Witchcraft in Shropshire

 As a child, I was fascinated by witches. From Nanny Ogg to ‘The Worst Witch’, narratives of witchcraft and its intricacies added colour to my world. There was something so special about it, so tangible to me as a person often on the fringes of acceptability. I admired its connection to the natural world, and often its practicality and this fascination has continued well into my adult years. It would be fair to say that witchcraft has a prominent role both within the folklore and history of Shropshire, and that at times such practices were so entrenched in the lives of the population that it would be hard to separate or define them. This belief was perceptible and impacted the lives of individuals in a myriad of ways. The practices included in the definition are wide, indeed witchcraft takes on many guises in the county from apotropaic markings and charms which ensure protection, to moon reverence, fortune telling, cursing and love charms, such as the ‘plucking the sage tree’ which I will be looking at in more detail in a further post. I want to turn my attention now to the Shropshire’s relationship with witchcraft, looking at preventative methods against bewitchment, some notable names in witch lore as well as discussing some examples of the impact witchcraft had on individuals. We will finally turn to what belief in witchcraft can tell us about Shropshire’s history. This will not be an exhaustive account of occult practices within the area; however, I hope that it will provide an insight into a fascinating area of our folklore.

Let us first turn to preventative measures taken to hinder the power of witches. As with other areas, there were a number of ways one could protect themselves, and their home from the power of witches. For house protection, one could turn to rowan wood, mountain ash or witch hazel, which were usually hung in bunches over the threshold. In south Shropshire, simple crosses of rowan wood were made and hung over doorways as defence against witches, fairies and wicked spirits. Horseshoes also served a similar purpose, hung to prevent witches interfering within the domestic sphere (interestingly, a horseshoe nailed over the door to a bedroom had the potential to prevent nightmares, and ‘cure a haunted house’). Shoes were often placed in chimney stacks to ward away witches and the Devil. Other apotropaic offerings included coins, animal remains as well as carvings and symbols burned into the beams. These offerings all promised to remove the possibility of maleficence but can be seen in a way to be a form of magic in themselves.

Similar to the offerings mentioned above, paper charms were often written out and placed within the brickwork, to bring good fortune to the house. A brilliant example of this practice is found within a house in Madeley, in 1882. The man of the house was busy cleaning out his chimney when he came across a piece of folded paper, sealed with red wax on one of the joists.  The outside had been blackened with soot and age – and he was pretty sure he hadn’t put it there. So, he decided to take a peek. Upon opening he found it contained the following worlds, neatly written in some unknown hand:

‘I charge all witches and ghosts to depart from this house,

In the great name of Jehovah and Alpha and Omega’.

This is a wonderful, powerful statement, demanding the spirits and wicked witches to leave the house, and its inhabitants unharmed. It serves as a tangible act of protection, empowering the individual through direct action against unseen powers bent on harm. It is interesting to see the charm mentioning both witches and ghosts, as both are deeply embedded within local folklore. There were at least two witches in Madeley, (and a whole gaggle of ghosts) one witch was said to be so small, she could ride on the back of a cuckoo, and would use this mode of transport to frequently terrorise the local community to amuse herself.

 

If you were still concerned about getting cursed, one could decorate the threshold and hearth stone with decorative knot like patterns by rubbing elder, dock or oak leaves onto the surface. These patterns were said to be a powerful barrier to both the witch, and their magic. They also kept away wicked spirits and the Devil, so were definitely considered powerful. In Wrokwardine, glass ‘witch balls’ were blown and were hung in windows and doorways for protection. It seems that such objects, though often everyday things allowed individuals to feel like they were reclaiming power, even in situations far beyond their control.

When baking or brewing, Shropshire folk would make the sign of the cross over their malt and flour. This prevented the food from being bewitched, which was a common act of the witch. If one wanted to directly protect themselves, silver is often suggested to be the most powerful charm against witches. Charlotte Burne suggests that it is particularly potent in the form of a silver bullet. Silver bullets were seen as one of the only ways you could harm a witch in Shropshire, though I think any bullet would have harmed when shot at a poor unsuspecting woman.

