Henry VIII ordered that parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials be kept from 1538. Very few have survived from this date. Elizabeth I repeated her father’s order in 1558 and then ordered that parish registers be kept on parchment (rather than more vulnerable paper) in 1597. More registers survive from this date. 

In some registers the vicar made notes about entries that he made or about other happenings in the area. For example, in this register there are no baptisms between October 1644 and September 1645. A note explains this was due to the siege of Newcastle during the Civil War. 

At the end of the register appears a list of people executed on 21 August 1650 on the Town Moor. Of the first sixteen names listed, all but one person were hung for witchcraft “for a wich”. Ellenor Robson was hanged for “stellin of sliver spownes” (stealing silver spoons). Not all of the witches were women, Mathew Bowner was also hanged “for a wich”. 

After the list of people hanged for witchcraft is a further list of eight people hanged for “stelling” or stealing. At the bottom of this list (the ninth person), is Jane Martin who was also hanged “for a wich”. It is noted that she was the wife of the miller from Chatton. 

The parish register shows that sixteen people were executed for witchcraft on 21 August 1650 in Newcastle. This is the largest number of people executed for that “crime” on any one day in English history. The sixteen were hanged – witchcraft was a felony in England, which meant that it was punished by hanging rather than being burnt as in other European countries. 

Most of what we know today about the Newcastle witch trials comes from a book written in 1655, just five years after the executions. A copy of “England’s Grievance Discovered” can be found on Google Books (see link). The index page on Google Books contains hyperlinks which will navigate straight to the chapter about the witch trials. 

According to Ralph Gardiner, the people of Newcastle appealed to the council to get rid of any witches in the town (Newcastle became a city in 1882). The council invited a witch-finder from Scotland to come and root out any witches. The witch-finder used a pin on any people (but mostly women) that were brought to him. If the suspected witch bled, they were innocent. If they didn’t bleed, they were witches. The witch-finder was paid 20 shillings (£1) for every witch.  Gardiner claims that the witch-finder was later found to be a conman and was executed in Scotland, although the witch-finder isn’t named in this account.  

Ralph Gardiner was in dispute with the town council of Newcastle when he wrote his book. He wrote “England’s Grievance” to send to Oliver Cromwell to try and persuade the Lord Protector that the council was corrupt. 

August 1650 
The 21 day of August thes partes her under nam ed wer 
executed in the to wn mor for wiches 
21 Isabell Bown the 21 day for a wich 
21 margrit maddeson the 21 day for a wich 
21 Ann Wotson for a wich the 21 day 
21 Ellenor henderson the 21 day for a wich 
21 Ellenor Rogers the 21 day for a wich 
21 Ellsabeth Dobson the 21 day for a wich 
21 mathew Bowner the 21 day for a wich 
21 Ellsabeth Anderson the 21 day for a wich 
21 Jane hunter the 21 day for a wich 
21 Jane Koupling the 21 day for a wich 
21 Margrit Brown the 21 day for a wich 
21 margarit moffet the 21 day for a wich 
21 Ellenor Robson the 21 day for stellin of silver spownes 
21 Kattren wellsh the 21 day for a wich 
21 Aylles hume the 21 day for a wich 
21 marie pootes the 21 day for a wich 
… 
21 Jane martin the 21 day for a wich the myllers wif of Chattim