1<html> 2 3<head> 4<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-gb"> 5<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> 6<title>Home Page</title> 7<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0"> 8<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"> 9<meta http-equiv="Page-Exit" content="blendTrans(Duration=1.0)"> 10<meta name="Microsoft Border" content="t, default"> 11</head> 12 13<body background="backgrounds/Clouds.JPG" bgproperties="fixed" link="#FFFF00"><!--msnavigation--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td> 14 15<p align="center" style="background-color: #000000; background-image: url('_borders/wall.gif')"><b><font size="7" color="#FF0000">THE 16LOWESTOFT WITCHES</font></b> 17 18</td></tr><!--msnavigation--></table><!--msnavigation--><table dir="ltr" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><!--msnavigation--><td valign="top"> 19 20<p align="center"><img border="0" src="images/trial%20report%20front.jpg" width="225" height="406" align="center" alt="front cover of the trial report"></p> 21 22<p align="justify"> 23<B><font color="#FFFF99"> <font size="4">During the first half 17th century the denizens 24of the ancient coastal town of <a href="http://www.seelowestoft.com/overview.htm"> Lowestoft in 25Suffolk</a>, England, witnessed 26many upheavals their lives. Plague, fire, civil strife, a rapid decline 27in the local fishing industry and an expensive law-suit with the neighbouring 28town of Great Yarmouth all left their mark on this small community of under 292,000 souls.</font></font></B> 30 31<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">Then, in the year 1660 another "menace" appeared in their midst when, in the minds of some, the 32ugly spectre of "witchcraft" reared its head. Two elderly widows, 33Rose Cullender and Amy Denny, were suspected of being "witches" - and after 34some months they were arrested, accused and tried at the Lent Assizes held 35at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk on March 13th 1662. Both were found 36guilty and hanged.</font></B> 37 38<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">The details of their trial and the accusations 39against them were recorded at the time and twenty years later published 40in a small booklet entitled "A Tryal of Witches".</font></B> 41 42<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">This trial is important in the annals of English 43witchcraft accusations for a number of reasons.</font></B> 44 45<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">Firstly, it was presided over by Sir Matthew 46Hale, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Hale, who later became Lord 47Chief Justice of England, has been eulogised as a man of <I>"learning, 48wisdom, piety and virtue, which shone in his life which such transcedent 49lustre and raised him to the highest eminence"</I>. He is still honoured 50as one of the best minds in English jurisprudence - and yet, blinded by 51the beliefs of his day he still condemned two old women to death for crimes 52they could not have committed!</font></B> 53 54<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">Secondly, the published trial report, 55based on the notes made by an eye-witness, is probably one of the most 56comprehensive in England and gives a frightening insight into the way a 57witch trial proceeded.</font></B> 58 59<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">Thirdly, it is arguable that without the trial 60of the Lowestoft Witches and the publication of the trial report, then 61the infamous witch trials at Salem in 1692 might never have happened. 62Cotton Mather states that when the Magistrates at Salem were looking for 63a precedent in allowing so-called "spectral evidence" they consulted the 64<U>Tryal of Witches</U> booklet. Upon discovering that no lesser 65person than Sir Matthew Hale had permitted this evidence to be used in 66court, they to accepted its validity and the trials proceeded.</font></B> 67 68<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">In England, witches were tried as felons according 69to the Statute in force at the time. The "Lowestoft Witches" were 70tried under the <a HREF="statute.htm">Witchcraft Act of 1604</a>. 71There were clearly defined processes and steps for <a HREF="justice.htm">bringing 72felons to tria</a>l and these can be clearly recognised in the Trial Report.</font></B> 73 74<P align="justify"><B><font size="4" color="#FF0000">It is incredible to realise that Amy Denny and Rose Cullender were 75tried by the full "Majesty" of the English legal system, and that their 76case was heard by some of the most learned intellectuals in Law, Medicine, 77Science and Philosophy of the time - and yet despite this they were still 78found guilty of "crimes" it was impossible for them to have committed. 79Hindsight is always 20/20 but it is worth remembering that there is a lesson 80for us all when studying this trial . . .</font></B> 81 82<P align="justify"><B><font color="#FFFF99" size="4">As the "Tryal of Witches" 83pamphlet tells the 84story of the trial of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender in graphic detail, I 85have used it as the basis for this web site. Links in the dialogue 86will take you to details of characters, events, background . . . .</font></B> 87 88<P> 89<p align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-top: 0"><B><font color="#FF0000" size="4">The full story of the Lowestoft Witches 90is published in</font></B> 91<p align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-top: 0"><B><font color="#FF0000" size="4"><I><U>A Trial of Witches 92- a Seventeenth-century Witchcraft Prosecution</U> </I></font></B></p> 93<p align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-top: 0"><B><font color="#FF0000" size="4">by Gilbert Geis and Ivan Bunn 94[Routledge, 95London, 1997].</font></B></p> 96<p align="center" style="line-height: 100%"><font color="#FF0000"><B><FONT SIZE=+1> 97<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trial-Witches-Seventeenth-Witchcraft-Prosecution/dp/0415171091/ref=ed_oe_p/202-5286298-6052646?ie=UTF8&qid=1176046472&sr=1-4"> 98<img border="0" src="trial_cover.jpg" width="91" height="142"></a></FONT></B></font></p> 99 100<hr align="center"> 101 102<P align="center" style="line-height: 100%"> 103<a HREF="the_trial_report.htm"><font size="5" color="#FF0000"><b>CLICK HERE </b></font></a> 104 105<P align="center" style="line-height: 100%"> 106<font color="#FF0000"> 107 108 <CENTER><B><FONT SIZE=+1>to follow the </FONT></B></CENTER><CENTER><B><FONT SIZE=+1>trial of</FONT></B></CENTER> </font> 109 110<P align="center" style="line-height: 100%"> 111<font color="#FF0000"> 112 113<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE=+2>THE LOWESTOFT WITCHES</FONT></B></CENTER> 114 115 </font> 116 117<CENTER> </CENTER> 118 119 120<hr align="center"> 121<CENTER><font color="#FFFF99"><i>This web-site was written and produced by 122Ivan A. W. Bunn, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England.</i></font></CENTER> 123 124<p><font color="#FFFF99"> 125 126<CENTER>If you have any comments or questions regarding 127this trial or this web-site please e-mail me on [email protected]</CENTER> 128<BR> 129<CENTER><B>All information copyright Ivan Bunn 130and Gilbert Geis.</B></CENTER> 131</font></p> 132<p align="center"><img border="0" src="images/in_memory.jpg" width="300" height="184"></p> 133 134<a href="http://freelogs.com/stats/b/baronwoodwose/" target="_top"><img border="0" alt="Free Site Counters" src="http://xyz.freelogs.com/counter/index.php?u=baronwoodwose&s=7seg" ALIGN="middle" HSPACE="4" VSPACE="2"></a>
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