 I want to now turn to Shropshire’s witches in both folklore and history. Its important to note that some of what we know about witches in the area has been reduced to a few lines of folklore, or a vague historical reference, but nethertheless they are still worthy of discussion. What is known is that there was very few actual witch trials in Shropshire during their height, and it was uncommon for women to be put on trial in comparison to other parts of the country. Despite the lack of prosecution, women imbued with such skills were ostracised within the community, persecuted, and lead difficult lives. One of the strongest examples of such is the life of Ann Morgan (Nanny Morgan) who I have written in length about on a previous post. Male practitioners of witchcraft are also seen throughout the folklore, such as ‘Dick Spot the Conjurer’ from Oswestry. He was deemed extremely powerful in the profane arts, as well as being an excellent astrologer. He also had the power to predict the future, most notably he predicted the murder of the king of Sweden in 1792. There is also a man named Thomas Light of High Ercall who was purported to use magic. He could influence the outcome of Cock fights, advise on love affairs, cure the sick and recover stolen property. It was believed that his death was brought about by a rival wizard ‘Jack O’ the Weald Moors’ who used charms and divination to end a long-standing feud between the men by enchanting him to death.

We are told that certain areas in Shropshire are more witches ridden than others, though all have the potential to be the home of witches. Prolley Moor an isolated community in South Shropshire is said to be a meeting place for witches, where they gather to consult each other, and spread their wickedness. The Stiperstones has perhaps the strongest link to witchcraft in the whole of Shropshire. It has a reputation for being a wicked place, and the seat of Satan’s power, and thus witches flock to the area. It is said that on Friday nights all of the witches of the county ascend the slopes to the Devil’s chair and hold a meeting, where they plan their sinful schemes for the following week. As well as this, on the winter solstice ‘Owd Scratch’ calls forth all the wickedest folk, the witches, warlocks, sinners, and evil spirits to come to the chair, where they perform the most important Black Mass of the year, and vote for the king or queen of evil. There is something very otherworldly about the Stiperstones, an emptiness transporting you to a liminal space, away from the watching world and thus it would be the perfect location for such a gathering.

 Some of our earliest references to witchcraft in the county come from the late 1500s. We are told that in 1570 ‘Bessie of Belle Vue’ was found guilty of witchcraft, however the actual verdict and punishment was sadly lost to time. A very tragic potential witchcraft case can be found in Much Wenlock, in 1545. Alice Glasson was just 11 years old when she was hanged, and though her actual crime has been lost to history, it is often suggested that she was tried for witchcraft, or perhaps murder. One cannot help but feel a particular pang of sorrow for this young girl, destined for the gallows, and wonder just what chain of events caused her to end up there. There is reference to ‘Mother Garve of Castle Foregate’ in Shrewsbury being tried at the corn market in 1579. She was said to have bewitched cattle and was thus punished for this, perhaps via the pillory.  We are told that Thomas Owen of Mainstone (near Bishop’s castle) kept the vicar of the parish awake, wracked by violent, unseen terrors due to the potency of his curses in 1616. At about the same time over in Greete (near Ludlow) a woman known as Joan Davies was excluded from Easter communion on the grounds that she had cursed all of her neighbours. Soulton Hall can also boast of being the location of a witch trial in 1660. The accused woman had been brought before the justice of the district, Thomas Hill by the townspeople of Wem. However, the allegation of witchcraft was dismissed, and she was cleared of any wrongdoing. In the 18^th century we are told that Mary Bebb was charged at Shrewsbury, for ‘profoundly uttering 67 curses’ one can only speculate what drove her to enact so many. The few references to actual witch trials in the county suggest that it was more widely accepted, or perhaps seen as a social or moral issue rather than an actual legal one.  

