Objects from our Collections and Other Tales

'Witches Apprehended..., 1613' . Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY The Sutton Witches From woodcut prints to the writing of Arthur Miller, witchcraft and the fear of it has always played a part in our collective imagination. During the 1500’s, paranoia had spread from mainland Europe to the British Isles. This then lead to Bedford’s first recorded case of witchcraft in 1612. For more than 20 years, Mother and Mary Sutton had lived well-respected lives in the village of Milton Ernest. With the help of Mary’s three sons, they tended to the village’s pigs, horses and cattle. Sadly, this harmony was disrupted when the Sutton women became the subject of disagreement with a local landowner. Master Enger had grown suspicious of the two women after a number of horses had mysteriously died and a handful of pigs were driven mad. It didn’t take long for gossip to swirl and when Mary’s son, Henry, was caught throwing stones into the Mill Dam, Master Enger’s servants apprehended the boy. After learning what had happened, both Sutton women swore to bring the landowner to ruin by any means necessary. Events spiralled as hearsay ran rife in the small village. Mary was confronted and accused of witchcraft when a servant of Master Enger claimed that she had climbed into his room late at night and had cursed him with a persisting illness. Mary furiously denied this accusation but was still carried brutally to his room where she was made to bleed by his bedside. This was in the hope that it would break the power she supposedly held over him. This unfortunately, was not enough to repair the strained relationships in the village. Mislead by local gossip, Master Enger’s seven-year old son was seen throwing stones at Mother Sutton whilst calling her a witch. Shortly after, he fell ill and tragically died. This devastating loss seemed to spur Master Enger on as he spearheaded a campaign against Mary Sutton. After discussing matters with a friend visiting from up North, he decided to organise a swimming test for her. Master Enger and several men beat and dragged Mary Sutton to the Mill Dam, where she was tied up and thrown into the water. Spectators watched to witness her fate and saw that she sunk about two feet before floating on top. With this outcome, she was pulled out of the water and a congregation of women were ordered to search her body for any witches’ marks. Upon finding one, Mary was swum again – this time, however, she apparently spun as if inside a whirlpool and could not be drowned. This was the first case of water being used to test a witch in Britain and as such, its methods were published in the 1613 pamphlet Witches Apprehended, Examined and Executed. It helped to spread the practice to other areas and the woodcut print that accompanies the story has since became one of the most popular images of Britain’s witch trials. After Mary had protested her innocence, a surprising accusation was to finally seal her fate. Henry Sutton, her eldest son, recalled hearing both his mother and grandmother conspiring to torment Master Enger. He said that they had even planned to kill his son. With this betrayal out in the open, Mary broke down and confessed everything she had plotted with her mother. Both Mother and Mary Sutton were arrested, imprisoned and put on trial in Bedford Gaol. They were both found guilty of witchcraft and were hanged on 7th April 1612. References: Burns, W. (2003). Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Gibson, M. (2000). Early Modern Witches: Witchcraft Cases in Contemporary Writing. Routledge. Winsham, W. (2016). Accused: British Witches Throughout History. London: Pen & Sword History. Written by Curatorial Volunteer Bronte