, and along with a long-expected diagnosis of autism for our now middle-child, and the rather less expected discovery that Tiny Baby had a tongue tie that needed snipping, all …
A Visit to Outlaw Territory: Exploring the city of Robin Hood Read More »
The St. Osyth witch trials of 1582 saw thirteen women tried for a variety of witchcraft-related crimes at the Chelmsford Assizes. One of those was Cicely Sellis from Little Clacton where she lived with her husband and children. Cicely entered the long and engrossing narrative of the St. Osyth trials on 1st March, 1582, when …
Arson and Arguments: Cicely Sellis and the St. Osyth Witch Trials. Read More »
One thing that anyone with an interest in witchcraft cases of the 16thand 17th centuries will quickly notice is how often animals are involved in accusations and ‘proof’ of bewitchment. This is unsurprising; animals, especially horses, cows and pigs (the animals most commonly cited in such cases) were of great importance, the loss of one …
Sometimes you live in an area for years without realising what fascinating events took place just down the road. It was over two years after leaving Leeds that I heard about Mary Bateman, the “Yorkshire Witch”, whose terrible deeds led her to an equally terrible fate as the first decade of the 19th century came to a …
Murder and Lies: Mary Bateman, The Yorkshire Witch Read More »
It is with great excitement (and a certain amount of wonder that we have reached this stage!) that I can announce that Accused: British Witches Throughout History is now available for pre-order! The image of the witch – crook-nosed, unpleasant of disposition and with a penchant for harming her neighbours – is well established in …
What immediately springs to mind at the words “Lancashire” and “Witches” are the infamous Pendle witch trials of 1612. There were, however, several later cases in the same area: one such occurred in 1634 when ten year old Edmund Robinson related a fantastical story regarding his experience with local witches. He had, he insisted, witnessed …
The Witch and Her Bucket: Mary Spencer and The Lancashire Witches Read More »
Spiritualist medium Helen Duncan is most frequently remembered for being the last person convicted and imprisoned under the 1736 Witchcraft Act in 1944. Revered by some as the most talented physical medium in history and reviled by others as a monumental fraud, Helen did not work alone. Like many mediums, she believed fully in the support …
The Man Behind the Medium: Helen Duncan and Albert Stewart Read More »