Let us now look at some stories of witchcraft that are more grounded in Folklore. We are told that a woman known as ‘Owd Dolly’ from Edgmond gained quite a reputation for witchcraft in the 19th century. She was said to have great power and was a rather snappy dresser. For she dressed in very short skirts, lose jackets and a high steepled crowned hat. Despite her eccentric appearance she was well known as a malevolent witch and feared by the local community. An old witch called Priss Morris used to live in Cleobury North, and she had power over horses, being able to stop them in their tracks. Similarly, in the 19^th century the old lady who was oversaw the care of Iscoed Turnpike Lane (near Whitchurch) was believed to be a witch. She too could influence animals, and one day- when a waggoner snook through the gate without paying the toll, she put a curse on both his horse, leaving them immobile for some time. Kitty Williams was another witch, who lived near Whittington and had amongst other powers, ‘The Evil Eye’. The caves cut into the rock beneath Bridgnorth Castle also seem have associations with witches. One of the witches attributed to the dwellings could turn herself into a hare or a cat, and have the dogs chase her for fun. She would ride about on a broomstick and disrupt waggoners on their journey’s.

In Much Wenlock there was said to be another unnamed witch who was very malevolent. She was so powerful that folk usually did everything they could to avoid making her acquaintance. In 1881 it was reported that a woman was walking down the road into Much Wenlock carrying her baby, when this witch began to follow behind her. The baby was happy enough on the journey, eating an apple as they went. However, The witch took the baby’s apple, bit a piece of it before returning it to the child. The baby was once a fat and healthy thing, however from that day became filled with an unusual illness that never dissipated. The poor child pined and pined until it died. Such stories demonstrate desperation for clarity, something to grasp onto and blame after a tragedy rather than actual harm being enacted. Often the women highlighted as witches were older, and vulnerable in themselves, perhaps behaving in a way which defined conventions, and thus were easy scapegoats.

Women who practiced herbalism and traditional national remedies were often touted as witches. As late as the 1930s, Ida Gandy, whilst touring Shropshire was told of the witch, Isabella Pearce, who wandered around the village boundaries in a grey cloak gathering herbs. She made salves and medicines and was so popular for her knowledge that people travelled far and wide to consult her. In LLanbrook there was a woman with a similar set of skills, who brewed a drink of wormwood and mugwort from the hedgerows to medicate a number of ailments. These women, and women like them occupied a curious place within the community. They were often commodities, intrinsic to the inner workings of the village, but ostracised and even feared. This fear was often amplified to absurd proportions, demonstrated by the following anecdote.  W. Haye wrote that in 1954 there was a woman, living at the foot of the Wrekin known as Molly De Leyte who was believed, amongst other things to have the ability to turn into a cat, kept a toad (some believed to be Satan himself) in a jar which she fed on communion bread and could influence the weather. She wandered the area ‘communicating in strange tongues’. I feel that far from being an incarnate of evil, Molly was perhaps a local eccentric, or even someone who had moved to the area from another country or place.

I think it is worth turning our attention now to the scale of belief in witchcraft within the county, as this will help us understand a little more about the role such played in society. Certainly, it is difficult to quantify belief of any variety, and this is no different when it comes to witchcraft, partly due to our body of witch lore spanning centuries. We are told by Charlotte Burne, that after a new vicar came to take up his parish in the Clee Hills, he was shocked to find how village life was saturated by witchcraft. Desperate to demonstrate the error of their ways, he quickly endeavoured to guide his new parishioners to the light of God. He was quickly informed by the local school master in no uncertain terms that if he preached of its ills, he wouldn’t last long in the parish. I love this anecdote as it suggests that there was a prevalence of witchcraft, but moreover that the distinction between such practices and everyday life was hard to establish. Perhaps, this could be said for the whole of the county. We are told by W. Haye that life near the Wrekin during the 1950s was ‘an atmosphere half religious, half immersed In witchcraft’ which also suggests a prevalence of belief.  However, I think caution must also be exercised, and that we shouldn’t assume that all people lived in terror of the threat of witches. The people of the past were as manifold and complex as we are today, and this shouldn’t be ignored. If we suggest that all people feared witchcraft, it lessens inhabitants of the past to terrified peasants, incapable of critical thought and of doubtful intelligence. This is unfair. What we can definitively conclude is that there was a belief in witchcraft prevalent in Shropshire and that at different points in Shropshire’s history the purported threat of witches was felt stronger than other times. Witchcraft, like concepts such as the Devil, and even spirits served as a means of explaining the unexplainable, giving a name to the unseen powers that were beyond governance. In times of great personal struggle or trauma, witchcraft must have seemed like an attractive answer to life’s toughest questions.

