Mathew Hopkin AKA "Witch-Finder General" Records of those put through trials and sentenced to death as WITCHES

Just thought i would put a piece on my blog about the witches that were tried and then sentenced to death in this country...we`ve all seen so many movies about the witch trials in America "Salem" being the most infamous and many films made from those who were sentenced to death and burnt at the stake

But I dont think people realize just how many people were sentenced to death and either hanged or burnt at the stake in the UK 
So here is the list from records of those who were put to death mostly in Sussex and Essex
Both women AND men were accused and a man by the name of Mathew Hopkins nicknamed "The Witch-finder General" 

He was a complete and utter bastard to put it bluntly.. a man on a power trip, in just 14 months, Hopkins was responsible for the condemnations and executions of some 230 alleged witches, more than all the other witch-hunters that proliferated during the 160-year peak of the country’s witchcraft hysteria.

He would have his victims thrown into a isolated prison cell, stripped naked, beaten, starved and kept from sleep, while using the pain and humiliation psychologically against them.  If this didn’t work he would use his more brutal and favoured methods of torture, starting with “Pricking”.  Pricking was an excruciatingly painful ordeal to endure and involved the use of evil looking pins, needles and bodkins to pierce the skin looking for insensitive spots that didn’t bleed.  If any were found they would then be interpreted as a mark of the Devil .  If none were found the victim was made to sit cross-legged on a table or stool, then bound in the posture with cords and left alone for up to 24 hours or until such time as the cramps and pain set in.  Naked and bare foot they would then be forced to walk up and down the cold stone floor of the cell without respite until their feet began to blister and bleed.


Perhaps the most favoured method of torture used by Hopkins was the public spectacle of “Swimming” in which the accused was bound and thrown into water, if they floated they were deemed to be guilty.  The idea was based on the belief that as a witch rejected the water of baptism, so the element of water would reject them in turn, and they would float in an unnatural manner.  This method of trial had been used for many years, and was given more prominence when advocated as a test of witchcraft guilt by King James 1 in his book “Demonology”.  As far as can be found the first records of its use in England was in 1612 when the Northampton witches were thus tested.


Simply throwing someone into a pond or river wasn’t the style of Hopkins and wouldn’t satisfy his sense for spectacle and cruelty.  Hopkins developed his own method of Swimming in which his victims had to be bound in a special way.  Bent double with their arms crossed between their legs, they had their thumbs tied to their big toes.  A rope was then tied around their waist and held by a man on either side of the river or pond, this ostensibly to prevent them from drowning.  The accused was then lowered from a platform into the water and allowed to sink and rise three times.  It obviously depended on the dexterity of the men handling the rope, as to whether the accused survived or drowned.  Many alleged witches died in this way.


Once his victims had been worn down by torture, Hopkins would begin his browbeating sessions, plying the accused with leading questions and demanding to know “how they became acquainted with the Devil?”  All he needed for a confession was a nod or monosyllabic reply, and then he and his assistants would fill in the colourful details.  Most of the charges he brought were for bewitching people or their livestock to death, causing illness and lameness, or entertaining spirits or familiars, which usually turned out to be no more than household pets.  He was particular fond of extracting confessions to the effect that the accused had signed a pact with the Devil.

The fate of Hopkins remains a mystery and in the realms of speculation, for many accounts of his demise abounds.  One account by “William Andrews” (a 19^th century writer on Essex folklore), wrote in his book “Bygone Essex” (1892), that Hopkins was passing through Suffolk and was himself accused of being a witch.  Hopkins he alleges was charged with having stolen a book containing a list of all the witches in England, he supposedly obtained the book by means of sorcery.  Hopkins pleaded innocent but an angry mob had formed and he was forced to under go his own ordeal of Swimming.  In some accounts he drowned, while others say he floated and was condemned and hanged. However no records of his trial exist, if ever there was one?

