Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

Some, that were more apt to believe those things than I, thought the evidence strong against her. The boy who said he was bewitched, falling into fits before the bench when he saw her, and then on a sudden coming to himself, and relating very distinctly the several injuries she had done him. But in all this it was observed the boy had no distortion, no foaming at the mouth, nor did his fits leave him gradually, but all of a sudden; so that the judge thought fit to reprieve her. However, it is just to relate this odd story. One of my soldiers being upon guard at eleven o’clock at night, at Clifford Tower Gate, the night the witch was arraigned, hearing a great noise at the castle, and coming to the porch there, saw a scroll of paper creep from under the door, which, as he imagined by moonshine, turned first into the shape of a monkey, then of a turkey-cock, which moved to and fro by him. Whereupon he went to the gaol and called the under-gaoler, who came and saw the scroll dance up and down and creep under the door, where there was scarce the room of the thickness of half a crown.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations:

• ER: East Riding
• GM: Greater Manchester
• NR: North Riding
• NY: North Yorkshire
• SY: South Yorkshire
• WR: West Riding
• WY: West Yorkshire

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Original

March 7 I removed with my family to York, the assizes having begun there upon the 5th, attended but by one judge, Serjeant Powell. Four fellows received sentence of death, and a poor old woman also had the hard fate to be condemned for a witch. Some, that were more apt to believe those things than I, thought the evidence strong against her. The boy who said he was bewitched, falling into fits before the bench when he saw her, and then on a sudden coming to himself, and relating very distinctly the several injuries she had done him. But in all this it was observed the boy had no distortion, no foaming at the mouth, nor did his fits leave him gradually, but all of a sudden; so that the judge thought fit to reprieve her.

However, it is just to relate this odd story. One of my soldiers being upon guard at eleven o’clock at night, at Clifford Tower Gate, the night the witch was arraigned, hearing a great noise at the castle, and coming to the porch there saw a scroll of paper creep from under the door, which, as he imagined by moonshine, turned first into the shape of a monkey, then of a turkey-cock, which moved to and fro by him. Whereupon he went to the gaol and called the under-gaoler, who came and saw the scroll dance up and down and creep under the door, where there was scarce the room of the thickness of-half-a-crown. This I had from the mouth both of the soldier and gaoler.

269 words.

Tags

Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• Apparitional experience (1) ·
• Assizes (24) ·
• Epilepsy (3) ·
• Monkey (1) ·
• Perjury (4) ·
• Reresby, John (1634-89) (23), Thrybergh-born, politician and diarist, governor of York 1682-88, 2nd baronet ·
• Superstition (14) ·
• Turkey (bird) (1) ·
• Witch trials in England (2) ·
• Witch-hunt (2) ·
• Witchcraft (4) ·
• 📌York Castle (36) ·
• 📌York (164) ·

All tags.

Similar

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• 2 September 1686: John Reresby describes his organisation of the York garrison
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