Pittenweem witches facts for kids
The Pittenweem witches were five women from the small fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife, Scotland. They were accused of witchcraft in 1704. Two other women and a man were also named as helpers.
A teenage boy named Patrick Morton made accusations against a local woman, Beatrix Layng. These accusations led to the death of Thomas Brown in prison. In January 1705, a angry crowd in the village murdered Janet Cornfoot.
Important people from the Privy Council looked into Cornfoot's murder. Four men were arrested, and charges were planned against a local leader called a bailie. However, the local minister, Patrick Cowper, let the four accused men go. He had been involved in the first witchcraft accusations and the torture of the accused women. Even though the Privy Council asked for more investigations, no one was ever punished for the murder.
Two of the accused women, Beatrix Layng and Nicholas Lawson, were put in prison again in 1708–1709. This happened after Minister Cowper and another minister accused them of witchcraft again. They were set free in April 1709. They were pardoned after Queen Anne issued a special law. Another accused woman, Janet Horseburgh, sued the leaders who had imprisoned her. She received an apology and money.
How the Accusations Started
In March 1704, a 16-year-old boy named Patrick Morton worked in his father's smithy. A woman named Beatrix Layng asked him to make some nails. Patrick said no because he had an urgent job for a merchant's ship. Layng was upset and threatened to get back at him.
The next day, Patrick saw a bucket with water and burning coal outside Layng's house. He thought it was a spell against him. Layng was already known for using charms. Patrick immediately felt weak and had trouble standing. His health got worse. He had fits and his body became stiff and twisted. People said they saw marks on his skin where he claimed he had been pinched. He stopped eating and found it hard to breathe.
At this time, pamphlets about a girl named Christian Shaw, who was thought to be possessed, were popular. Patrick Cowper, the local minister, had read these stories to Morton. The villagers thought the Devil was involved because no one could explain Patrick's sickness. Minister Cowper encouraged Patrick to name Layng as the person who had caused his problems.
In May 1704, Patrick Morton named Layng as a witch. With more encouragement from Cowper, he accused four other women: Isobel Adam, Janet Cornfoot, Nicholas Lawson, and Lillie Wallace. Later, he also named Janet Horseburgh as a helper.
The Accused Women
Like Layng, Janet Cornfoot was known for casting spells and threatening people. Nicholas Lawson, a farmer's wife, had been asked for advice about witchcraft before. Janet Horseburgh was the widow of a local leader. Many people in the village believed she was a witch.
Witches in Fife were often thought to be old and poor women. One old book described Layng as "very poor." However, her husband was a tailor and a treasurer in Pittenweem, so she was not truly poor. Horseburgh also did not live in poverty.
Janet Cornfoot confessed after Minister Patrick Cowper beat her. This happened in the Pittenweem Tolbooth, which was a prison.
The Investigation and Imprisonment
After Patrick Morton named the women, Minister Cowper and the local leaders quickly found them. They were put in the Pittenweem Tolbooth prison. While there, the women were tortured and beaten. They were kept awake by force. Layng said she was kept awake for five days and five nights. Cowper himself beat Cornfoot with a walking stick.
Layng finally confessed after the women were taken to Morton's bedroom. Even though he was blindfolded, he said he could identify them all as the cause of his illness.
Layng confessed that she had made spells with buckets of water and burning coals. She also said she stabbed needles into a wax model of her victim. She claimed she met the Devil as a black dog and made a deal with him. She said she knew it was the Devil because he could change shape. She first offered him her daughter, then her six-year-old granddaughter. Her confession named the four other women as being involved.
Isobel Adam admitted to making a deal with the Devil. She also said he branded her with his mark. She confessed that she worked with the others to try and kill a local man. The plan failed because he woke up and made the Sign of the cross. Her statement also named Thomas Brown as a witch. Brown was arrested and put in prison. He did not confess to anything and later died of starvation. This was common for suspected witches who were kept in prison for a long time.
