List Of Cases Of Witchcraft 1558-1718 With References To Sources And Literature
1558. John Thirkle, "taylour, detected of conjuringe," to be
examined. Acts of Privy Council, n. s., VII, 6.
---- Several persons in London charged with conjuration to
be sent to the Bishop of London for examination.
Ibid., 22.
1559. Westminster. Certain persons examined on suspicion,
including probably Lady Frances Throgmorton. Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1547-1580, 142.
c. 1559. Lady Chandos's daughter accused and imprisoned
with George Throgmorton. Brit Mus., Add. MSS.,
32,091, fol. 176.
1560. Kent. Mother Buske of St. John's suspected by the
church authorities. Visitations of Canterbury in
Archaeologia Cantiana, XXVI, 31.
1561. Coxe, alias Devon, a Romish priest, examined for magic
and conjuration, and for celebrating mass. Cal. St.
P., Dom., 1547-1580, 173.
---- London. Ten men brought before the queen and council
on charge of "trespass, contempt, conjuration and
sorceries." Punished with the pillory and required
to renounce such practices for the future. From an
extract quoted in Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS., 3,943,
fol. 19.
1565. Dorset. Agnes Mondaye to be apprehended for bewitching
Mistress Chettell. Acts P. C., n. s., VII,
200-201.
1565-1573. Durham. Jennet Pereson accused to the church
authorities. Depositions ... from ... Durham (Surtees
Soc.), 99.
1566. Chelmsford, Essex. Mother Waterhouse hanged; Alice
Chandler hanged, probably at this time; Elizabeth
Francis probably acquitted. The examination and
confession of certaine Wytches at Chensforde. For
the cases of Elizabeth Francis and Alice Chandler
see also A detection of damnable driftes, A iv, A
v, verso.
---- Essex. "Boram's wief" probably examined by the
archdeacon. W. H. Hale, A Series of Precedents
and Proceedings in Criminal Causes, 1475-1640,
extracted from the Act Books of Ecclesiastical
Courts in the Diocese of London (London, 1847),
147.
1569. Lyme, Dorset. Ellen Walker accused. Roberts, Southern
Counties, 523.
1570. Essex. Malter's wife of Theydon Mount and Anne
Vicars of Navestock examined by Sir Thomas Smith.
John Strype, Life of Sir Thomas Smith (ed. of Oxford,
1820), 97-100.
1570-1571. Canterbury. Several witches imprisoned. Mother
Dungeon presented by the grand jury. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, IX, pt. 1, 156 b; Wm. Welfitt,
"Civis," Minutes collected from the Ancient Records
of Canterbury (Canterbury, 1801-1802), no. VI.
---- ---- Folkestone, Kent. Margaret Browne, accused of
"unlawful practices," banished from town for seven
years, and to be whipped at the cart's tail if found
within six or seven miles of town. S. J. Mackie,
Descriptive and Historical Account of Folkestone
(Folkestone, 1883), 319.
1574. Westwell, Kent. "Old Alice" [Norrington?] arraigned
and convicted. Reginald Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft,
130-131.
---- Middlesex. Joan Ellyse of Westminster convicted on
several indictments for witchcraft and sentenced to
be hanged. Middlesex County Records, I, 84.
c. 1574. Jane Thorneton accused by Rachel Pinder, who
however confessed to fraud. Discloysing of a late
counterfeyted possession.
1575. Burntwood, Staffordshire. Mother Arnold hanged at
Barking. From the title of a pamphlet mentioned
by Lowndes: The Examination and Confession of a
notorious Witch named Mother Arnold, alias Whitecote,
alias Glastonbury, at the Assise of Burntwood
in July, 1574; who was hanged for Witchcraft at
Barking, 1575. Mrs. Linton, Witch Stories, 153,
says that many were hanged at this time, but I cannot
find authority for the statement.
---- Middlesex. Elizabeth Ducke of Harmondsworth
acquitted. Middlesex County Records, I, 94.
---- Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Katharine Smythe acquitted.
Henry Harrod, "Notes on the Records of the Corporation
of Great Yarmouth," in Norfolk Archaeology,
IV, 248.
1577. Seaford, Sussex. Joan Wood presented by the grand
jury. M. A. Lower, "Memorials of Seaford," in
Sussex Archaeological Soc., Collections, VII, 98.
---- Middlesex. Helen Beriman of Laleham acquitted.
Middlesex County Records, I, 103.
---- Essex. Henry Chittam of Much Barfield to be tried
for coining false money and conjuring. Acts P. C.,
n. s., IX, 391; X, 8, 62.
1578. Prescall, Sanford, and "one Emerson, a preiste," suspected
of conjuration against the queen. The first
two committed. Id., X, 382; see also 344, 373.
---- Evidence of the use of sorcery against the queen discovered.
Cal. St. P., Spanish, 1568-1579, 611; see
also note to Ben Jonson's Masque of Queenes (London,
Shakespeare Soc., 1848), 71.
---- Sussex. "One Tree, bailiff of Lewes, and one Smith
of Chinting" to be examined. Acts P. C., n. s., X, 220.
1579. Chelmsford, Essex. Three women executed. Mother
Staunton released because "no manslaughter objected
against her." A Detection of damnable driftes.
---- Abingdon, Berks. Four women hanged; at least two
others and probably more were apprehended. A
Rehearsall both straung and true of ... acts committed
by Elisabeth Stile ...; Acts P. C., n. s.,
XI, 22; Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, 10, 51, 543.
---- Certain persons suspected of sorcery to be examined
by the Bishop of London. Acts P. C., n. s., XI, 36.
---- Salop, Worcester, and Montgomery. Samuel Cocwra
paid for "searching for certen persons suspected
for conjuracion." Ibid., 292.
---- Southwark. Simon Pembroke, a conjurer, brought to the
parish church of St. Saviour's to be tried by the
"ordinarie judge for those parties," but falls dead
before the opening of the trial. Holinshed, Chronicles
(ed. of 1586-1587), III, 1271.
---- Southampton. Widow Walker tried by the leet jury,
outcome unknown. J. S. Davies, History of Southampton
(Southampton, 1883), 236.
1579-1580. Shropshire. Mother Garve punished in the corn
market. Owen and Blakeway, History of Shrewsbury,
I, 562.
1580. Stanhope, Durham. Ann Emerson accused by the
church officials. Injunctions ... of ... Bishop of
Durham (Surtees Soc.), 126.
---- Bucks. John Coleman and his wife examined by four
justices of the peace at the command of the privy
council. They were probably released. Acts P. C., n.
s., XI, 427; XII, 29.
---- Kent. Several persons to be apprehended for conjuration.
Id., XII, 21-23.
---- Somerset. Henry Harrison and Thomas Wadham, suspected
of conjuration, to appear before the privy
council. Ibid., 22-23.
---- Somerset. Henry Fize of Westpenner, detected in conjuration,
brought before the privy council. Ibid., 34.
---- Essex. "Sondery persones" charged with sorceries and
conjuration. Acts P. C., XII, 29, 34.
1581. Randoll and four others accused for "conjuring to
know where treasure was hid in the earth." Randoll
and three others found guilty. Randoll alone
executed. Holinshed, Chronicles (London, 1808),
IV, 433.
1581. Padstow, Cornwall. Anne Piers accused of witchcraft.
Examination of witnesses. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1581-1590,
29. See also Acts P. C., n. s., XIII, 228.
1581. Rochester, Kent. Margaret Simmons acquitted. Scot,
Discoverie, 5.
1581-82. Colchester, Essex. Annis Herd accused before the
"spiritual Courte." Witches taken at St. Oses, 1582.
1582. St. Osyth, Essex. Sixteen accused, one of whom was a
man. How many were executed uncertain. It seems
to have been a tradition that thirteen were executed.