 There are some accounts which demonstrate a profound fear of witches found within Shropshire’s history. Such a fear is often linked to physical or psychological struggles and is interesting in itself. It’s important to remember that life in the countryside is often romanticised and portrayed as a peaceful rural idyll. This is not the case, and life could be fraught with isolation and hardship. In times of suffering, it left people searching for answers, or a scapegoat to lay blame.

We are told that Mrs Mansell of Longnor was sure that she was bewitched because something crept upon her person every night, leaving her feeling like every inch of her was covered. The poor woman had tried charms and bible passages to no avail. She tried thrashing the bed, but this didn’t work either. Being convinced she was being attacked spiritually, she turned to the parson to seek council. The parson was a practical man, and enquired whether she had bed bugs. But Mrs Mansell being ‘Clen as Clen’ denied that this was the answer. Unable to find help, she continued to suffer, convinced it was an act of witchcraft that had caused her suffering. Today we might consider Mrs Mansell of suffering from a form of sleep paralysis or another more logical cause, but witchcraft served as a solution to her problem.

Charlotte Burne informs us that inhabitants of coal districts, such as the east Shropshire coalfield (modern day Telford and Wrekin, where I am originally from) were particularly susceptible to belief in witches. During 1875 a man visited a public official in Oakengates to inform him of his wife and two daughters lingering illness, which caused them all great distress. He believed that this illness was caused by witchcraft, and he implored the public official to help him write a letter to a lady in Wellington to help him put a stop to it. The official wrote the letter for the man. I have always found this anecdote particularly sad and cannot help but imagine the desperation this man must have faced, the powerlessness faced being unable to help his family. It’s no wonder that he turned to such answers.

Sadly, perceived witchcraft can sometimes have tragic consequences, and serve as a reminder of the humanity of those involved. Rachel Griece, known to history only as ‘a cabinet makers wife’ sadly took her own life in the midwinter of 1870, due to the belief that she’d been bewitched and was destined for ruin. Rachel’s desperation is evident due to her actions, though we do not know what events unravelled to make her believe she was destined for ruin. Perhaps life had got too difficult to bare, and she struggled with her mental health, which is tragic in itself. Rachel demonstrates how real a fear of witches could be, and the extent that such a belief could impact a person. Through observing folklore and practices surrounding witchcraft in Shropshire, we are given an insight into the fears of a community, and moreover how witchcraft is often driven by an overwhelming desire for answers. Faced with life’s intricacies, people endeavoured to categorise their struggles, perhaps to give them more strength to face them. The witch was as much of a symbol as it was a tangible thing, it was a conduit for the unseen powers that threatened to shipwreck a person or drag them off course. For such a supernatural being of immense and improbable power, witches can also be seen as incredibly human. Fraught with tragedy, they are our fears, our worries, our vulnerabilities, and our secret desires, they are us. They are the isolated, the unloved and the wronged, who were blamed for things far beyond their control. They were the women who directly challenged the power of the patriarchy or were imbued with skills such as herbalism. They were an imperfect answer to life’s toughest questions.

Through folklore then, we are able to find a connection to those who came before us, which is an incredible thing.