 1601 Ellen Bark of Nottingham     
1601 Richard Nelson of Middlesex

1602 Elizabeth Jackson of London
1602 Elizabeth Roberts of Middlesex

1603 Ales Moore of Norfolk
1603 Mary Pannel of Yorkshire
1603 Mary Pannel of Yorkshire

1604 Anne Nevelson of Northumberland
1604 Katherine Thompson of Northumberland

1605 Jone Jurdie of Yorkshire

1606 Johanna Harrison of Hertfordshire
1606 'miss' Harrison of Hertfordshire
1606 Johanna Harrison of Hertfordshire
1606 'miss' Harrison of Hertfordshire
1606 Ralph Milner of Yorkshire

1607 Alice Bradley of Middlesex
1607 Rose Mersam of Middlesex

1610 Agnes Godfrey of Middlesex
1610 Christiana Weech of Norfolk

1611 Elizabeth Cooke of Yorkshire

1612 Mary Barber of Northampton
1612 Arthur Bill of Northampton
1612 Agnes Browne of Northampton
1612 Joan Browne of Northampton
1612 Mary Browne of Northampton
1612 John Bulcock of Lancaster
1612 Jane Bulcock of Lancaster
1612 'Mother' Chattox of Lancaster
1612 Elizabeth Demdike of Lancaster
1612 Elizabeth Device of Lancaster
1612 James Device of Lancaster
1612 Alizon Device of Lancaster
1612 Jennet Hargreaves of Lancaster
1612 Katherine Hewitt of Lancaster
1612 Helen Jenkinson of Northampton
1612 Alice Nutter of Lancaster
1612 Margaret Pearson of Lancaster
1612 Jennet Preston of Lancaster
1612 Anne Redfearne of Lancaster
1612 Isabel Robey of Lancaster
1612 Joane Vaughan of Northampton
1612 Anne Whittle of Lancaster
1612 Mary Woods of Norfolk

1613 Margaret Pilton of Wiltshire
1613 'Mother' Sutton of Bedfordshire
1613 Mary Sutton of Bedfordshire
1613 Alice West of London

1614 Dorothy Magick of Middlesex

1615 Joan Hunt of Middlesex
1615 'Mr' Hunt of Middlesex

1616 Agnes Berrye of Middlesex
1616 Joan Hunt of Middlesex
1616 Elizabeth Rutter of Middlesex
1616 Elizabeth Rutter of Middlesex
1616 Mary Smith of Norfolk
1616 Mary Smith of Norfolk
1616 Margaret Wellan of Middlesex

1617 Agnes Berrye of Middlesex
1617 Anne Branche of Middlesex

1618 Bridget Meakins of Middlesex
1618 Anne Baker of Leicester
1618 Joan Gill of Leicester

1619 Anne Baker of Leicester
1619 Joan Flower of Lincoln
1619 Margaret Flower of Lincoln
1619 Philippa Flower of Lincoln
1619 Ellen Green of Leicester
1619 Agnes Miller of Middlesex
1619 Joan Willimot of Leicester

1620 'Mr' Peacock of London
1620 Gilbert Smith of Leicester

1621 Anne Beaver of Middlesex
1621 Elizabeth Sawyer of Middlesex

1622 Margaret Russel of Middlesex

1623 Elizabeth Creary of Yorkshire

1624 'Mother' Francis of Norfolk
1624 Joane Harvey of Norfolk

1626 Edmund Bull of Somerset
1626 Joan Greedie of Somerset

1627 Sara Hathericke of Durham
1627 Elizabeth Londesdale of Lancaster
1627 Jane Urwen of Durham

1628 Jane Robson of Northumberland

1630 'Goodwife' Barlowe of Wiltshire
1630 'Mother' Utley of Lancaster

1633 Mr Spencer of Lancaster
1633 'Goodwife Spencer of Lancaster

1634 Margaret Johnson of Lancashire

1635 Mary Prowting of London
1635 Agnes Tedsall of Leicester

1637 Joice Hunniman of Staffordshire
1637 'Goodwife' Rose of Bedfordshire
1637 Anne Spencer of Lancashire

1638 Alice Bastard of Middlesex

1641 'One' Hammond of Middlesex

1642 Nicholas Culpepper of Middlesex

1644 'Widow' Drew of Kent
1644 'Mother' Hovey of Suffolk
1644 Elisabeth Weed of Cambridgeshire


