Agnes Waterhouse
This week’s ramblings are about Agnes Waterhouse. She was supposedly the first person to be executed for witchcraft in England, but this is incorrect. For centuries before her birth, witches were put to death all across the British Isles. They were often convicted for the crimes of treason and heresy.
Petronilla de Meath was executed in 1324 and Margery Jourdemayne in 1441. They were both burned at the stake as witches. I think Agnes is generally known as ‘the first’ because her trial was printed in newspapers. She gained a lot of fame from it. It was round about the time of her trial that witch-hunting became serious business throughout England. (I wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes during those times.)
Although her early years were not well documented, it’s believed that Agnes was born in 1503, during the reign of Henry VII. She lived in Hatfield Peverel in Essex, and she was known by the locals as Mother Waterhouse. It’s thought that she may have been a healer of some kind. At that time, the nation was Catholic, and all prayers were spoken in Latin. Agnes grew up practicing the Catholic faith for 30 years before the Reformation began. In 1534, Henry VIII broke away from the Vatican and created the Church of England. While many converted, Agnes was one who did not. Witchcraft was believed to be a major problem at that time and in 1542, Henry passed an act against it. This made way for trials on a much bigger scale. It’s thought by some that he only did this because of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded in 1536. He came to believe that she used the craft to bewitch him. (Personally, I think he just pitched a hiss fit because she didn’t give him a son!)
By the time of her trial in 1566, England was a Protestant nation and under the rule of Elizabeth I. Although people were supposedly legally forced to recite their prayers in English, Queen Elizabeth once stated that she did not wish for people to be persecuted for their religious beliefs, so long as the country remained independent and peaceful.
In 1566, Agnes and two other women were accused of witchcraft. Her daughter, Joan was one and Elizabeth Francis was the other. Surprisingly, Agnes confessed to being a witch. She also revealed that she had a cat familiar called Satan (sometimes spelled Sathan) and that it used to belong to Elizabeth. Agnes apparently turned into a toad at some point, but there’s no proof either way.
Agnes’s trial was held in Chelmsford, Essex, in 1566. She was accused of killing William Fynn. He died the previous year on November 1st after suffering some form of illness. Other accusations included using her craft to kill livestock and cause afflictions. Her daughter, Joan, was also accused of helping Agnes cause the death of her husband.
During the trial, Elizabeth confessed to poisoning the furry familiar. She told the court that she received the cat from her grandmother, Mother Eve of Hatfield Peverell, who taught her witchcraft when she was 12 years old. Elizabeth kept the cat for about 16 years, before giving it to Agnes in exchange for a cake. She told how she taught Agnes about the craft. Agnes confessed to asking the cat to kill one of her pigs to test the waters before having her neighbour’s cows and geese killed. she’d had a few confrontations with them. Even though Agnes denied killing people with her craft, she was declared guilty. According to Elizabeth, the cat spoke to her in a strange voice and would do anything she asked in exchange for a drop of her blood. She confessed to stealing sheep and killing several people. This included a wealthy man by the name of Andrew Byles, who refused to marry her when she became pregnant with his child. she also said that her familiar told her what herbs to take to terminate the pregnancy. Elizabeth eventually married and had a daughter. She was very unhappy, though. She told the court that she instructed her cat to kill her daughter 6 months after her birth and make her husband lame. She confessed to far more than she was accused of doing. She was also the first to be accused and she’s the one who pointed the finger at Agnes. She wasn’t treated as harshly but was eventually hanged 13 years later after a second conviction. In 1579, it was brought to light that Elizabeth and Agnes were actually sisters.
Joan Waterhouse, daughter of Agnes and just 18 years old, told the court that a neighbour’s child, Agnes Brown, had reused to allow her some read and cheese. She then asked the familiar for help. She stated that it agreed, so long as she gave him her soul. She did and the familiar supposedly began to terrorise and haunt little Agnes Brown. Joan said that the familiar changed into a dog with horns. (He sounds so cute!!!) Joan denied using witchcraft to kill anyone, but after her testimony regarding the familiar, she helped convict her mother and Aunt.
12 year old Agnes Brown was called to the court to give evidence and was the final nail in the coffin. She described the familiar as a demon. She said it resembled a black dog with horns on its head, but had the face of an ape, a short tail, a chain and a silver whistle round his neck. (I might just want one.) She told of how the familiar had tried to kill her by stabbing her through the heart. The most damning piece of her testimony was when she revealed that, after asking who his owner was, he indicated the home of Agnes Waterhouse.
Two say after the trial came to a close, Agnes Waterhouse was executed. She was hanged on July 29th, 1566. She confessed all, when the majority of those accused of being a witch or using any form of witchcraft denied it profusely. She also had her faith used against her. Some say she told the courts that she only said her prayers in Latin because her familiar wouldn’t allow her to recite them in English. Others say that the court used her Catholic faith as a means to add proof that she was evil and a heretic. It’s not 100% clear why Agnes confessed to everything. It’s said that she did it to try and spare her daughter from the noose. If that was her goal, it worked. Joan was the only one of the three accused who was fully acquitted. All charges of witchcraft were dropped.
Witchcraft was a crime that came to the courts regularly, but only after a new Witchcraft Act had been passed by Parliament in 1563. The new Act stated that witches who were convicted of lesser offences, like causing afflictions on animals, would only receive a single year in prison. Witches who were convicted of killing a person, however, were to be hanged.
The trial of Agnes Waterhouse inspired many pamphlets to be written about witchcraft and the beliefs of those who practice it. Agnes became a bit of an icon. She’s inspired artists, writers and directors. Her fictionalised character has appeared in books, movies and TV shows. The murder mystery series “Midsomer Murders” is one of them and is a favourite series of mine. (I actually really like that particular episode as well.)
Between 1570 and 1609, 53 people were executed for witchcraft across Essex, alone! It really is heartbreaking that so many people (mainly women) lost their lives and the majority were totally innocent. It soon became clear to many people that if they had a dispute with someone and wanted rid of them, all they had to do was cry ‘WITCH”. Chances were, that one solitary word would be enough to end anyone’s life back then.
Well, that concludes things for this week, my sweets. I hope this has been enlightening for you all. At some point soon, I’ll be delving into the witch trials that took place across Europe, England and America.
Be well, my darlings and take care.
Love and light to you all.
Blessed be xxx