Scot wrote that seventeen or eighteen were executed.
Witches taken at St. Oses, 1582; Scot, Discoverie, 543.
1582 (or before). "T. E., Maister of Art and practiser both of
physicke, and also in times past, of certeine vaine
sciences," condemned for conjuration, but reprieved.
Scot, Discoverie, 466-469.
1582. Middlesex. Margery Androwes of Clerkenwell held in
bail. Middlesex County Records, I, 133.
1582. Durham. Alison Lawe of Hart compelled to do penance.
Denham Tracts (Folk-Lore Soc.), II, 332.
1582. Kent. Goodwife Swane of St. John's suspected by the
church authorities. Archaeol. Cant., XXVI, 19.
1582-83. Nottingham. A certain Batte examined before the
"Meare" of Nottingham. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports,
XII, pt. 4, 147.
1582-83. King's Lynn. Mother Gabley probably hanged. Excerpt
from parish register of Wells in Norfolk, in
the Gentleman's Magazine, LXII (1792), 904.
1583. Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire. Three women tried,
one sentenced to a year's imprisonment and the pillory.
J. J. Sheahan, History of Kingston-upon-Hull
(London, 1864), 86.
1583. Colchester, Essex. Two women sentenced to a year
in prison and to four appearances in the pillory. E.
L. Cutts, Colchester (London, 1888), 151. Henry
Harrod, Report on the Records of Colchester (Colchester,
1865), 17; App., 14.
1583. St. Peter's, Kent. Ellen Bamfield suspected by the
church authorities. Archaeol. Cant., XXVI, 45.
1584. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Elizabeth Butcher (punished
before) and Joan Lingwood condemned to be
hanged. C. J. Palmer, History of Great Yarmouth,
I, 273.
1584. Staffordshire. An indictment preferred against Jeffrey
Leach. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1581-1590, 206.
1584. "The oulde witche of Ramsbury" and several other
"oulde witches and sorcerers" suspected. Cal. St.
P., Dom., 1581-1590, 220.
1584. York. Woman, indicted for witchcraft and "high
treason touching the supremacy," condemned. Cal.
St. P., Dom., Add. 1580-1625, 120-121.
1584. Middlesex. Elizabeth Bartell of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields
acquitted. Middlesex County Records, I, 145.
1585. Middlesex. Margaret Hackett of Stanmore executed.
From titles of two pamphlets mentioned by Lowndes,
The severall Facts of Witchcrafte approved on Margaret
Haskett ... 1585, and An Account of Margaret
Hacket, a notorious Witch ... 1585.
1585. Middlesex. Joan Barringer of "Harroweelde" (Harrow
Weald) acquitted. Middlesex County Records,
I, 157.
1585. Dorset. John Meere examined. Cal. St. P., Dom.,
1581-90, 246-247.
1585-86. Alnwick, Northumberland. Two men and two women
committed to prison on suspicion of killing a sheriff.
Denham Tracts, II, 332; Cal. S. P., Dom., Add. 1580-1625, 168.
1586. Eckington, Derbyshire. Margaret Roper accused. Discharged.
Harsnett, Discovery of the Fraudulent
Practises of John Darrel, 310.
1586. Faversham, Kent. Jone Cason [Carson] tried before
the mayor, executed. Holinshed, Chronicles (1586-1587),
III, 1560.
1587. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Helena Gill indicted. C. J.
Palmer, History of Great Yarmouth, 273. H. Harrod
in Norfolk Archaeology, IV, 248, assigns this to
1597, but it is probably a mistake.
c. 1588. A woman at R. H. said to have been imprisoned and
to have died before the assizes. Gifford, Dialogue
(London, 1603), C.
1589. Chelmsford, Essex. Three women hanged. The apprehension
and confession of three notorious Witches.
1589. Several persons to be examined about their dealings in
conjuration with an Italian friar. Acts P. C., n. s.,
XVII, 31-32.
1589. Mrs. Deir brought into question for sorcery against
the queen. Charge dismissed. Strype, Annals of
the Reformation (London, 1709-1731), IV, 7-8.
1590. Mrs. Dewse suspected of attempting to make use of conjurors.
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1581-1590, 644.
1590. John Bourne, a "sorcerer and seducer," arrested. Acts
P. C., n. s., XVIII, 373.
1590. Berwick. A Scottish witch imprisoned. John Scott,
History of Berwick (London, 1888), 180; Archaeologia,
XXX, 172.
1590. Norfolk. Margaret Grame accused before justice of the
peace. Neighbors petition in her behalf. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, Various, II, 243-244.
1590. King's Lynn. Margaret Read burnt. Benjamin Mackerell,
History and Antiquities ... of King's Lynn,
(London, 1738), 231.
1590. Edmonton, Middlesex. Certain men taken for witchcraft
and conjuring. Bloodhound used in pursuit
of them. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1581-1590, 689.
1590-91. Hertfordshire. Indictment of Joan White for killing.
Hertfordshire County Session Rolls, I, 4.
1591. John Prestall suspected. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1591-1594,
17-19.
1591. Middlesex. Stephen Trefulback of Westminster given
penalty of statute, i. e., probably pillory. Middlesex
County Records, I, 197.
1592. Colchester, Essex. Margaret Rand indicted by grand
jury. Brit. Mus., Stowe MSS., 840, fol. 42.
1592. Yorkshire. "Sara B. de C." examined. West, Symboleography,
pt. II (London, 1594), ed. of 1611, fol.
134 verso (reprinted in County Folk-Lore, Folk-Lore
Soc., 135). Whether the "S. B. de C. in comit.
H." whose indictment in the same year is printed
also by West may possibly be the same woman can
not be determined.
1592. Yorkshire. Margaret L. de A. examined. Ibid.
1593. Warboys, Huntingdonshire. Mother, daughter and
father Samuel executed. The most strange and
admirable discoverie of the three Witches of Warboys.
1593. See also John Darrel, A Detection of
that sinnful ... discours of Samuel Harshnet, 20-21,
39-40, 110. Harsnett, Discovery of the Fraudulent
Practises of John Darrel, 93, 97.
1594. Jane Shelley examined for using sorcerers to find the
time of the queen's death. Hist. MSS. Comm., Cecil., pt. V, 25.
1595. St. Peter's Kent. Two women presented by the church
authorities. Still suspected in 1599. Archaeol. Cant., XXVI, 46.
1595. Woodbridge, Suffolk. Witches put in the pillory.
County Folk-Lore, Suffolk (Folk-Lore Soc., London, 1895), 193.
1595. Jane Mortimer pardoned for witchcraft. Bodleian,
Tanner MSS., CLXVIII, fol. 29.
1595. Near Bristol, Somerset. Severall committed for the
Earl of Derby's death. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports,
IV, app., 366 b. See also E. Baines's Lancaster
(London, 1870), 273-274 and note.
1595. Barnet and Braynford, Herts. Three witches executed.
From title of pamphlet mentioned by Lowndes,
The Arraignment and Execution of 3 detestable
Witches, John Newell, Joane his wife, and Hellen
Calles: two executed at Barnett and one at Braynford,
1 Dec. 1595.
1596 (or before). Derbyshire. Elizabeth Wright (mother
of Alice Gooderidge) several times summoned before
the justice of the peace on suspicion. The
most wonderfull and true Storie of ... Alse Gooderidge
(1597).
1596. Burton-upon-Trent, Derbyshire. Alice Gooderidge tried
at Derby, convicted. Died in prison. Harsnett, Discovery
of the fraudulent Practises of John Darrel;
John Darrel, Detection of that sinnful ... discours
of Samuel Harshnet, 38, 40; The most wonderfull
and true Storie of ... Alse Gooderidge (1597).
