Five Shocking Witchcraft Trials in Early Modern England
Early modern England saw a series of notorious witchcraft trials fueled by plague, civil war, and religious upheaval. The Chelmsford Witch Trials (1566) resulted in the execution of Agnes Waterhouse under a new 1563 Witch Act, making her the first person hanged for witchcraft murder. The St. Osyth Witch Trials (1582) began with personal vendettas against healer Ursula Kempe, leading to fourteen accused and two executions. The Warboys Trials (1589–1593) involved the execution of Alice Samuel and her family for murdering Lady Cromwell, a case that became the most famous 16th-century witchcraft trial. The Pendle Witch Trials (1612) accounted for 2% of all English witch executions, with ten members of the Demdike and Chattox families hanged after testimony from a nine-year-old girl. The Bideford Witch Trials (1682) ended with the hangings of Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards, shocking the nation that such events still occurred in Devon.
Key facts
- Agnes Waterhouse was the first person executed under the 1563 Witch Act.
- The St. Osyth trials began when Ursula Kempe was accused by the Thurlowe family.
- Alice Samuel's trial involved the death of Lady Cromwell, grandmother of Oliver Cromwell.
- The Pendle trials saw ten executions on August 20, 1612.
- Jennet Device, aged nine, testified against her own family in the Pendle case.
- The Bideford trials ended with three hangings on August 25, 1682.
- Witchcraft pamphlets sensationalized trials with exaggerated accounts and woodcuts.
- The English Civil War and plagues contributed to widespread paranoia.
Entities
Artists
- Henry Ossawa Tanner
- John Phillips
- Edward White
- Thomas Man
- John Winnington
- Thomas Potts
- Freeman Collins
- Bishop Hall
- Bishop Morton
- Matthew Hale
Institutions
- The Collector
- Wikimedia Commons
- Internet Archive
- Wellcome Collection
- Britannica
Locations
- Chelmsford
- Essex
- England
- St. Osyth
- Warboys
- Cambridgeshire
- Pendle
- Lancashire
- Malkin Tower
- Bideford
- Devon
- Lancaster
- Northamptonshire
- Scotland
- Swedeland
- France
- New England