Oakley Witch, a Witchy Wednesday article.

 The Witch of Oakley!

Welcome to another Witchy Wednesday, this weeks WW features an article from The Newcastle Courant published on the 13th August 1737. 

The following extract is of a Letter from Oakley in Bedfordshire, dated July 28th about the Trial of a Witch. 

Sourced from The British Newspaper Archive.

 'The People here are so prejudiced in the Belief of ' Witches, that you would think yourself in Lapland, was ' you to hear their ridiculous Stories There is not a Vil- 'lage in the Neighbourhood but has two or three. About a Week ago I was present at the Ceremony of Ducking 'a Witch ; a particular Account of which may not per- ' haps be disagreeable to you. ' An old Woman of about sixty Years of Age, had ' long lain under an Imputation of Witchcraft ; who be- ? ing willing (for her Sake and her Childrens) to ' clear herself, consented to be duck'd ; and the Parish ' Officers promised her a Guinea if she should sink: The ' Place appointed for the Operation was the River Ouse by 'a Mill; there were, I believe 500 Spectators: About ' Eleven o'clock in the Forenoon, the Woman came, and ' was tied up in a wet Sheet, all but her Face and Hands ; 'her Toes, were tied close together, as were also her ' Thumbs, and her Hands tied to the Small of her Legs : ' They fastened a Rope about her Middle, and then pul- ' led off her Cap to search for Pins; for their Notion is, 'if they have but one Pin about 'em they won't sink. 'When all Preliminaries were settled, she was thrown ' in ; but, unhappily for the poor Creature, she floated ; ' tho' her Head was all the while under Water. Upon 'this there was a confus'd Cry, A Witch, A Witch ! Drown 'her ! hang her ! She was in the Water about a Minute 'and a half ;and was then taken out, half drown'd ; 'when she had recovered Breath, the Experiment was re- 'peated Twice more, but with the same success; for she ' floated each Time; which was a plain Demonstration 'of Guilt to the ignorant Multitude : For notwithstanding 'the poor Creature was laid down upon the Grass, speech- ' less, and almost dead, they were so far from shewing any ' Pity or Compassion, that they strove who should be the ' most forward in loading her with Reproaches. Such is ' dire Effect of Popular Prejudice! As for my Part, ' I stood against the Torrent, and when I had cut the 'Strings which tied her, had her carried back to the ' Mill, and endeavoured to convince the People of the 'Uncertainty of the Experiment, and offered to lay Five 'to One, that any Woman of her Age, so tied up in a 'loose Sheet, would float ; but all to no Purpose, for I ' was very near being mobb'd. Some time after, the Wo- ' man came out; and one of the Company happen'd to 'mention another Experiment to try a Witch which was 'to weigh her against the Church Bible ; for a Witch it seems, could nor outweigh it. I immediately seconded 'that Motion (as thinking it might be of Service to the 'poor Woman) and made use of an Argument, winch ' (tho' as weak as * King James's for their not sinking) 'had some Weight with the People; for I told them, if ' she was a Witch, she certainly dealt with the Devil ; and ' as the Bible was undoubtedly the Word of God, it must ' weigh more than all the Works of the Devi. This seem'd ' very reasonable to several; and those that did not think ' it so, could not answer it. At last, the Question was car- ' ried, and she was weigh'd against the Bible; which ' weighing about twelve Pounds, she out weighed it. This 'convinced some, and staggered others; but the P----n, ' who believ'd thro' thick and thin, went away fully as- ' sured that she was a Witch, and endeavoured to incul- ' cate that Belief into all others. * King James's Argument why Witches would not sink, was this; They had renounced their Baptism by WATER, and therefore the WATER ' would not receive them.

The "Oakley Witch" refers to a 60-year-old married woman in Oakley, Bedfordshire, who was subjected to a public witch trial by "swimming" in the River Ouse in 1735. She was accused of witchcraft, stripped, tied, and thrown into the water, but survived because she floated, leading to a subsequent, unusual "weighing against the Bible" test.

1877 engraving of a witch.
Harrison Weir (1824-1906)
 public domain 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, please join me again next week for another Witchy Wednesday. Kat ☺️

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Swimming of a Witch woodcut print.