1596-1597. Leicester. Mother Cooke hanged. Mary Bateson,
Records of the Borough of Leicester (Cambridge,
1899), III, 335.
1596-1597. Lancaster. Hartley condemned and executed.
John Darrel, True Narration (in the Somers Tracts,
III), 175, 176; George More, A True Discourse
concerning the certaine possession ... of 7 persons
... in Lancashire, 18-22; John Darrel, Detection
of that sinnful ... discours of Samuel Harshnet, 40.
1597. Nottingham. Thirteen or more accused by Somers, at
least eight of whom were put in gaol. All but two
discharged. Alice Freeman tried at the assizes and
finally acquitted. John Darrel, Detection of that
sinnful ... discours of Samuel Harshnet, 109-111;
An Apologie or defence of the possession of William
Sommers, L-L 3; Samuel Harsnett, Discovery
of the Fraudulent Practises of John Darrel, 5, 102,
140-141, 320-322.
1597. St. Lawrence, Kent. Sibilla Ferris suspected by the
church authorities. Archaeol. Cant., XXVI, 12.
1597. Nottingham. William Somers accused of witchcraft as
a ruse to get him into the house of correction.
Darrel, A True Narration of the ... Vexation ...
of seven persons in Lancashire, in Somers Tracts,
III, 184; also his Brief Apologie (1599), 17.
1597. Yorkshire. Elizabeth Melton of Collingham condemned,
pardoned. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1595-1597, 400.
1597. Lancashire. Alice Brerely of Castleton condemned,
pardoned. Ibid., 406.
1597. Middlesex. Agnes Godfrey of Enfield held by the justice
of the peace on L10 bail. Middlesex County Records, I, 237.
1597. St. Andrew's in Holborne, Middlesex. Josia Ryley
arraigned. "Po se mortuus in facie curie," i. e.
Posuit se moriturum. Ibid., 225.
1597. Middlesex. Helen Spokes of St. Giles-in-the-Fields
acquitted. Ibid., 239.
1598. Berwick. Richard Swynbourne's wife accused. John
Scott, History of Berwick (London, 1888), 180.
1598. St. Peter's, Kent. Two women suspected by the church
officials; one of them presented again the next year.
Archaeol. Cant., XXVI, 46.
1598. King's Lynn. Elizabeth Housegoe executed. Mackerell,
History and Antiquities of King's Lynn, 232.
1599. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Jone Jordan of Shadbrook
tried. Darrel, A Survey of Certaine Dialogical
Discourses, 54.
1599. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Joane Nayler tried. Ibid.
1599. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Oliffe Bartham of Shadbrook
executed. The Triall of Maist. Dorrel, 92-98.
1599. London. Anne Kerke of Bokes-wharfe executed at
"Tiburn." The Triall of Maist. Dorrel, 99-103.
1600. Hertford. A "notable witch" committed to the gaol
at Hertford. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Cecil
MSS., pt. X, 310.
1600. Rosa Bexwell pardoned. Bodleian, Tanner MSS.,
CLXVIII, fol. 104.
1600. Norfolk. Margaret Fraunces committed for a long
time. Probably released by justice of the peace on
new evidence. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, X, pt.
II (Gawdy MSS.), 71. See also below, pp. 400, 401.
1600. Ipswich, Suffolk. Several conjurers suspected. Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1598-1601, 523.
1601. Bishop Burton, York. Two women apprehended for
bewitching a boy. Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 32,496,
fol. 42 b.
1601. Middlesex. Richard Nelson of St. Katharine's arraigned.
Middlesex County Records, I, 260.
1601. Nottingham. Ellen Bark presented at the sessions.
Records of the Borough of Nottingham, IV, 260-261.
1602. Middlesex. Elizabeth Roberts of West Drayton indicted
on three charges, acquitted. Middlesex
County Records, I, 212.
1602. Saffron Walden, Essex. Alice Bentley tried before the
quarter sessions. Case probably dismissed. Darrel,
A Survey of Certaine Dialogical Discourses, 54.
temp. Eliz. Northfleet, Kent. Pardon to Alice S. for bewitching
a cow and pigs. Bodleian, Rawlinson MSS., C 404, fol. 205 b.
temp. Eliz. Woman condemned to prison and pillory. Gifford,
Dialogue concerning Witches (1603), L 4 verso.
temp. Eliz. Cambridge. Two women perhaps hanged at this
time. Henry More, Antidote to Atheisme, III. But
see 1605, Cambridge.
temp. Eliz. Mother W. of W. H. said to have been executed.
Gifford, Dialogue concerning Witches, D 4 verso--E.
temp. Eliz. Mother W. of Great T. said to have been hanged.
Ibid., C 4.
temp. Eliz. Woman said to have been hanged. Ibid., L 3-L 3 verso.
temp. Eliz. Two women said to have been hanged. Ibid., I 3 verso.
1602-1603. London. Elizabeth Jackson sentenced, for bewitching
Mary Glover, to four appearances in the pillory
and a year in prison. John Swan, A True and Breife
Report of Mary Glover's Vexation; E. Jorden, A
briefe discourse of ... the Suffocation of the
Mother, 1603; also a MS., Marie Glover's late woefull
case ... upon occasion of Doctor Jordens discourse
of the Mother, wherein hee covertly taxeth,
first the Phisitiones which judged her sicknes a vexation
of Sathan and consequently the sentence of
Lawe and proceeding against the Witche who was
discovered to be a meanes thereof, with A defence
of the truthe against D. J. his scandalous Impugnations,
by Stephen Bradwell, 1603. Brit. Mus., Sloane
MSS., 831. An account by Lewis Hughes, appended
to his Certaine Grievances (1641-2), is quoted
by Sinclar, Satan's Invisible World Discovered
(Edinburgh, 1685), 95-100; and hence Burton (The
Kingdom of Darkness) and Hutchinson (Historical
Essay concerning Witchcraft) assign a wrong date.
1603. Yorkshire. Mary Pannel executed for killing in 1593.
Mayhall, Annals of Yorkshire (London, 1878), I,
58. See also E. Fairfax, A Discourse of Witchcraft,
179-180.
1603. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Ales Moore in gaol on suspicion.
C. J. Palmer, History of Great Yarmouth, II, 70.
1604. Wooler, Northumberland. Katherine Thompson and
Anne Nevelson proceeded against by the Vicar General
of the Bishop of Durham. Richardson, Table
Book, I, 245; J. Raine, York Depositions, 127, note.
1605. Cambridge. A witch alarm. Letters of Sir Thomas
Lake to Viscount Cranbourne, January 18, 1604/5,
and of Sir Edward Coke to Viscount Craybourne,
Jan. 29, 1604/5, both in Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 6177,
fol. 403. This probably is the affair referred to in
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1603-1610, 218. Nor is it impossible
that Henry More had this affair in mind when
he told of two women who were executed in Cambridge
in the time of Elizabeth (see above, temp.
Eliz., Cambridge) and was two or three years astray
in his reckoning.
1605. Doncaster, York. Jone Jurdie of Rossington examined.
Depositions in Gentleman's Magazine, 1857, pt. I, 593-595.
1606. Louth, Lincolnshire. "An Indictment against a Witche."
R. W. Goulding, Louth Old Corporation Records
(Louth, 1891), 54.
1606. Hertford. Johanna Harrison and her daughter said to
have been executed. This rests upon the pamphlet
The Most Cruell and Bloody Murther, ... See appendix
A, Sec. 3.
1606. Richmond, Yorkshire. Ralph Milner ordered by quarter
sessions to make his submission at Mewkarr
Church. North Riding Record Society, I, 58.
1607. Middlesex. Alice Bradley of Hampstead arraigned on
four bills, acquitted. Middlesex County Records,
II, 8.
