The Trial of the Bideford Witches, 1682
Witchcraft, Superstition and the Persecution of Innocents
The town of Bideford in North Devon has an unusual claim to fame, for it was the home of the last women to be convicted of witchcraft in England. The story of how Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards came to the gallows is a tragic one that serves as a dark reminder of England’s superstitious past.
The Book of Bideford
The story of the trial is preserved in the Book of Bideford, written in 1792 by a local historian named John Watkins. Watkins believed that the women were the victims of hatred and ignorance, writing that ‘there was always some poor devil, either on account of an unlucky visage, sour temper, or wretched poverty, set up as the object of terror and universal hatred’. It is certain that most of the evidence that condemned the women consisted of malicious rumour and hearsay.
Their misfortunes began on a Saturday in July 1682 when Thomas Eastchurch, a local shopkeeper, told the town constables that he suspected Temperance Lloyd of using witchcraft to cause the illness of a local woman, Grace Thomas. Lloyd was arrested and charged with suspicion of using magical arts upon the body of Grace Thomas and to have communicated with the Devil in the shape of a black man.
Manifestations of the Devil
Others came forward to add to the list of accusations. One Anne Wakely reported that she had seen a magpie fly to Grace Thomas’s bedroom window, and that Lloyd had told her she was sometimes visited by a bird that changed into the likeness of the black man. Eastchurch added some extra spice by claiming that he heard Lloyd confess that the black man had persuaded her go to Grace Thomas’s house to ‘pinch and prick’ her.
Lloyd denied using magic to harm anyone, but fell into confusion as Grace Thomas claimed to have the marks of nine pin pricks in her knee and Lloyd admitted to driving a pin into a piece of leather nine times. Two more women, Grace Barnes and Dorcas Coleman, also claimed to have suffered tormenting pains from Lloyd’s witchcraft, and eventually she admitted to all charges. She also admitted to causing the deaths of three citizens of Bideford and blinding another in one eye.
Arrest of Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards
Two more Bideford women, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards, were denounced by their neighbours, having been noticed in the company of Lloyd when all three were begging for food in Bideford. They were arrested and incarcerated with Lloyd, and crowds gathered to stare at the three suspects as they languished in the town lock-up.
Lloyd was sent to Exeter gaol on Saturday 8 July 1682 and joined by Trembles and Edwards on Tuesday 19. There they awaited trial for over a month until the justices arrived at Exeter. By now Exeter was seized with curiosity about the witches and the streets rang with tales of their supernatural powers. All kinds of miracles were attributed to them and public hysteria was at fever pitch.
The Trial of the Witches
The trial that took place on 19 August was, like all witchcraft trials, not conducted by the usual means. Witchcraft was considered a crime apart and suspicion alone was adequate grounds for accusation. Being absent from the scene of the crime was not a sufficient alibi, and it was permitted for children to act as witnesses. Proof that could lead to conviction consisted of the discovery of an unnatural mark on the suspect’s body, accusation by a fellow witch, or evidence given by those who had supposedly witnessed the suspect making a pact with the Devil.
At no time did the women attempt to deny the fanciful charges against them. Instead they seemed to veer between weary resignation, terror at the situation they found themselves in and genuine conviction that they were capable of witchcraft. Watkins wrote that they were ‘perhaps petrified’ and ‘helpless against spite, ignorance and incredulity’ while Roger North commented that ‘they had a great skill to convict themselves'
Though they had been condemned there was still a possibility of reprieve, but this was quashed when Lord North wrote to the Secretary of State and urged him that the executions must go ahead. If they did not, he warned, there was the risk of a popular uprising and of making it seem that the law was denying the existence of witches, which might give rise to the old practice of illegal witch-hunts.
Sentence of Death
Once sentence of death had been passed, the women were sent back to Exeter gaol to await execution. Their deaths took place on Friday 25 August 1682 at Heavitree outside Exeter. As the women stood on the platform of the gallows and were berated by a clergyman for their crimes, their reason suddenly returned. They denied all the charges against them but it was far too late.
Susanna Edwards was the first to be hanged, followed by Mary Trembles. When Temperence Lloyd mounted the scaffold she was observed to be apparently unconcerned about her impending death. The sheriff of the county questioned her whether she believed in Jesus Christ, to which Lloyd replied simply: ‘Yes, and I pray Jesus Christ to pardon all my sins’
A plaque commemorating the tragic deaths of the Bideford witches can be viewed today on the wall of Rougemont Castle in Exeter.
Sources:
Frank J Gent: "The Trial of the Bideford Witches" (1982)
Wallace Notestein: "History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718" (1968)
"Witchcraft in early modern Europe: studies in culture and belief" by Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, Gareth Roberts (1998)
Learn more about the history of Witchcraft: http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~lhs99hlp/approaches.htm
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