Cornfoot and Lawson also confessed. Cornfoot later added that the Devil had visited her in prison. She claimed he promised she would be freed quickly if she did not confess. But he threatened to "tear her to pieces" if she did.
The four women who confessed—Adam, Cornfoot, Layng, and Lawson—were questioned again on May 29. They all repeated their statements and named others. Horsefoot and Wallace were questioned on June 14 but kept saying they were innocent.
The Privy Council was asked for permission to hold a trial locally. But they ordered Sir James Stewart, a top lawyer, to arrange the trials in Edinburgh. The Privy Council would pay for the transport. The Earl of Rothes, who was the sheriff of Fife, was told to oversee the move.
An anonymous essay called True and full relation of the witches at Pittenweem was published while the women were in prison. The author, using the name "A Lover of Truth," tried to explain why witches should be punished. The Scottish High Court refused to convict Cornfoot, so she was sent back to Pittenweem.
It was becoming very expensive to keep the women in prison. On August 12, all the women except Cornfoot were released on bail after paying a large sum of money. In September, Patrick Morton was called to give evidence to the Privy Council. By then, he was completely healthy and showed no signs of being possessed.
Isobel Adam was questioned by the Privy Council in October and then freed. In November, Layng, Lawson, Horsefoot, and Wallace were released after paying a fine of £8 each. But Janet Cornfoot, the last accused person, was kept alone in prison by Minister Cowper. One of the prison guards felt sorry for her and put her in a cell with a low window. She used this to escape and gain her freedom.
Janet Cornfoot's Death
After escaping, Janet Cornfoot went to her home village of Leuchars, about eight miles from Pittenweem. She was either found by the minister, George Gordon, or she asked him for help. For a reward of £10, he arranged for two armed men to take her back to Minister Cowper's house on January 30, 1705.
Cowper was not home when they arrived, so she was taken to one of the local leaders. A crowd of at least ten people forcibly took her from the house. They tied her up, beat her, and eventually killed her. The crowd took her body to the home of Nicolas Lawson, who had also been accused. But they decided they had done enough for the day.
Two weeks later, a committee of five important people, including the Earl of Rothes, investigated the murder. The Privy Council ordered Sir James Stewart to start legal action against five people and anyone else involved.
The committee identified four locals who saw Cornfoot being killed and were involved in her mistreatment. The three main people who committed the murder had already left the area. They were from Orkney, Burntisland, and the son of a Sea captain. A schoolboy, two Englishmen, and another person were also involved but had run away. The committee decided that Bailie Cook, from whose house the mob had taken Cornfoot, was largely to blame.
Four men suspected of being at the murder were arrested. But Minister Cowper released them, even though the Privy Council had ordered them to be taken to Edinburgh for trial. No one was ever tried for Cornfoot's murder.
What Happened Later
The Privy Council was ended in 1708. New courts were set up that year to handle witchcraft cases. So, when Minister Cowper and another minister accused Layng and Lawson of witchcraft again in October 1708, their case was heard in Perth. The two women were warned and released.
However, the ministers kept trying to accuse them. Layng and Lawson were put in prison again in April 1709. They were supposed to be tried on May 20. But Queen Anne issued a special law after a rebellion in 1708. This law said that anyone facing trial for crimes before April 19, 1709, should be pardoned and set free. So, Layng and Lawson, along with hundreds of others, were pardoned and released.
In 1710, Janet Horseburgh sued two of the local leaders, William Bell and Robert Vernour, for wrongly imprisoning her. On October 28, 1710, Bell admitted: "I am convinced of the rashness, illegality and unwarrantableness of our proceedings, having proceeded on idle stories." He also asked for forgiveness from God and Horseburgh. He said he had wrongly accused an innocent person. He added that he thought Patrick Morton had been "suffering from a sad illness." Horseburgh was given money as compensation.
Images for kids
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Pittenweem Parish Church and Tolbooth Steeple where some of the accused witches were held