1607. Middlesex. Rose Mersam of Whitecrosse Street acquitted.
Ibid., II, 20.
1607. Bakewell, Derby. Several women said to have been executed
here. See Robert Simpson, A Collection of
Fragments illustrative of the History and Antiquities
of Derby (Derby, 1826), 90; Glover, History of
Derby (ed. Thos. Noble, 1833), pt. I, vol. II, p. 613;
J. C. Cox, Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals,
II, 88. For what purports to be a detailed account
of the affair see W. Andrews, Bygone Derbyshire,
180-184.
1607-11. Rye, Sussex. Two women condemned by local
authorities probably discharged upon interference
from London. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, XIII,
pt. 4, 136-137, 139-140, 147-148.
1608. Simon Read pardoned. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1603-1610, 406.
1610. Norfolk. Christian[a] Weech, pardoned in 1604, now
again pardoned. Ibid., 96, 598. Was this the Christiana
Weekes of Cleves Pepper, Wilts, who in 1651
and 1654 was again and again accused of telling
where lost goods were? See Hist. MSS. Comm.
Reports, Various, I, 120.
1610. Middlesex. Agnes Godfrey of Enfield, with four bills
against her, acquitted on three, found guilty of killing.
File containing sentence lost. Middlesex County
Records, II, 57-58. Acquitted again in 1621. Ibid.,
79, 80.
1610. Leicestershire. Depositions taken by the sheriff concerning
Randall and other witches. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, XII, pt. 4 (MSS. of the Duke of
Rutland), I, 422.
1611. Carnarvon. Story of witchcraft "committed on six
young maids." Privy Council orders the Bishop of
Bangor and the assize judges to look into it. Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1611-1618, 53.
1611. Wm. Bate, indicted twenty years before for practising
invocation, etc., for finding treasure, pardoned. Ibid., 29.
1611. Thirsk, Yorkshire. Elizabeth Cooke presented by quarter
sessions for slight crime related to witchcraft.
North Riding Record Soc., I, 213.
1612. Lancaster. Margaret Pearson, who in 1612 was sentenced
to a year's imprisonment and the pillory, had
been twice tried before, once for killing, and once for
bewitching a neighbor. Potts, Wonderfull Discoverie
of Witches in the countie of Lancaster
(Chetham Soc., 1845).
1612. Lancaster. Ten persons of Pendle sentenced to death,
one to a year's imprisonment; eight acquitted including
three women of Salmesbury. Potts, Wonderfull
Discoverie of Witches, Chetham Soc., 1845.
But cf. Cooper's words (Mystery of Witchcraft,
1617), 15.
1612. York. Jennet Preston sentenced to death. Potts,
Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches.
1612. Northampton. At least four women and one man
hanged. Many others accused, one of whom died in
gaol. The Witches of Northamptonshire, 1612; also
Brit Mus., Sloane MSS., 972, fol. 7.
1613. Bedford. Mother Sutton and Mary Sutton, her daughter,
of Milton Miles hanged. Witches Apprehended,
Examined and Executed, 1613. See app. A, Sec. 3,
for mention of another pamphlet on the same subject,
A Booke of the Wytches lately condemned and
executed. See also The Wonderful Discoverie of ...
Margaret and Phillip Flower, preface, and Richard
Bernard, Guide to Grand Jurymen, III.
1613. Wilts. Margaret Pilton of Warminster, accused at
quarter sessions, probably released. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, Various, I, 86-87.
1614. Middlesex. Dorothy Magick of St. Andrew's in Holborn
sentenced to a year's imprisonment and four
appearances in the pillory. Middlesex County Records,
II, 91, 218.
1615. Middlesex. Joan Hunt of Hampstead, who had been,
along with her husband, twice tried and acquitted,
and whose accuser had been ordered to ask forgiveness,
sentenced to be hanged. Middlesex County
Records, II, lii, 95, 110, 217-218.
1616. Leicester. Nine women hanged on the accusation of a
boy. Six others accused, one of whom died in prison,
five released after the king's examination of the
boy. Robert Heyrick's letters from Leicester, July
16 and October 15, 1616, reprinted in the Annual
Register, 1800, p. 405. See also Cal. S. P., Dom.,
1611-1618, 398, and William Kelly, Royal Progresses
in Leicester (Leicester, 1855), pt. II, 15.
1616. King's Lynn, Norfolk. Mary Smith hanged. Alexander
Roberts, Treatise of Witchcraft (London, 1616);
Mackerell, History and Antiquities of King's Lynn, 233.
1616. Middlesex. Elizabeth Rutter of Finchley, for laming
and killing three persons, sentenced to be hanged.
Middlesex County Records, II, 108, 218.
1616. Middlesex. Margaret Wellan of London accused "upon
suspition to be a witch." Andrew Camfield held in
L40 bail to appear against her. Middlesex County
Records, II, 124-125.
1617. Middlesex. Agnes Berrye of Enfield sentenced to be
hanged. Ibid., 116, 219.
1617. Middlesex. Anne Branche of Tottenham arraigned on
four counts, acquitted. Ibid., 219.
1618. Middlesex. Bridget Meakins acquitted. Ibid., 225.
1619. Lincoln. Margaret and Philippa Flower hanged. Their
mother, Joan Flower, died on the way to prison.
The Wonderful Discoverie of the Witchcrafts of
Margaret and Phillip Flower; J. Nichols, History
and Antiquities of the County of Leicester (1795-1815),
II, pt. I, 49; Cal. St. P., Dom., 1619-1623, 129;
Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Rutland MSS., IV, 514.
1619. Leicester. Three women, Anne Baker, Joan Willimot,
Ellen Green, accused and confessed. Doubtless executed.
The Wonderful Discoverie of the Witchcrafts
of Margaret and Phillip Flower.
1619. Middlesex. Agnes Miller of Finchley acquitted. Middlesex
County Records, II, 143-144.
1620. London. "One Peacock, sometime a schoolmaster and
minister," for bewitching the king, committed to the
Tower and tortured. Williams, Court and Times
of James I, II, 202; Cal. St. P., Dom., 1619-1623, 125.
1620. Leicester. Gilbert Smith, rector of Swithland, accused of
witchcraft among other things. Leicestershire and
Rutland Notes and Queries, I, 247.
1620. Padiham, Lancashire. Witches in prison. House and
Farm Accounts of the Shuttleworths, pt. II. (Chetham
Soc., 1856), 240.
1620. Staffordshire. Woman accused on charges of the "boy
of Bilson" acquitted. The Boy of Bilson (London,
1622); Arthur Wilson, Life and Reign of James I,
107-112; Webster, Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft,
274-275.
1621. Edmonton, Middlesex. Elizabeth Sawyer hanged. The
wonderfull discoverie of Elizabeth Sawyer, by
Henry Goodcole (1621).
1621. Middlesex. Anne Beaver, accused of murder on six
counts, acquitted. Middlesex County Records, II,
72-73. Acquitted again in 1625. Ibid., III, 2.
1622. York. Six women indicted for bewitching Edward Fairfax's
children. At April assizes two were released
upon bond, two and probably four discharged. At
the August assizes they were again acquitted. Fairfax,
A Discourse of Witchcraft (Philobiblon Soc.,
London, 1858-1859).
1622. Middlesex. Margaret Russel, alias "Countess," committed
to Newgate by Sir Wm. Slingsby on a charge
by Lady Jennings of injuring her daughter. Dr. Napier
diagnosed the daughter's illness as epilepsy.
Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 36,674, fol. 134.
1623. Yorkshire. Elizabeth Crearey of North Allerton sentenced
to be set in the pillory once a quarter. Thirsk
Quarter Sessions Records in North Riding Record
Society (London, 1885), III, 177, 181.