1649 Susan Beaumont of Yorkshire
1649 Dorothy Brumley of Middlesex
1649 Mathew Bulmer of Northampton
1649 Mary Bychance of Hertfordshire
1649 Elizabeth Knott of Hertfordshire
1649 John Lamen of Hertfordshire
1649 Joan Lamen of Hertfordshire
1649 Mary Lamen of Hertfordshire
1649 John Palmer of Hertfordshire
1649 'Widow' Palmer of Hertfordshire
1649 John Salmon of Hertfordshire
1649 Joseph Salmon of Hertfordshire
1649 Judeth Salmon of Hertfordshire
1649 Ann Smith of Hertfordshire
1649 Sarah Smith of Hertfordshire
1649 Elizabeth Smythe of Middlesex
1649 Mary Sykes of Yorkshire

1650 Joan Allen of Middlesex
1650 Anne Chettle of Leicester
1650 Ann Hudson of Yorkshire
1650 Joan Roberts of Middlesex
1650 Elizabeth Smith of Middlesex
1650 Dorothy Swinow of Northumberland
1650 Ann Wagg of Derbyshire

1651 Elizabeth Lanam of Middlesex
1651 Margaret Morton of Yorkshire

1652 Francis Adamson of Durham
1652 Anne Ashby of Kent
1652 Joan Baker of Devon
1652 Temperence Fossett of Middlesex
1652 Hester France of Yorkshire
1652 Catherine Huxley of Worcestershire
1652 Anne Marchant of Yorkshire
1652 Anne Martyn of Kent
1652 Joan Peterson of Middlesex
1652 'Mother' Powel of Durham
1652 Mary Reade of Kent
1652 Margery Scott of Middlesex
1652 Susan Simpson of London
1652 William Starr of Wiltshire
1652 Anne Wilson of Kent
1652 Mildred Wright of Kent

1653 Joan Baker of Wiltshire
1653 Barbara Bartle of Middlesex
1653 Elizabeth Beeman of Wiltshire
1653 Anne Bodenham of Wiltshire
1653 Isabel Emott of Yorkshire
1653 Elizabeth Lambe of Yorkshire
1653 Elizabeth Newman of Middlesex
1653 Joan Price of Wiltshire
1653 Margaret Stothard of Northumberland

1654 Grace Boxe of Middlesex
1654 Diana Crosse of Devon
1654 Anne Greene of Yorkshire
1654 Elizabeth Loudon of Wiltshire
1654 Elizabeth Roberts of Yorkshire
1654 Christiana Weekes of Wiltshire

1655 'Mother' Boram of Suffolk
1655 'miss' Boram of Suffolk
1655 Katherine Earle of Yorkshire
1655 Margaret Gyngell of Wiltshire

1656 Jennet Benton of Yorkshire
1656 George Benton of Yorkshire
1656 William Wade of Yorkshire
1656 Mary Wade of Yorkshire

1657 Robert Conyers of Yorkshire
1657 Elizabeth Crowley of Middlesex
1657 Katherine Evans of Middlesex

1658 Jane Brooks of Somerset
1658 Joan Furnace of Devon
1658 Thomas Harvey of Devon
1658 'Widow' Orchard of Wiltshire
1658 Lydia Rogers of Middlesex

1659 'Goodwife' Free of Hertfordshire
1659 Elizabeth Kennett of Middlesex
1659 Mary Oliver of Norfolk
1659 Elizabeth Simpson of Northumberland

