Belvoir Witch Trails

he had two sons, both of which died in their infancy by wicked practises and sorcerye (inscription on the grave of Frances Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland)

The Witches of Belvoir were Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philipa, local herbal healers who were dismissed as servants by the 6th Earl and Countess of Rutland. The earl, countess and all three of their children soon fell ill and a two of their children died: Henry (bur. 1613) and Francis (bur. 1619). Katherine Manners, daughter of the earl and his first wife, was the only surviving child. It was only after their second son died that the Flowers were accused of witchcraft.

Joan died soon after being arrested but her daughters were tried by Sir Edward Bromley, who was previously involved with Pendle witch trials, and Sir Henry Hobart. They admitted that they and their mother had engaged in witchcraft and named three more cunning women. The two girls were found guilty and hung.

A more recent theory has suggested that George Villiers, who would become the Duke of Buckingham, planned to marry Katherine Manners, so he poisoned her two brothers and inherited the estate on his wedding day.

Accused

• Joan Flower
• Margaret Flower
• Philippa Flower
• Anne Baker
• Joan Willimot
• Ellen Greene

Victims

• Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland - survived
• Cecily Manners (nee Tufton), Countess of Rutland - survived
• Henry Manners, their heir - died
• Francis Manners - died
• Katherine Villiers (nee Manners) - survived ~ beneficiary

Accusers

• Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
• Francis Lord Willoughby de Eresby
• Sir George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland
• Sir William Pelham
• Sir Henry Hastings
• Samuel Fleming, chaplain to the earls of Rutland

Judges

• Sir Edward Bromley
• Sir Henry Hobart

Others

• George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ~ beneficiary

Original Document

Further reading

• Wikipedia
• The Damnable Practices of Three Lincolnshire witches, part 1 and part 2
• Witches of Belvoir 'may have been framed', BBC
• William Miller (1959) "Samuel Fleming, Elizabethan Clergyman", in The Library Chronicle of the Friends of the University of Pennsylvania Library, Volume XXV, pages 69-70.