The Bideford Witches In Devon
by Richard Brookes
Title
The Bideford Witches In Devon
Artist
Richard Brookes
Medium
Photograph
Description
A memorial plaque to the Bideford witches hangs on the ruined wall of Rougement Castle, Exeter, Devon. These were reputedly the last people to be tried and executed for witchraft in England. In well documented cases, three women, namely Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles, were tried at Rougemont, found to be guilty of witchcraft and were taken to Heavitree and hanged in August 1682. A fourth woman, Alice Molland, although less well documented, was similarly executed in 1685. Aside from one confession by Lloyd, which she did not recant even with execution imminent, it is generally considered in current thinking that they were found guilty mostly based on hearsay. The plaque ends poignantly "In the hope of an end to persecution and intolerance"
Uploaded
January 7th, 2017
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Comments (1)
William Tasker
Very cool find and shot, Richard. My daughter lives in the Maine town of Biddeford. L/F
Richard Brookes replied:
Many thanks William. Just looked it up, hadn't realised Biddeford existed. Looks a nice place. Says that it was settled before the Mayflower in 1616! Also was named after Bideford here in Devon as some of the settlers were from here. Fascinating. Bideford was one of the largest ports in the UK in Elizabethan times apparently.
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