Joan Peterson of Shadwell, Middlesex, inhabited a hazy area occupied by many in the 17th century. On the one hand, she was a cunning woman or “white” witch, her charms and powers used to help those who were ill or to recover missing or stolen goods. On the other, she was capable of causing the …
Within three years of the accession of James I. the new Act against witchcraft was put in force in the county of Derby, the witches of Bakewell being burnt to death in 1607; but the stores of the Public Record office refuse to yield any information as to their number or the particulars of the …
“Don’t believe everything you read,” is sound advice for the historian or casual reader alike. It was particularly appropriate when, during my recent research into Mary Lakeland, burnt at Ipswich in 1645 for the crime of murdering her husband through witchcraft, I came across a book that seemed to offer some intriguing answers to the …
Richard Deacon and the Tendring Witchcraft Revelations Read More »
It is very often said that very little in life comes without a price. Giles Fenderlin discovered this the hard way when he found himself in prison, awaiting execution because he had: “…made a Covenant with the Devil for 14 years, written with the blood of his two forefingers, and afterwards kill’d his wife.” The …
Treason, rebellion, arson and infanticide were just some of the varied crimes that were tried at the Spring Assizes at York in 1649. Fourteen men and seven women were found guilty and condemned to die, a total of twenty-one from across Yorkshire. York Castle, 1644. The men were all found guilty on charges of treason …
Condemned at York: The Gruesome Crime of Isabella Billington Read More »
The imprisonment and eventual execution of the “Belvoir Witches” takes up only a small paragraph in the guidebook to Lincoln Castle, where they spent their last days in 1619. Their sorry fate however was not only the closing chapter to one of England’s most infamous witchcraft cases, it also saw the end to the dynastic …
I came across the following painting in a recently purchased book, mislabelled as “The Witch.” True, the woman does conform to several witch-related stereotypes; she is old, carrying a broom and dealing with demons. It turns out, however, that “Dulle Griet” or “Mad Meg” is very likely not a witch at all. Dulle Griet, David Ryckaert III …
“Journeying westward and about a half mile from Dunning, we see over the policy wall on a rising ground among the trees, a monument of a kind not to be met with at every town.” Perthshire Advertiser for 20thSeptember 1855 The monument in question is a fascinating sight indeed, and the source of much debate …
Almost everyone knows the name of Matthew Hopkins; self-styled Witchfinder General, he was responsible for the death of approximately one hundred accused witches in the period 1645-47. The majority of these witches were women, and Mary or Mother Lakeland, the wife of an Ipswich Barber, was one of many who fell foul of the witch …
Today’s story from the Library began on 15th November, 1657 in the small rural Somerset town of Shepton Mallet and ended a few short months later with the execution of local resident Jane Brooks. Elderly and at least at times in need, she and her sister were accused of doing great harm to a young …
