Witches of Belvoir

The Witches of Belvoir refers to Joan Flower and her two daughters, Margaret and Philippa, who were accused of witchcraft in early 17th-century England. They were charged with causing the deaths of Henry (d. 1613) and Francis Manners (d. 1620), the two young sons and heirs of Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland, whose residence was Belvoir Castle in Lincolnshire.
Joan and her daughters were known locally as herbal healers, though their family had fallen on hard times. Around 1612, the three women entered service at Belvoir Castle as additional staff were needed in preparation for a royal visit by King James I. However, they were unpopular among the other servants and were soon dismissed following accusations of theft and misconduct. Only Joan received severance: 40 shillings, a pillow, and a wool mattress.
Not long after their dismissal, both the Earl and Countess of Rutland fell ill with severe vomiting and convulsions. Their eldest son, Henry, Baron de Ros, died and was buried on 26 September 1613. Their younger children, Francis and Katherine, also suffered similar symptoms. Francis died on 7 March 1620. With both sons gone, the Earl was left without a male heir; upon his death in 1632, the title passed to his brother.
Although Henry had died years earlier, suspicion returned to the Flowers after Francis's death in 1620. Around Christmas of 1618, five years after their dismissal, the family accused the women of witchcraft. The arrest followed a broader wave of witchcraft accusations in Leicestershireâjust two years earlier, nine women were executed there on similar charges, including the keeping of cat familiars.
In early 1619, Joan, Margaret, and Philippa Flower were interrogated by a panel that included the Earl of Rutland, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Sir George Manners, Sir William Pelham, Sir Henry Hastings, and clergyman Samuel Fleming. The women were ordered to be transported to Lincoln for formal examination. On the way there, Joan declared her innocence. Not being a regular churchgoer, she insisted on proving herself by consuming a piece of blessed bread as a substitute for the Eucharistâbelieving that no witch could eat it. After the first bite, she choked and died en route, which was taken as a sign of guilt.
At Lincoln, Margaret implicated her mother, and Philippa confessed to practicing witchcraft on behalf of all three. They admitted to communing with familiar spirits, including a cat named Rutterkin, said to be their motherâs. According to their confession, they had stolen one of Lord Rosâs gloves and given it to Joan, who boiled it, stroked it along Rutterkinâs back, and pierced it with a pin. This, along with incantations, was believed to have caused the boyâs fatal illness. They also admitted to attempts at cursing the Earl and Countess, using blood-soaked feathers from their bedding and boiling gloves to prevent further pregnancies. They described visions of devils and said their familiars visited and suckled from them.
During their examinations, the sisters named three other womenâAnne Baker of Bottesford, Joan Willimot of Goadby, and Ellen Greene of Stathernâas accomplices. These women were also examined and admitted to visions and dealings with spirits. Willimot claimed her familiar, Pretty, had entered her as a fairy spirit and later reappeared as a woman demanding her soul. Though she insisted she never harmed anyone, she acknowledged using Pretty to diagnose illnesses and offer healing through prayer.
Greene claimed she had joined Willimot in summoning spirits in the woods, which appeared as a kitten and a mole (moldewarp). These climbed on her shoulders and suckled at her ears before being sent to kill a man and woman with whom she had quarreledâboth of whom died within two weeks. Anne Baker confessed to having a familiar in the form of a white dog and recounted her supernatural visions.
Margaret and Philippa Flower were tried before Henry Hobart, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Edward Bromley, Baron of the Exchequer. They were found guilty of witchcraft and hanged at Lincoln Castle on 11 March 1619.