There were trials and executions of witches in Chester in the seventeenth century and this meeting on Friday 28th February explored some aspects and myths around this.

Local historian, Peter Elliott, discusses this on his Chesterwiki site which inspired one of our members, Clare Dudman, to create a film about the events, ‘The Three Ravens’. It tells the story of three of the witches brought to trial in Chester, and the Judge John Bradshaw. As President of the High Court of Justice, Bradshaw, a Cheshire man, signed the execution order for Charles I. He was also Chief Justice of the Chester and North Wales Circuit and presided over several witch trials.

‘Three Ravens’ is Clare’s fourth event for the Heritage Festival, filmed mainly in Bishop Lloyd’s Palace in 2023. She received a commission, which allowed her to pay for professional actors

Karen presented Peter’s inspirational slides which are based on his knowledge and expertise available in more detail with links to sources here: https://chester.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Witch_Trials

Peter says; “My reason for writing the initial article on the “Chesterwiki” website was the the inaccurate information that was being put about concerning the witch trials.”

“The numbers of executions were greatly inflated and the whole issue was sensationalised prior to Clare. Bradshaw was portrayed as a “power-crazed” judge and there was no surrounding historical context, either as regards the contemporaneous trials in Wales (same judges) or the other things Bradshaw was involved in. He was a figure of national importance. Information being written also confused modern perceptions of “witches” with what people would have believed at the time.”

He added; “The story goes a long way back. Plegmund, Alfred’s archbishop from Plemstall, was probably involved in the drafting of “Cake-burning” Alfred’s Law Code. Plegmund’s Well in itself is a wonderful story of “Preservation and Progress”.

“Alfred’s makes the act of consulting “witches” a crime – which may be a mistranslation. It appears to be the origin of “not suffer a witch to live”. Alfred’s law seems to have been intended against “malefic” acts of a fairly general kind and there is no mention of any “diabolical conspiracy against the state” such as appears in the Chester Mystery Plays.”

“Burning witches was rare in England. They were hung. Protestants tended to execute more witches than Catholics. One wonders how much the large number of witch trials in Germany were entertainment for the masses, like Clare’s play.”

“Looking at the context in Chester there is an interesting mix of myth, legend and tradition. The Devil turns up in the Mystery Plays as a rather comic character played by the Tanners, and the Ale-Wife accompanies him in parades. The Tanners had their mysterious potions and the Ale-Wife’s “spells” can be likened to recipes for brewing beer, making cheese etc. The other character appearing in the Mystery Plays is the “Antichrist”. In modern recreations his identity is usually obvious from the start, but in the original play he seems to pose a more subtle threat. “Magic” is now the “work of the Devil” used with the intent of overthrowing the state and we first see Bradshaw and Cromwell being portrayed as such.”

“The development of the English anti-witchcraft laws reflects this concern with the state. Henry VIII’s laws put finding treasure (which should be his) before causing harm. Elizabeth has a personal astrologer but doesn’t want anyone else predicting her demise. James thinks “they” are after him personally.”

“The Welsh are a lot more relaxed and see it as a local issue that can be sorted-out by confession and apology. Gloom-laden prophecies about their leaders/rulers have been around for ages. The second Pendle trial is investigated by John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, who finds it to be a money-making sham. In the 1600’s it all bursts out into print – more mass entertainment.”

“That brings us down to mass-entertainment of today and the context of Clare’s play. She makes it clear her portrayal is fictionalised and makes it obvious where she strays from accuracy (Bradshaw takes the train to Wales). She leaves the audience to consider for themselves the relationship between his witch trials and his trial of King Charles, between the threat to the state of the Devil and his cohorts and that of Cromwell. The “real” history, even presented as fiction is far more interesting than inaccurate history presented as truth.”

“Running through this is the sense of place, where peoples lives unfold and their stories are sometimes told, becoming real once more through their echoes in the built environment they left behind.”

Photos of the event can be seen here: