A full and impartial account of the discovery of sorcery and witchcraft, : practis'd by Jane Wenham of Walkerne in Hertfordshire, upon the bodies of Anne Thorn, Anne Street, &c. The proceedings against her from her being first apprehended, till she was committed to gaol by Sir Henry Chauncy. Also her tryal at the assizes at Hertford before Mr. Justice Powell, where she was found guilty of felony and witchcraft, and receiv'd sentence of death for the same, March 4. 1711-12.

  • Bragge, Francis, 1664-1728.
Date:
1712
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A full and impartial account of the discovery of sorcery and witchcraft, : practis'd by Jane Wenham of Walkerne in Hertfordshire, upon the bodies of Anne Thorn, Anne Street, &c. The proceedings against her from her being first apprehended, till she was committed to gaol by Sir Henry Chauncy. Also her tryal at the assizes at Hertford before Mr. Justice Powell, where she was found guilty of felony and witchcraft, and receiv'd sentence of death for the same, March 4. 1711-12. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    (m other of her Di (order ? That the fliould chufe fitch ao Unlucky T'a&e for aftiog thisParr, as when her Knee was juft fer, rather than whos (he was ftrong and able to run, that fhe fhould be able of herfelf to runatihc prodigious Rate fhe dyf, not left than Eight or Niue Mites per Hour, acd to counterfeit even Death itfelf one Minute, and rcr ftore herlelf to Health the very next, and that fhc Thculd put her¬ felf to all this Trouble for no Manner of Pleafure or Profit, (s fo very unconceivable, fo wholly unaccountable, thatlmuft needs lay I fhaJj never have Faith Enough to believe futh an Heap of Absurdities. * Then, that the Prisoner too fhould come into the Plot againft her- felf, and confefs that fhe had bewitched this Maid, and this without any Force, or Confront, any Threading, or other ill lUage, i® bring her to this Co^fdTicn, (for the Trutfi <af which vve appeal to Mr. Archer himfelf, her Kinfman, who was prefent when fhe con* fefs’d to Mr. Gardiner and Mr.Stfnt.tf) that fhe fhould name the very Time when fhe mawe * League with the Devil, when there wasnofudi Thing, and by this bring herfelf to a (harmful Death, is another .Dif¬ ficulty, which my free thinking will not Puffer me to fwallow. As for the Charadter of Jane Wfenham, I would ne t foul my Paper with it, were it not itduftrioufly reported by Pome People that kt*owr nothing of her * only to diferedit a.Story, they are unwilling to be¬ lieve that fhe is a very good Woman. Jf a continued Courfe gi Xdfe- nc.fi and Thievery, for many Years together, if the Character ©f a Whore, and the Pradtice of common Swearing and Curfmg, will de¬ nominate a good Woman, we are willing to allow JaneWenham to he one; nay, upon Second Thoughts, we will allow it upon eafier Terms, if fhe can fit d any dne in the Parifh that will fay th^r he thinks Jicsr fo, wc will lay fo too: Nay, if flic can perfwade her own Husband! to fay fo, vve will not (land out * but the Truth of the Bufinefs *£ that her nearefi Relations thinks fhe deferves to die, and that upon other Accounts than Witchcraft. Befidcs the many Felonies fhe has been fufpedted to have committed, there are more than one that fhc 1 has confeft'd *, So that if the Neighbourhood had been defirous to I rroublc her, they rryght have taken a much eafter Courfe, and have proved her a Thief with Icfs Difficulty than they have convidted her a Witch. In fhorr, there is this difference between the Charadter of Anne Thorn and r.e Wenham9 that the former had no Body's \U Word, and the Ini ter no Body's goed one- and it was obfcrvabled that atthe TrjaJ not one Pcrfcn, no, not any of her own Children Co much as appear’d to fpeak to her Reputation. Now let the Reader refledt upon the whole Evidence, let him put a!] thefe Things together, and we doubt not but he will be fatistied vith our Proceedings; We had born with this Woman for mafiy Tears after fhe had been fufpedted by her Witchcrafts to have caufdd he Death of Three Pcrfonr, a Woman and Two Children - we had >orn with her Thefts and ill Tongue with a great deal of Patience j uk when Mr. Gardiner faw fo many ftrange Thiogs in his own Houfc, ud fo much Reafon to think they were qncafioned by tffcs Wcjnah'i Vjckedncfs, he would have been wiring in his Duty to bis Mci^* F J I H .