The Pendle Witches of 1634: Edmund Robinson’s Story
The Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 were the most famous witch trials in Britain. But what most people don’t know is that it didn’t end in 1612. It calmed down, but it didn’t end.
Twenty-two years later, another witch-hunt broke out around Pendle. But the results would be very different from the 1612 Pendle Witch Trials, though no less tragic. This is the story of the Pendle Witches of 1634.
Edmund Robinson’s Story
In early November 1633, 11-year-old Edmund Robinson had been sent out to watch his father’s cattle, but he arrived home late, looking dirty and dishevelled. He told his parents a wild story.
He said he’d been picking fruit when two greyhounds appeared. Being young and looking for mischief, Edmund tried to get them to chase a hare, but they stayed. To his amazement, the greyhounds turned into a woman and a boy then the woman turned the boy into a horse. The woman grabbed Edmund and rode away with him.
She took him to a house named Hoarstones. Here, there was a gathering of witches, around 60 Edmund thought. Ropes dangled from the ceiling, and, when the men and women pulled them, food fell from the sky. Fearing for his life, he managed to escape. But his ordeal wasn’t over yet.
On his way home, he met a boy with cloven hooves, and they got into a fight. This was why he was so dirty and dishevelled.
The Witch-hunt
Surprisingly, his parents believed him. His father took him on a three-month tour of local churches, where he identified the women he’d seen at the sabbat. He identified the woman who had abducted him as Frances Dickinson.
But one of his identifications would cause a stir, even 400 years later. And that was the identification of Jennet Device.
Was the Jennet Device of 1634 the Jennet Device of 1612?
Most sources state that the two Devices were the same person, but Carol Ann Lee, author of Something Wicked, argues that this woman was the wife of William Device, meaning it wasn’t Jennet Device from 1612. Her evidence came from Lord Londesborough’s collection of early manuscripts, where he had ‘obtained a copy of a supposedly contemporary document describing the 1634 depositions’ (Footnote ). Without being able to verify this source, and based on the flimsiness of the word ‘supposedly’, I’m reluctant to take this as fact.
So I went looking for confirmation, and I quickly found a transcript of the re-examination of Edmund Robinson in July 1634, which said: ‘Jennet Devys, William Devys, her half brother’.
A William Device wasn’t mentioned in the 1612 witch trials, but it’s entirely possible that John Device had a child before he married Elizabeth Device in 1590. This child would be in his mid-to-late 20s in 1612 and probably no longer living at home anymore. There is no evidence of this, but it’s entirely possible.
So, what does this mean for Jennet? We’ll probably never know for certain whether the Jennet Device of 1634 was the same person as the Jennet Device of 1612, but there are a few factors that suggest they might be. These are:
Jennet Device of 1634 was the right age to be a grown-up 1612 Jennet Device.
How many Jennet Devices would be living around Pendle at that time?
The Second Pendle Witch Trials
By February 1634, the two local magistrates, Richard Shuttleworth and John Starkie, had heard of Edmund’s story and interviewed him. Edmund retold his story and gave them the names of around 20 women he’d seen at the sabbat.
These women were arrested and taken to trial at Lancaster Castle. If the two Jennet Devices were the same person, what must she have been feeling? She was now in the same position as her mother, brother, sister and grandmother, and she knew what had happened to them.
After the evidence had been presented, 17 of the accused were found guilty, but the judges weren’t content with the verdicts. They’d followed the law, but something didn’t feel right, so they asked the Privy Council for help. The Privy Council sent the Bishop of Chester to investigate. The Bishop of Chester took no time in finding that Edmund Robinson was not telling the truth.
The Journey to London
The Privy Council asked that the Robinsons and four of the women be sent to London for investigation. These women were Jennet Hargreaves, Frances Dickinson, Mary Spencer and Margaret Johnson.
Dr Harvey’s Examination
Charles I asked his physician, William Harvey, to examine the accused women for the witch’s mark. Harvey was a man of science who’d later discover how blood circulated through the human body. He was not a man given to superstition. He and the other surgeons and midwives found nothing unusual on the women’s bodies.
Edmund Robinson’s Lie
Edmund Robinson was also examined. Separated from his father, he admitted to George Long, a Justice of the Peace, that he’d made the story up. He said that, initially, he’d made it up to avoid punishment from his mother for being so late and bedraggled. He’d named Frances Dickinson, Jennet Hargreaves, Jennet Device and William Device because he’d heard people talk about their alleged powers. And, of course, he’d heard the story of the 1612 Pendle Witches.
But then, his father encouraged him to name more witches ‘for envy, revenge and hope of gain’. It was rumoured that Edmund Robinson Sr had had an argument with Frances Dickinson over the payment of a cow. Later, it was discovered that Edmund Robinson Sr had been blackmailing women in Pendle. Those who didn’t pay would soon be accused of fraud by Edmund Jr. Edmund Robinson Sr was imprisoned for his fraud.
Scepticism About Witchcraft
Charles I was much more sceptical about witchcraft than his father had been. It’s incredible just how quickly he and his government intervened in the case, standing in stark contrast to the investigation of the Pendle Witches in 1612. We had moved into a more scientific age.
Acquittals and Aftermath
Because of the Privy Council’s investigation, all charges were dropped against the so-called Pendle Witches. But this wouldn’t be the end of their struggles. Until the 1869 Debtors Act, prisoners were required to pay for their lodgings, food and bedding while incarcerated. If they couldn’t pay, they had to stay in prison until they could.
Many of the Pendle Witches couldn’t afford their prison bills, so they weren’t released, despite being acquitted. Lancaster Gaol records show that Jennet Device was one of ten still in prison in 1636. It’s likely she died there.
Final Thoughts
This case highlights the growing scepticism towards witchcraft and witchcraft accusations throughout seventeenth-century England. But it wouldn’t end the persecution of predominantly women. That would continue throughout the rest of the seventeenth century and into the eighteenth century.