1624. Bristol. Two witches said to have been executed. John
Latimer, The Annals of Bristol in the Seventeenth
Century (Bristol, 1900), 91. Latimer quotes from
another "annalist."
temp. Jac. I? Two women said to have been hanged. Story
doubtful. Edward Poeton, Winnowing of White
Witchcraft (Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS., 1,954), 41-42.
temp. Jac. I. Norfolk. Joane Harvey accused for scratching
"an olde witche" there, "Mother Francis nowe
deade." Mother Francis had before been imprisoned
at Norwich. Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 28,223, fol. 15.
temp. Jac. I. Warwickshire. Coventry haunted by "hellish sorcerers."
"The pestilent brood" also in Cheshire.
Thomas Cooper, The Mystery of Witchcraft (1617),13, 16.
temp. Jac. I. Norwich. Witches probably accused for illness
of a child. Possibly Mother Francis was one of
them. Cooper, ibid., "Epistle Dedicatorie."
1626. Taunton, Somerset. Edmund Bull and Joan Greedie
accused. Brit. Mus., Add. MSS., 36,674, fol. 189;
Wright, Narratives of Sorcery and Magic, II, 139-143.
See also Richard Bernard, Guide to Grand
Jurymen, "Epistle Dedicatorie."
1627. Durham. Sara Hathericke and Jane Urwen accused
before the Consistory Court. Folk-Lore Journal
(London, 1887), V, 158. Quoted by Edward Peacock
from the records of the Consistory Court of Durham.
1627. Linneston, Lancaster. Elizabeth Londesdale accused.
Certificate of neighbors in her favor. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, XIV, pt. 4 (Kenyon MSS.), 36.
1628. Leepish, Northumberland. Jane Robson committed.
Mackenzie, History of Northumberland (Newcastle,
1825), 36. Mackenzie copies from the Mickleton MS.
1630. Lancaster. A certain Utley said to have been hanged
for bewitching Richard Assheton. E. Baines, Lancaster
(ed. of 1868-1870), II, 12.
1630. Sandwich, Kent. Woman hanged. Wm. Boys, Collections
for an History of Sandwich in Kent (Canterbury,
1792), 707.
c. 1630. Wilts. "John Barlowes wife" said to have been executed.
MS. letter of 1685-86 printed in the Gentleman's
Magazine, 1832, pt. I, 405-410.
1633. Louth, Lincolnshire. Witch alarm; two searchers appointed.
One witch indicted. Goulding, Louth
Old Corporation Records, 54.
c. 1633. Lancaster. The father and mother of Mary Spencer
condemned. Cal. S. P., Dom., 1634-1635, 79.
1633. Norfolk. Woman accused. No arrest made. Hist.
MSS. Comm. Reports, X, pt. 2 (Gawdy MSS.), p. 144.
1633-34. Lancaster. Several witches, probably seventeen,
tried and condemned. Reprieved by the king. For
the many references to this affair see above, chap.
VII, footnotes.
1634. Yorkshire. Four women of West Ayton presented for
telling "per veneficationem vel incantationem"
where certain stolen clothes were to be found.
Thirsk Quarter Sessions Records in North Riding
Record Society, IV, 20.
1635. Lancaster. Four witches condemned. Privy Council
orders Bishop Bridgeman to examine them. Two
died in gaol. The others probably reprieved. Hist.
MSS. Comm. Reports, XII, 2 (Cowper MSS., II),
77, 80.
1635. Leicester. Agnes Tedsall acquitted. Leicestershire and
Rutland Notes and Queries, I, 247.
1635. ----. Mary Prowting, who was a plaintiff before the
Star Chamber, accused of witchcraft. Accuser, who
was one of the defendants, exposed. Cal. St. P.,
Dom., 1635, 476-477.
c. 1637. Bedford. Goodwife Rose "ducked," probably by officials.
Wm. Drage, Daimonomageia (London, 1665), 41.
1637. Staffordshire. Joice Hunniman committed, almost certainly
released. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, II, App., 48 b.
1637-38. Lathom, Lancashire. Anne Spencer examined and
probably committed. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports,
XIV, 4 (Kenyon MSS.), 55.
1638. Middlesex. Alice Bastard arraigned on two charges.
Acquitted. Middlesex County Records, III, 112-113.
1641. Middlesex. One Hammond of Westminster tried and
perhaps hanged. John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme
and Judaisme (Folk-Lore Soc.), 61.
temp. Carol I. Oxford. Woman perhaps executed. This
story is given at third hand in A Collection of Modern
Relations (London, 1693), 48-49.
temp. Carol, I. Somerset. One or more hanged. Later the
bewitched person, who may have been Edmund Bull
(see above, s. v. 1626, Taunton), hanged also as a
witch. Meric Casaubon, Of Credulity and Incredulity
(London, 1668), 170-171.
temp. Carol. I? Taunton Dean. Woman acquitted. North,
Life of North, 131.
1642. Middlesex. Nicholas Culpepper of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch,
acquitted. Middlesex County Records, III, 85.
1643. Newbury, Berks. A woman supposed to be a witch
probably shot here by the parliament forces. A
Most certain, strange and true Discovery of a Witch
... 1643; Mercurius Aulicus, Oct. 1-8, 1643; Mercurius
Civicus, Sept. 21-28, 1643; Certaine Informations,
Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 1643; Mercurius Britannicus,
Oct. 10-17, 1643.
1644. Sandwich, Kent. "The widow Drew hanged for a
witch." W. Boys, Collections for an History of
Sandwich, 714.
1645 (July). Chelmsford, Essex. Sixteen certainly condemned,
probably two more. Possibly eleven or twelve more
at another assize. A true and exact Relation ...
of ... the late Witches ... at Chelmesford (1645);
Arthur Wilson, in Peck, Desiderata Curiosa, II,
76; Hopkins, Discovery of Witches, 2-3; Stearne,
Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft, 14, 16,
36, 38, 58, etc.; Signes and Wonders from Heaven
(1645), 2; "R. B." The Kingdom of Darkness
(London, 1688). The fate of the several Essex
witches is recorded by the True and Exact Relation
in marginal notes printed opposite their depositions
(but omitted in the reprint of that pamphlet in Howell's
State Trials). "R. B.," in The Kingdom of
Darkness, though his knowledge of the Essex cases
is ascribed to the pamphlet, gives details as to the
time and place of the executions which are often in
strange conflict with its testimony.
1645 (July). Norfolk. Twenty witches said to have been
executed. Whitelocke, Memorials, I, 487. A Perfect
Diurnal (July 21-28, 1645) says that there has been
a "tryall of the Norfolke witches, about 40 of them
and 20 already executed." Signes and Wonders from
Heaven says that "there were 40 witches arraigned
for their lives and 20 executed."
1645. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Sixteen women and two
men executed Aug. 27. Forty or fifty more probably
executed a few weeks later. A very large number
arraigned. A manuscript (Brit. Mus., Add.
MSS., 27,402, fol. 104 ff.) mentions over forty true
bills and fifteen or more bills not found. A True
Relation of the Araignment of eighteene Witches at
St. Edmundsbury (1645); Clarke, Lives of Sundry
Eminent Persons, 172; County Folk-Lore, Suffolk
(Folk-Lore Soc.), 178; Ady, A Candle in the Dark,
104-105, 114; Moderate Intelligencer, Sept. 4-11,
1645; Scottish Dove, Aug. 29-Sept. 6, 1645.
Stearne mentions several names not mentioned in
the True Relation--names probably belonging to
those in the second group of the accused. Of
most of them he has quoted the confession without
stating the outcome of the cases. They are
Hempstead of Creeting, Ratcliffe of Shelley, Randall
of Lavenham, Bedford of Rattlesden, Wright
of Hitcham, Ruceulver of Powstead, Greenliefe of
Barton, Bush of Barton, Cricke of Hitcham, Richmond
of Bramford, Hammer of Needham, Boreham
of Sudbury, Scarfe of Rattlesden, King of
Acton, Bysack of Waldingfield, Binkes of Haverhill.
