Extract from The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester by John Nichols 1795

 (Transcribed as written except for the long S being replaced by a normal s.)

The wonderful Discoverie of the Witchcrafts of MARGARET and PHILLIP FLOWER, Daughters of JOAN FLOWER, neere BEVER CASTLE, executed at Lincolne, March 11, 1618 ; who were specially arraigned and condemned before Sir HENRY HOBART, and Sir EDWARD BROMLEY, Judges if Assise, for confessing themselves Actors in the Destruction of HENRY Lord ROSSE, with their damnable Practises against others the Children of the Right Honourable FRANCIS Earle of RUTLAND. Together with the severall Examinations and Confessions of ANNE BAKER, JOAN WILLIMOT, and ELLEN GREENE, Witches in Leicestershire ¹.

AFTER the right honourable Sir Francis Manners succeeded his brother in the earledome of Rutland ; and so not onely tooke possession of Beaver castle, but of all other his demeanes, lordships, townes, mannors, lands, and revennues, appropriate to the same earledome ; hee proceeded so honourably in the course of his life, as neither displacing tenants, discharging servants, denying accesse of the poore, welcoming of strangers, and performing all the duties of a noble lord, that he fastened as it were unto himself the love and good opinion of the countrey, wherein he walked the more cheerfully and remarkable, because his honourable countesse marched arme in arme with him in the same race ; so that Beaver castle was a continual pallace of entertainment, and a daily receptacle for all sorts both rich and poore, especially such auncient people as the neighboured the same ; amongst whom one Joane Flower, with her daughters Margaret and Phillip, were not only relieved at the first from thence, but quickly entertained as chair-women, and Margaret admitted as a continuall dweller in the castle, looking both to the poultrey abroad, and the wash-house within dores ; in which life they continued with equall correspondency, till something was discovered to the noble lady, which concerned the misdemeanour of these women. And although such honourable persons shall not want of all sorts of people either to bring the newes, tales, reports, or to serve their tune in all offices whatsoever ; so that it may well be said of them, as it is of great kings and princes, that they have large hands, wide eares, and piercing sights to discover the unswept corners of their remotest confines, to reach even to their furthest borders, and to understand the secret of their meanest subjects ; yet in this neither were they busie-bodies, flatterers, malicious polititians, underminers, nor supplanters one of another's good fortune ; but went simply to worke, as regarding the honor of the earle and his lady, and so by degrees gave light to their understanding to apprehend their complaints. First that Joane Flower the mother was a monstrous malicous woman, full of oathes, curses, and imprecations irreligious, and for any thing they saw by her a plain Atheist: besides, of late dayes her very countenance was estranged, her eyes were fiery and hollow, her speech fell and envious, her demeanour strange and exoticke, and her convestation sequestered ; so that the whole course of her life gave great suspition that she was a notorious witch ; yea, some of her neighbours dared to affirme that she dealt with familiar spirits, and terrified them all with curses and threatning of revenge, if there were never so little cause of displeasure and undkindnesse. Concerning Margaret, that shee often resorted from the castle to her mother, bringing such provision as they thought was unbefitting for a servant to purloyne, and comming at such unseasonable houres, that they could not but conjecture some mischiefe betweene them, and that their extraordinary ryott and expences tended both to rob the lady, and maintaine certain deboist and base company which frequented this Joane Flower's house the mother, and especially her youngest daughter. Concerning Phillip, that she was ledly transported with the love of one Th. Simpson, who presumed to say, that shee had bewitched him ; for hee had no power to leave her, and was, as he supposed, marvellously altered both in minde and body, since her aquainted company : these complaints began so many yeares before either their conviction or publique apprehension : notwithstanding, such was the honour of this earle and his lady ; such was the cunning of this monstrous woman in observation towards them ; such was the subtilty of the divell to bring his purposes to passe ; such was the pleasure of God to make trrall of his servants ; and such was the effect of a damnable womans' wit and malitious envy, that all things were carried away in the smooth channell of liking and good entertainment on every side, until the earle by degrees conceived some mislike against her ; and so, peradventure, estranged himselfe from that familiarite and accustomed conferrences hee was wont to have with her, untill one Peate offered her some wrong ; against whom she complained, but found that my lord did not affect her clamours and malicious information, untill one Mr. Vavasor abandonded her company, as either suspicious of her lewd life, or distasted with his own misliking of such base and poore creatures, whom nobody loved but the earle's houshold ; untill the countesse mis-conceiving of her daughter Margaret, and discovering some undecencies both in her life and neglect of her businesse, discharged her from lying any more in the castle, yet gave her 40s. a bolster, and a mattresse of wooll ; commanding her to go home, untill the slacknesse of her repayring to the castle,as shee was wont, did turn her love and liking towards this honourable earle and his family into hate and rancour ; whereupon, despighted to be so neglected, and exprobated by her neighbours for her daughter's casting out of dores, and other conceived displeasures, she grew past all shame and womanhood, and many times cursed them all that were cause of this discontent, and made her so loathsome to her former familiar friends, and beneficiall acquiantance.
