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Duration 00:29:41

‘A huge pack of witches’: A witch scare in 17th-century Lancashire

In November 1633, a little boy telling tall tales about witches in his local community in Lancashire sparked a witch hunt so shocking that no lesser body than the Privy Council decided to investigate.

Records of the examinations, of both the accused and the accuser, are held at The National Archives. Using these and other documents, this talk tells the story of this witch hunt and set it within the context of witchcraft in the Early Modern period.

This talk was delivered online on Friday 23 October 2020 by Jessica Nelson. Jessica is Head of Collections (Medieval, Early Modern, Maps & Legal) at The National Archives.