In addition to these Stearne speaks of Elizabeth
Hubbard of Stowmarket. Two others from
Stowmarket were tried, "Goody Mils" and "Goody
Low." Hollingsworth, History of Stowmarket
(Ipswich, 1844), 171.
1645. Melford, Suffolk. Alexander Sussums made confession.
Stearne, 36.
1645. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. At least nine women indicted,
five of whom were condemned. Three women
acquitted and one man. Many others presented. C.
J. Palmer, History of Great Yarmouth, I, 273-274.
Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, IX, App., pt. I, 320 a;
Henry Harrod in Norfolk Archaeol., IV, 249-251.
1645. Cornwall. Anne Jeffries confined in Bodmin gaol and
starved by order of a justice of the peace. She
was said to be intimate with the "airy people" and
to cause marvellous cures. We do not know the
charge against her. Finally discharged. William
Turner, Remarkable Providences (London, 1697),
ch. 82.
1645. Ipswich, Suffolk. Mother Lakeland burnt. The Lawes
against Witches (1645).
1645. King's Lynn, Norfolk. Dorothy Lee and Grace Wright
hanged. Mackerell, History and Antiquities of
King's Lynn, 236.
1645. Aldeburgh, Norfolk. Seven witches hanged. Quotations
from the chamberlain's accounts in N. F.
Hele, Notes or Jottings about Aldeburgh, 43-44.
1645. Faversham, Kent. Three women hanged, a fourth tried,
by the local authorities. The Examination, Confession,
Triall and Execution of Joane Williford, Joan
Cariden and Jane Hott (1645).
1645. Rye, Sussex. Martha Bruff and Anne Howsell ordered
by the "mayor of Rye and others" to be put to the
ordeal of water. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, XIII,
pt. 4, 216.
1645. Middlesex. Several witches of Stepney accused. Signes
and Wonders from Heaven, 2-3.
1645-46. Cambridgeshire. Several accused, at least one or
two of whom were executed. Ady, Candle in the
Dark, 135; Stearne, 39, 45; H. More, Antidote
against Atheisme, 128-129. This may have been
what is referred to in Glanvill's Sadducismus Triumphatus,
pt. ii, 208-209.
1646. Northamptonshire. Several witches hanged. One died
in prison. Stearne, 11, 23, 34-35.
1646. Huntingdonshire. Many accused, of whom at least
ten were examined and several executed, among
them John Wynnick. One woman swam and was
released. John Davenport, Witches of Huntingdon
(London, 1646); H. More, Antidote against Atheisme,
125; Stearne, 11, 13, 17, 19, 20-21, 39, 42.
1646. Bedfordshire. Elizabeth Gurrey of Risden made confession.
Stearne says a Huntingdonshire witch confessed
that "at Tilbrooke bushes in Bedfordshier
... there met above twenty at one time." Huntingdonshire
witches seem meant, but perhaps not alone.
Stearne, 11, 31.
c. 1646. Yarmouth, Norfolk. Stearne mentions a woman
who suffered here. Stearne, 53.
1646. Heptenstall, Yorkshire. Elizabeth Crossley, Mary
Midgley, and two other women examined before two
justices of the peace. York Depositions, 6-9.
1647. Ely, Cambridgeshire. Stearne mentions "those executed
at Elie, a little before Michaelmas last, ...
also one at Chatterish there, one at March there,
and another at Wimblington there, now lately found,
still to be tryed"; and again "one Moores wife of
Sutton, in the Isle of Elie," who "confessed her
selfe guilty" and was executed; and yet again "one
at Heddenham in the Isle of Ely," who "made a
very large Confession" and must have paid the
penalty. Stearne, 17, 21, 37; Gibbons, Ely Episcopal
Records (Lincoln, 1891), 112-113.
1647. Middlesex. Helen Howson acquitted. Middlesex County
Records, III, 124.
1648. Middlesex. Bill against Katharine Fisher of Stratford-at-Bow
ignored. Middlesex County Records, III, 102.
1648. Norwich, Norfolk. Two women burnt. P. Browne,
History of Norwich (Norwich, 1814), 38.
1649. Worcester. A Lancashire witch said to have been tried;
perhaps remanded to Lancashire. A Collection of
Modern Relations. The writer says that he received
the account from a "Person of Quality" who
attended the trial.
1649. Middlesex. Elizabeth Smythe of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields
acquitted. Middlesex County Records, III, 191.
1649. Middlesex. Dorothy Brumley acquitted. Ibid.
1649. St. Albans. John Palmer and Elizabeth Knott said to
have been hanged for witches. The Divels Delusion (1649).
1649. Berwick. Thirty women, examined on the accusation
of a Scotch witch-finder, committed to prison.
Whitelocke, Memorials, III, 99; John Fuller, History
of Berwick (Edinburgh, 1799), 155-156, giving extracts
from the Guild Hall Books; John Sykes,
Local Records (Newcastle, 1833), I, 103-105.
1649. Gloucester. Witch tried at the assizes. A Collection of
Modern Relations, 52.
1649-50. Yorkshire. Mary Sykes and Susan Beaumont committed
and searched. The former acquitted, bill
against the latter ignored. York Depositions, 28.
1649-50. Durham. Several witches at Gateshead examined,
and carried to Durham for trial; "a grave for a
witch." Sykes, Local Records, I, 105; or Denham
Tracts (Folk-Lore Soc.), II, 338.
1649-50. Newcastle. Thirty witches accused. Fourteen
women and one man hanged, together with a witch
from the county of Northumberland. Ralph Gardiner,
England's Grievance (London, 1655), 108;
Sykes, Local Records, I, 103; John Brand, History
and Antiquities of Newcastle (London, 1789), II,
477-478; Whitelocke, Memorials, III, 128; Chronicon
Mirabile (London, 1841), 92.
1650. Yorkshire. Ann Hudson of Skipsey charged. York
Depositions, 38, note.
1650. Cumberland. A "discovery of witches." Sheriff perplexed.
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1650, 159.
1650. Derbyshire. Ann Wagg of Ilkeston committed for
trial. J. C. Cox, Three Centuries of Derbyshire
Annals, II, 88.
1650. Middlesex. Joan Roberts acquitted. Middlesex County
Records, III, 284.
1650. Stratford-at-Bow, Middlesex. Witch said to have been
apprehended, but "escaped the law." Glanvill,
Sadducismus Triumphatus, pt. ii, Relation XX.
1650. Middlesex. Joan Allen sentenced to be hanged. Middlesex
County Records, III, 284. The Weekly Intelligencer,
Oct. 7, 1650, refers to the hanging of a witch
at the Old Bailey, probably Joan.
1650. Leicester. Anne Chettle searched and acquitted. Tried
again two years later. Result unknown. Leicestershire
and Rutland Notes and Queries, I, 247; James
Thompson, Leicester (Leicester, 1849), 406.
1650. Alnwick. Dorothy Swinow, wife of a colonel, indicted.
Nothing further came of it. Wonderfull News from
the North (1650).
1650. Middlesex. Elizabeth Smith acquitted. Middlesex
County Records, III, 284.
c. 1650-60. St. Alban's, Herts. Two witches suspected and
probably tried. Drage, Daimonomageia (1665), 40-41.
1651. Yorkshire. Margaret Morton acquitted. York Depositions, 38.
1651. Middlesex. Elizabeth Lanam of Stepney acquitted.
Middlesex County Records, III, 202, 285.
1651. Colchester, Essex. John Lock sentenced to one year's
imprisonment and four appearances in the pillory.