When the divell perceived the inficious disposition of this wretch, and that shee and her daughters might easily bee made instruments to enlarge his kingdome, and bee as it were the executioners of his vengeance, not caring whether it lighted upon innocents or no, he came more neerer unto them, and in plaine termes, to come quickly to the purpose, offered them his service, and that in such a manner, as that they might easily command what they pleased : for hee would attend you in such prety forms of dog, cat, or rat, that they should neither be terrified, nor any body else suspicious of the matter. Upon this they agree, and (as it should seeme) give away their soules for the service of such spirits as he had promised them ; which filthy conditions were ratified with abhominable kisses, and an odious sacrifice of blood, not leaving out certaine charmes and conjurations with which the divell deceived them, as though nothing could be done without ceremony and a solemnity of orderly ratification. By this time doth Sathan triumph, and goeth away satisfied to have caught suchfish in the net of his illusions : by this time there are these women divvels incarnate, and grow proud againe in their cunning and artificiall power, to do what mischiefe they listed. By this time they have learnt the manner of inchantations, spells, and charmes. By this time they kill what cattle they list, and, under the covert of flattery and familiar entertainment, keepe hidden the stinging serpent of malice, and a venomous inclination to mischiefe. By this time the earle and his familie threatened, and must feele the burthen of a terrible tempest, which these women's divelish devises fell uppon him, he neither suspecting nor understanding the same. By this time both himselfe and his honourable countesse are many times subject to sicknesse and extraordinary convulsions ; which they are taking as gentle corrections from the hand of God, submit with quietnesse to his mercy, and study nothing more then to glorifie their Creator in Heaven, and beare his crosses on earth.
At last, as mallice increased in these damnable women, so his family felt the smart of their revenge and insicious dispostion ; for his eldest sonne Henry lord Rosse sickened very strangely, and after awhile died ; his next, named Francis lord Rosse accordingly, was severily tormented by them, and most barbarously and inhumanely tortured by a strange sicknesse ; not long after the lady Katherine was set upon by their dangerous and divellish practises, and many times in great danger of life, through extreame maladies and unusuall fits, nay (as it should seeme, and they afterwards confessed) both the earle and his countesse were brought into their snares, as they imagined, and indeed determined to keepe them from having any more children. Oh, unheard of wickednesse and mischievous damnation! Notwithstanding all this, did the noble earle attend his majesty, both at Newmarket before Christmas, and at Christmas at Whitehall, bearing the losse of his children most nobly, and little suspecting that they had miscarried by witchcraft, or such like inventions of the divell, untill it pleased God to discover the villanous practises of these woemen, and to command the divell from executing any further vengeance on innocents, but leave them to their shames, and the handes of justice, that they might not onely be confounded for their villanous practises, but remaine as a notorious example to all ages of his judgement and fury. Thus were they apprehended about Christmas, and carried to Lincolne jayle, after due examination, before sufficient justices, of the peace, and discreete majestrates, who wondred at their audacious wickedness. But Joane Flower the mother, before her conviction (as they say), called for bread and butter, and wished it might never goe through her if she were guilty of that whereupon she was examined ; so mumbling it in her mouth, never spake more wordes after, but fell downe and dyed as shee was carried to Lincolne goale, with a horrible excruciation of soule and body, and was buried at Ancaster.
When the earle heard of their apprehension, hee hasted down with his brother S^r George, and sometimes examined them himselfe, and sometimes sending them to others ; at last left them to the triall of law, before the judges of assise at Lincolne ; and so they were convicted of murther, and executed accordingly, about the 11th of March, to the terror of all the beholders, and example of such dissolute and abhominable creatures. And because you shall have both cause to glorifie God for this discovery, and occasion to apprehend the strangenesse of their lives, and truth of their proceedings ; I though it both meete and convenient to lay open their own examinations and evidences against one another, with such apparent circumstances, as doe not onely shew the cause of their mislike and distasting against the earle and his family, but the manner of their proceedings and revenges, with other particulars belonging to the true and plaine discovery of their villany and witchcraft.

1 Their portraits, in wood, accompany the original publication, which was printed "at London, by G. Eld, for I. Barnes, dwelling in the long Walke, neere Christ Church, 1619," 4to.-The whole pamphlet is here preserved, as a most striking proof of the then prevalent opinion on the subject of Witchcraft. The examinations were taken by magistrates of the first consequence in the neighbourhood.

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