Who were the Samlesbury witches?
Q: Who were the Samlesbury witches?
A: The Samlesbury witches were three women named Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley, and Ellen Bierley who were accused of practising witchcraft by a 14-year-old girl named Grace Sowerbutts.
Q: When was their trial held?
A: Their trial was held on 19 August 1612 as part of a series of witch trials over two days.
Q: What made the trial unusual for England at that time?
A: The trial was unusual for England at that time because Thomas Potts, the clerk to the court, wrote about it in his book The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster and also because there were an unusually high number of people found guilty and hanged (ten at Lancaster and another at York).
Q: What did they stand accused of?
A: They stood accused of murdering children, cannibalism, and causing harm by witchcraft (maleficium).
Q: How did their case collapse during the trial?
A: Their case collapsed "spectacularly" when the main witness, Grace Sowerbutts, was shown by the trial judge to be "the perjuring tool of a Catholic priest".
Q: Why are these trials seen as an example religious struggles from this period?
A: These witch trials are seen as an example religious struggles from this period because both Catholic and Protestant Churches wanted to stamp out what they saw as heresy. The trial of the Samlesbury witches is perhaps one clear example; it has been described as "largely a piece of anti-Catholic propaganda". A trial would show that Lancashire was being cleared not only of witches but also Catholics.