Brit. Mus., Stowe MSS., 840, fol. 43.
1652. Yorkshire. Hester France of Huddersfield accused before
the justice of the peace. York Depositions, 51.
1652. Maidstone, Kent. Six women hanged, others indicted.
A Prodigious and Tragicall History of the Arraignment
... of six Witches at Maidstone ... by
"H. F. Gent.," 1652; The Faithful Scout, July 30-Aug.
7, 1652; Ashmole's Diary in Lives of Ashmole
and Lilly (London, 1774), 316.
1652. Middlesex. Joan Peterson of Wapping acquitted on
one charge, found guilty on another, and hanged.
Middlesex County Records, III, 287; The Witch of
Wapping; A Declaration in Answer to several lying
Pamphlets concerning the Witch of Wapping; The
Tryall and Examinations of Mrs. Joan Peterson;
French Intelligencer, Apr. 6-13, 1652; Mercurius
Democritus, Apr. 7-14, 1652; Weekly Intelligencer,
April 6-13, 1652; Faithful Scout, Apr. 9-16, 1652.
1652. London. Susan Simpson acquitted. A True and Perfect
List of the Names of those Prisoners in Newgate
(London, 1652).
1652. Worcester. Catherine Huxley of Evesham, charged
with bewitching a nine-year-old girl, hanged. Baxter,
Certainty of the World of Spirits (London, 1691),
44-45. Baxter's narrative was sent him by "the now
Minister of the place."
1652. Middlesex. Temperance Fossett of Whitechapel acquitted.
Middlesex County Records, III, 208, 288.
1652. Middlesex. Margery Scott of St Martin's-in-the-Fields
acquitted. Ibid., 209.
1652. Scarborough, Yorkshire. Anne Marchant or Hunnam
accused and searched. J. B. Baker, History of
Scarborough (London, 1882), 481, using local
records.
1652. Durham. Francis Adamson and ---- Powle executed.
Richardson, Table Book, I, 286.
1652. Exeter, Devonshire. Joan Baker committed. Cotton,
Gleanings ... Relative to the History of ... Exeter
(Exeter, 1877), 149.
1652. Wilts. William Starr accused and searched. Hist.
MSS. Comm. Reports, Various, I, 127.
1652-53. Cornwall. A witch near Land's End accused, and
accuses others. Eight sent to Launceston gaol. Some
probably executed (see above, p. 218 and footnotes
24, 25). Mercurius Politicus, Nov. 24-Dec. 2,
1653; R. and O. B. Peter, The Histories of Launceston
and Dunheved (Plymouth, 1885), 285. See
also Burthogge, Essay upon Reason and the Nature
of Spirits (London, 1694), 196.
1653. Wilts. Joan Baker of the Devizes makes complaint
because two persons have reported her to be a witch.
Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Various, I, 127. Is this
the Joan Baker of Exeter mentioned a few lines
above?
1653. Wilts. Joan Price of Malmesbury and Elizabeth Beeman
of the Devizes indicted, the latter committed
to the assizes. Ibid.
1653. Yorkshire. Elizabeth Lambe accused. York Depositions, 58.
1653. Middlesex. Elizabeth Newman of Whitechapel acquitted
on one charge, found guilty on another, and
sentenced to be hanged. Middlesex County Records,
III, 217, 218, 289.
1653. Middlesex. Barbara Bartle of Stepney acquitted. Ibid., 216.
1653. Leeds, Yorkshire. Isabel Emott indicted for witchcraft
upon cattle. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, IX, pt. 1, 325 b.
1653. Salisbury, Wilts. Anne Bodenham of Fisherton Anger
hanged. Doctor Lamb Revived; Doctor Lamb's
Darling; Aubrey, Folk-Lore and Gentilisme (Folk-Lore
Soc.), 261; Henry More, An Antidote against
Atheisme, bk. III, chap. VII.
1654. Yorkshire. Anne Greene of Gargrave examined. York
Depositions, 64-65.
1654. Yorkshire. Elizabeth Roberts of Beverley examined.
Ibid., 67.
1654. Wilts. Christiana Weekes of Cleves Pepper, who had
been twice before accused in recent sessions, charged
with telling where lost goods could be found.
"Other conjurers" charged at the same time.
Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Various, I, 120. See
above, 1610, Norfolk.
1654. Exeter. Diana Crosse committed. Cotton, Gleanings
... Relative to the History of ... Exeter, 150.
1654. Wilts. Elizabeth Loudon committed on suspicion.
Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Various, I, 129.
1654. Whitechapel, Middlesex. Grace Boxe, arraigned on three
charges, acquitted. Acquitted again in 1656. Middlesex
County Records, III, 223, 293.
1655. Yorkshire. Katherine Earle committed and searched.
York Depositions, 69.
1655. Salisbury. Margaret Gyngell convicted. Pardoned by
the Lord Protector. F. A. Inderwick, The Interregnum,
188-189.
1655. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Mother and daughter
Boram said to have been hanged. Hutchinson, An
Historical Essay concerning Witchcraft, 38.
1656. Yorkshire. Jennet and George Benton of Wakefield
examined. York Depositions, 74.
1656. Yorkshire. William and Mary Wade committed for
bewitching the daughter of Lady Mallory. York
Depositions, 75-78.
1657. Middlesex. Katharine Evans of Fulham acquitted.
Middlesex County Records, III, 263.
1657. Middlesex. Elizabeth Crowley of Stepney acquitted,
but detained in the house of correction. Middlesex
County Records, III, 266, 295.
1657. Gisborough, Yorkshire. Robert Conyers, "gent.," accused.
North Riding Record Society, V, 259.
1658. Exeter. Thomas Harvey of Oakham, Rutlandshire,
"apprehended by order of Council by a party of
soldiers," acquitted at Exeter assizes, but detained
in custody. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1658-1659, 169.
1658. Chard, Somerset. Jane Brooks of Shepton Mallet
hanged. Glanvill, Sadducismus Triumphatus (1681),
pt. ii, 120-122. (Glanvill used Hunt's book of
examinations). J. E. Farbrother, Shepton Mallet;
notes on its history, ancient, descriptive and natural
(1860), 141.
1658. Exeter. Joan Furnace accused. Cotton, Gleanings ...
Relative to the History of ... Exeter, 152.
1658. Yorkshire. Some women said to have been accused by
two maids. The woman "cast" by the jury. The
judges gave a "respite." Story not entirely trustworthy.
The most true and wonderfull Narration
of two women bewitched in Yorkshire ... (1658).
1658. Wapping, Middlesex. Lydia Rogers accused. A More
Exact Relation of the most lamentable and horrid
Contract which Lydia Rogers ... made with the
Divel (1658). See app. A, Sec. 5, for another tract.
1658. Northamptonshire. Some witches of Welton said to
have been examined. Glanvill, Sadducismus Triumphatus
(1681), pt. ii, 263-268.
1658. Salisbury, Wilts. The widow Orchard said to have
been executed. From a MS. letter of 1685-86,
printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1832, pt. I,
405-410.
1659. Norwich, Norfolk. Mary Oliver burnt. P. Brown,
History of Norwich, 39. Francis Blomefield, An
Essay towards a Topographical History of the
County of Norfolk (London, 1805-1810), III, 401.
1659. Middlesex. Elizabeth Kennett of Stepney accused. Middlesex
County Records, III, 278, 299.
1659. Hertfordshire. "Goody Free" accused of killing by
witchcraft. Hertfordshire County Sessions Rolls,
I, 126, 129.
1659-1660. Northumberland. Elizabeth Simpson of Tynemouth
accused. York Depositions, 82.
1660. Worcester. Joan Bibb of Rushock received L20 damages
for being ducked. Gentleman's Magazine, 1856,
pt. I, 39, from a letter of J. Noake of Worcester,
who used the Townshend MSS.
