But Jane Wenham’s was a cause célèbre. She lived at Walkern, a village in Hertfordshire, about four miles from Stevenage. The account of the proceedings at her trial is very long, so that I shall only give two or three of the informations laid against her:
‘Matthew Gilston, of the Parish of Walkerne, says upon Oath, that, on New Years Day last past, he carrying Straw upon a Fork from Mr. Gardiner’s Barn, met Jane Wenham, who asked him for some Straw, which he refused to give her; then she said she would take some, and accordingly took some away from this Informant.
‘And farther, this Informant saith, that on the 29th of Jan. last, when this Informant was threshing in the Barn of his Master, John Chapman, an Old Woman in a Riding-hood, or Cloak, he knows not which, came to the Barn Door, and asked him for a Penyworth of Straw; he told her he could give her none, and she went away, Muttering.
‘And this Informant saith, that after the Woman was gone, he was not able to work, but ran out of the Barn, as far as a place called Munders-Hill, (which is about Three Miles from Walkerne) and asked at a House there for a Penyworth of Straw, and they, refusing to give him any, he went farther, to some Dung-heaps, and took some Straw from thence, and pull’d off his Shirt, and brought it Home in his Shirt; he knows not what mov’d him to this, but says he was forc’d to it, he knows not how.
‘Susan Aylott, the Wife of William Aylott, of the Parish of Walkerne, saith upon Oath, that about 12 Years ago last Christmas, she, this Informant, was sent for to the Wife of Richard Harvey, lying very Ill in a strange Condition; and, as soon as she came thither, Jane Wenham followed her, and she, this Informant, wonder’d that Jane Wenham followed her, since Richard Harvey’s Wife had told her that she, the said Jane Wenham had bewitched her: Then Jane Wenham went under the Window where the sick Woman lay, and said, Why do they let this Creature lye there? Why don’t they take her and hang her out of the way? At which she, this Informant, had some Words with Jane Wenham, saying, Take you, and hang you out of the Way: and then Jane Wenham answer’d, Hold you your Tongue, I don’t meddle with you, and that Night, the sick Woman, aforesaid, died.
‘And this Informant farther saith, That, soon after, Jane Wenham came to this Informant’s House, and look’d upon a Child which was in her Lap, and stroaked it; and said, Susan, you have a curious Child; you and I had some Words, but I hope we are Friends; and asked this Informant to lend her a Glass to carry some Vinegar in from the Shop; then this Informant sent Jane Wenham a Glass, who went away. And this Informant was afraid of her Child, remembering she was thought to have bewitched Richard Harvey’s Wife.
‘This Informant further saith, That on Sunday following, she was at her brother Jeremy Harvey’s House, with her Child, and that her Child was taken in a grievous Condition, stark Distracted, and so died on the Thursday following; and this Informant saith, she thinks Jane Wenham bewitched her Child; and saith also, that Jane Wenham has had the Reputation of a Witch for several Years before.
‘Thomas Adams, Junior, of Walkerne, maketh Oath, that about Three Weeks, or a month before Christmas last, he met Jane Wenham in his Turnip Field, with a few of his Turnips, which she was carrying away; and upon his Threatning her, she threw them down; he, this Informant, told her she might keep them, for she should pay dear for them; then she was very submissive, and begg’d Pardon, saying, she had no Victuals all that day, and had no money to buy any; afterwards, they parted, and he saw her not after; But, on Christmas-Day Morning, One of his best Sheep died without any Signs of Illness found upon the Body after it was open’d, and Nine or Ten Days after, died another Sheep, in an unaccountable Manner; and, shortly after, Two more Sheep died also, some of them having no Marks of Disease upon ’em, but being sound in all their Parts, as his Shepherd informs him. He also saith that his Shepherd tells him that one other Sheep was taken strangely, skipping and standing upon its Head, but in half an Hour was well, and continues so; and another Sheep was likewise Ill, Two or Three Days, but it is now well again: And Jane Wenham having the Common Fame of a Witch, he does believe that if they were bewitch’d, she did bewitch them.’
All these charges convinced the jury that she was indeed a witch, and the judge had no option but to sentence her; but he got her a reprieve, and she was let out of prison, when she was kindly befriended by Colonel Plummer, of Gilston, who gave her a cottage in which she harmlessly lived the remainder of her days.
But although this was the last capital conviction in England, the belief in witchcraft was far from dead; nay, it is still living in some remote districts, but cannot long exist, as education makes its way.