1660 Joan Bibb of Worcestershire

1661 Frances Bailey of Hertfordshire
1661 Margaret Catherwood of Northumberland
1661 Jane Watson of Northumberland

1663 Julian Cox of Somerset
1663 Dorothy Stranger of Northumberland
1663 Elizabeth Style of Somerset

1664 Margaret Ager of Somerset
1664 Isabell Atcheson of Northumberland
1664 Anne Bishop of Somerset
1664 Thomas Bolster of Somerset
1664 James Bush of Somerset
1664 Margaret Clarke of Somerset
1664 John Combes of Somerset
1664 Rose Cullender of Suffolk
1664 Katherine Curry of Northumberland
1664 Richard Dickes of Somerset
1664 Doll Dilby of Yorkshire
1664 Alice Duke of Somerset
1664 Thomas Dunning of Somerset
1664 Amy Duny of Suffolk
1664 Alice Green of Somerset
1664 Catherine Green of Somerset
1664 Christian Green of Somerset
1664 Mary Green of Somerset
1664 Alice Huson of Yorkshire
1664 Rachel King of Somerset
1664 Richard Larmen of Somerset
1664 Mary Penny of Somerset
1664 Jane Simpson of Northumberland
1664 Jone Syms of Somerset
1664 John Vining of Somerset
1664 Henry Walter of Somerset
1664 Dinah Warberton of Somerset
1664 Dorothy Warberton of Somerset
1664 Mary Warberton of Somerset

1665 Jone Mereweather of Wiltshire
1665 'Mother' Pepper of Northumberland
1665 Elizabeth Style of Somerset

1667 'Widow' Bridge of Lancashire
1667 Emmy Gaskin of Northumberland
1667 Margaret Loy of Lancashire

1668 Alice Armstrong of Durham
1668 Mary Bannister of Norfolk

1670 Ann Clarke of Buckinghamshire
1670 Elizabeth Eburye of Devon
1670 Elizabeth Peacock of Wiltshire
1670 Anne Slade of Somerset
1670 Jane Townsend of Wiltshire
1670 Aliena Walter of Devon
1670 Anne Wilkinson of Yorkshire

1671 Johanna Elford of Devon
1671 Margaret Heddon of Devon

1672 Phelippa Bruen of Devon
1672 Elizabeth Mills of Wiltshire
1672 Elizabeth Peacock of Wiltshire
1672 Margaret Stevens of Somerset
1672 Ann Tilling of Wiltshire
1672 Judith Witchell of Wiltshire

1673 Margaret Aynsley of Northumberland
1673 Michael Aynsley of Northumberland
1673 John Crauforth of Northumberland
1673 Anne Driden of Northumberland
1673 Anne Foster of Northumberland
1673 Magaret Milburne of Yorkshire
1673 Elizabeth Pickering of Northumberland
1673 Lucy Thompson of Northumberland
1673 Anne Usher of Northumberland
1673 William Wright of Northumberland

1674 Ann Foster of Northampton
1674 Joseph Hinchcliffe of Lancashire
1674 'Goodwife' Hinchcliffe of Lancashire
1674 John Knipp of Somerset
1674 Agnes Knipp of Somerset
1674 Elizabeth Row of Middlesex

1675 Martha Rylens of Somerset

1676 Mary Clarkson of Cornwall
1676 Susannah Daye of Devon

1679 Elisabeth Blade of Norfolk
1679 Eliasabeth Crowe of Norfolk
1679 Ursula Skippon of Norfolk

1680 Elizabeth Fenwick of Yorkshire
1680 Anna Rawlins of Somerset

1682 Joan Butts of Surrey
1682 Susanna Edwards of Devon
1682 Jane Kent of London
1682 Temperance Lloyd of Devon
1682 Margaret Stothard of Northumberland
1682 Mary Trembles of Devon

1683 Anna Clarke of Somerset
1683 Jane Dodson of London
1683 Elenora Harris of Somerset
1683 Susannah Harris of Somerset
1683 Marie Harris of Somerset

1684 Alicia Molland of Devon

1685 Elizabeth Peacock of Wiltshire
1685 Agnes Ryder of Devon
1685 Ann Tilling of Wiltshire
1685 Jane Vallet of Devon
1685 Judith Witchell of Wiltshire

1686 Jane Noal of Cornwall
1686 Honora Phippan of Somerset
1686 Betty Seeze of Cornwall

1687 Abigail Handford of Devon
1687 Elizabeth Hengler of Dorset
1687 Dewnes Knumerton of Dorset