1660. Worcester. A widow and her two daughters, and a
man, from Kidderminster, tried. "Little proved."
Copied from the Townshend MSS. by Nash, in his
Collections for the History of Worcestershire (1781-1799),
II, 38.
1660. Newcastle. Two suspected women detained in prison.
Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
in M. A. Richardson, Reprints of Rare
Tracts ... illustrative of the History of the Northern
Counties (Newcastle, 1843-1847), III, 57.
1660. Canterbury, Kent. Several witches said to have been
executed. W. Welfitt ("Civis"), Minutes of Canterbury
(Canterbury, 1801-1802), no. X.
c. 1660. Sussex. A woman who had been formerly tried at
Maidstone watched and searched. MS. quoted in
Sussex Archaeol. Collections, XVIII, 111-113; see
also Samuel Clarke, A Mirrour or Looking Glasse
both for Saints and Sinners, II, 593-596.
1661. Hertfordshire. Frances Bailey of Broxbourn complained
of abuse by those who believed her a witch.
Hertfordshire County Sessions Rolls, I, 137.
1661. Newcastle. Jane Watson examined before the mayor.
York Depositions, 92-93.
1661. Newcastle. Margaret Catherwood and two other
women examined before the mayor. Ibid., 88.
1663. Somerset. Elizabeth Style died before execution. Glanvill,
Sadducismus Triumphatus, pt. ii, 127-146. For
copies of three depositions about Elizabeth Style,
see Gentleman's Magazine, 1837, pt. ii, 256-257.
1663. Taunton, Somerset. Julian Cox hanged. Glanvill,
Sadducismus Triumphatus, pt. ii, 191-198.
1663-64. Newcastle. Dorothy Stranger accused before the
mayor. York Depositions, 112-114.
1664. Somerset. A "hellish knot" of witches (Hutchinson
says twelve) accused before justice of the peace
Robert Hunt. His discovery stopped by "some of
them in authority." Glanvill, Sadducismus Triumphatus,
pt. ii, 256-257. But see case of Elizabeth Style above.
1664. Somerset. A witch condemned at the assizes. She may
have been one of those brought before Hunt. Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1663-1664, 552.
1664. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Rose Cullender and Amy
Duny condemned. A Tryal of Witches at ... Bury
St. Edmunds (1682).
1664. Newcastle. Jane Simpson, Isabell Atcheson and Katharine
Curry accused before the mayor. York Depositions, 124.
1664. York. Alice Huson and Doll Dilby tried. Both made
confessions. Copied for A Collection of Modern Relations
(see p. 52) from a paper written by the justice
of the peace, Corbet.
1665. Wilts. Jone Mereweather of Weeke in Bishop's Cannings
committed. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, Various, I, 147.
1665. Newcastle. Mrs. Pepper accused before the mayor.
York Depositions, 127.
1665. Three persons convicted of murder and executed for
killing a supposed witch. Joseph Hunter, Life of
Heywood (London, 1842), 167-168, note.
1666. Lancashire. Four witches of Haigh examined, two
committed but probably acquitted. Cal. St. P., Dom.,
1665-1666, 225.
1667. Newcastle, Northumberland. Emmy Gaskin of Landgate
accused before the mayor. York Depositions, 154.
1667. Norfolk. A fortune-teller or conjuror condemned to
imprisonment. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1667, 30.
1667. Ipswich, Suffolk. Two witches possibly imprisoned.
Story doubtful. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1667-1668, 4.
1667. Devizes, Wilts. "An old woman" imprisoned, charged
with bewitching by making and pricking an image.
Blagrave, Astrological Practice (London 1689),
90, 103.
1667. Lancashire. Widow Bridge and her sister, Margaret
Loy, both of Liverpool, accused. The Moore Rental
(Chetham Soc., 1847), 59-60.
1668. Durham. Alice Armstrong of Strotton tried, but almost
certainly acquitted. Tried twice again in the next
year with the same result. Sykes, Local Records, II, 369.
1668. Warwick. Many witches "said to be in hold." Cal. St.
P., Dom., 1668-1669, 25.
1669. Hertfordshire. John Allen of Stondon indicted for calling
Joan Mills a witch. Hertfordshire County Sessions Rolls, I, 217.
1670. Yorkshire. Anne Wilkinson acquitted. York Depositions,
176 and note.
1670. Latton Wilts. Jane Townshend accused. Hist. MSS.
Comm. Reports, Various. I, 150-151.
1670. Wilts. Elizabeth Peacock acquitted. See Inderwick's
list of witch trials in the western circuit, in his
Sidelights on the Stuarts (London, 1888), 190-194.
Hereafter the reference "Inderwick" will mean
this list. See also above, p. 269, note.
1670. Devonshire. Elizabeth Eburye and Aliena Walter acquitted.
Inderwick.
1670. Somerset. Anne Slade acquitted on two indictments.
Inderwick.
1670. Bucks. Ann Clarke reprieved. Cal. St. P., Dom., 1670, 388.
1671. Devonshire. Johanna Elford acquitted. Inderwick.
1671. Devonshire. Margaret Heddon acquitted on two indictments.
Inderwick.
1671. Falmouth. Several witches acquitted. Cal. St. P., Dom.,
1671, 105, 171. Perhaps identical with the three, two
men and a woman, mentioned by Inderwick as acquitted
in Cornwall.
1672. Somerset. Margaret Stevens acquitted on two indictments.
Inderwick.
1672. Devonshire. Phelippa Bruen acquitted on four indictments.
Inderwick.
1672. Wilts. Elizabeth Mills acquitted on two indictments.
Inderwick.
1672. Wilts. Elizabeth Peacock, who had been acquitted two
years before, acquitted on five indictments. Judith
Witchell acquitted on two, found guilty on a third.
She and Ann Tilling sentenced to execution. They
must have been reprieved. Inderwick; Gentleman's
Magazine, 1832, pt. II, p. 489-492.
1673. Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Durham. At least
twenty-three women and six men accused to various
justices of the peace by Ann Armstrong, who confessed
to being present at witch meetings, and who
acted as a witch discoverer. Some of those whom
she accused were accused by others. Margaret Milburne,
whom she seems not to have mentioned, also
accused, York Depositions, 191-202.
1674. Northampton. Ann Foster said to have been hanged
for destroying sheep and burning barns by witchcraft.
A Full and True Relation of The Tryal, Condemnation,
and Execution of Ann Foster (1674).
1674. Middlesex. Elizabeth Row of Hackney held in bail for
her appearance at Quarter Sessions. Middlesex
County Records, IV, 42-43.
1674. Southton, Somerset. John and Agnes Knipp acquitted.
Inderwick.
1674? (see above, p. 269, note). Salisbury. Woman acquitted,
but kept in gaol. North, Life of North, 130, 131.
1674-75. Lancashire. Joseph Hinchcliffe and his wife bound
over to appear at the assizes. He committed suicide
and his wife died soon after. York Depositions,
208; Oliver Heywood's Diary (1881-1885), I, 362.
1675. Southton, Somerset. Martha Rylens acquitted on five
indictments. Inderwick.
1676. Devonshire. Susannah Daye acquitted. Inderwick.
1676. Cornwall. Mary Clarkson acquitted. Inderwick.
c. 1679. Ely, Cambridgeshire. Witch condemned, but reprieved.
Hutchinson, Historical Essay concerning Witchcraft, 41.
c. 1680. Somerset. Anna Rawlins acquitted. Inderwick.
c. 1680. Derbyshire. Elizabeth Hole of Wingerworth accused
and committed for charging a baronet with witchcraft.
J. C. Cox, Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals, II, 90.
1680. Yorkshire, Elizabeth Fenwick of Longwitton