A Brief History of Witchcraft, with Especial Reference to the Witches of Northamptonshire (c. 1866) - J. Taylor & Son.

A Brief History of Witchcraft, with Especial Reference to the Witches of Northamptonshire (1866)

Published by J. Taylor & Son · Northampton, England · 1866

Witches riding on a sow's back, enchanted figures made of lead, the notorious swimming test and the grim reality of England's witch trials.

Originally published in Northampton in 1866, this remarkable illustrated historical pamphlet investigates centuries of witchcraft accusations, with particular attention to the people prosecuted in Northamptonshire. Drawing extensively on early printed trial accounts and other historical sources, its anonymous writer revisits the events of 1612, the accusations of 1705, and the wider climate of fear in which rumours of sorcery could become a death sentence.

Unlike many of the sensational tracts it quotes, this nineteenth-century account frequently questions the evidence used against the accused and condemns the cruelty of their persecution. It is both a record of extraordinary folklore and a revealing study of how superstition, social prejudice and political rivalry shaped the witch trials.

Inside the pamphlet

• The Northamptonshire witches of 1612: the cases of Agnes Browne, her daughter Joan Vaughan, Arthur Bill, Helen Jenkinson and Mary Barber, all named in a contemporary execution pamphlet.
• A journey on a sow's back: the extraordinary allegation that three women rode a pig to visit another supposed witch, illustrated by the striking period woodcut reproduced on the cover.
• Witchcraft in royal politics: accusations against Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, involving a small lead figure allegedly used to influence the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
• Swimming and scratching: accounts of cruel tests and supposed remedies, including binding accused people before throwing them into water and scratching them until they bled.
• Familiars and strange signs: tales of imps bearing names such as Vinegar Tom and Sack and Sugar, alongside alleged supernatural marks, apparitions and bewitched household objects.
• Those who questioned the trials: the physician John Cotta's call for medical investigation and more reliable evidence, alongside the earlier scepticism of Reginald Scot.
• Local legend and folklore: stories of witches taking animal forms, nocturnal journeys and the beliefs that survived long after the major trials.

The text also recounts Arthur Bill's insistence on his innocence at the gallows and explores the way poverty, reputation and rumour could weigh against those accused. Its surviving illustrations offer a fascinating glimpse into the visual imagination of witchcraft in earlier centuries.

About this digital edition

22-page scanned PDF facsimile of the 1866 publication, preserving the original cover, typography and illustrations. The historical text appeared as pages 58–74 of Taylor & Son's Northamptonshire Handbook; the digital scan includes additional cover and preliminary pages.

Historical context: Accounts of witchcraft, familiars, spells and supernatural occurrences are presented as beliefs, allegations or claims from historical sources, not as established facts. Some of the nineteenth-century author's interpretations and dates may require comparison with modern scholarship. The work is offered for historical, folkloric and educational study.

Hearthwise Historical Library · Digital facsimile
Title: A Brief History of Witchcraft, with Especial Reference to the Witches of Northamptonshire
Author: Unattributed
Publisher: J. Taylor & Son, Northampton
Year: 1866
Format: Downloadable scanned PDF · 22 pages · English