Town’s Museum Forms New Partnership with US Museum

Moyse’s Hall Museum will be forging links with a museum in Salem Massachusetts as part of a project to explore the shared history of the infamous witch trials and encourage US visitors to the town.

The trial of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender, from Lowestoft, held in Bury St Edmunds in 1662 set a legal precedent that directly influenced the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts.

Information on these connections will go on display at both the Salem Witch Museum and at Moyse’s Hall Museum this winter. A series of lecture swaps is also planned with the Salem Witch Museum giving lectures to the Bury St Edmunds Museum audience and vice versa - creating a mutual exchange of knowledge and culture.

Moyse’s Hall Museum is currently curating an exhibition, due to open 31st October 2026, that will focus on the Witch Trials of Bury St Edmunds and East Anglia. This exhibition will share the victims’ stories, supported by a wider study of the early modern period to explore the reasons why the murderous witch trials may have occurred. The Museum, run by West Suffolk Council, will be working with academics from across the UK and the exhibition will feature loaned-in artefacts never seen on public display before.

The tragic story of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender, two elderly widows from Lowestoft accused, tried, and executed for witchcraft in Bury St Edmunds, is preserved in a historical booklet entitled 'A Tryal of Witches'. This document offers a detailed account of their 1662 trial, 20 years after their execution. Originally published in 1682 by an unknown author, a reprinted 1716 edition can now be seen at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds.

The 1682 booklet ‘A Tryal of Witches’ was consulted by Salem magistrates when determining what types of evidence were admissible. The trial directly influenced the legal thinking of Cotton Mather, a prominent minister during this time. The case is significant because it remains one of the most detailed records of an English witch trial and allowed “spectral evidence” from single uncorroborated witnesses.

Historian and Author Ivan Bunn, who wrote A Trial of Witches - a Seventeenth-century Witchcraft Prosecution with US criminologist Professor Gilbert Geis, notes that the Salem trials might not have taken place had it not been for the Bury St Edmunds trial. 

Dan Clarke, Heritage Officer at Moyse’s Hall Museum, said: “Bury St Edmunds, within a witch trial context, is one of the most infamous places in Europe. To share our history in friendship and academic endeavour with the most notable place on earth for this study is very humbling. It’s a fascinating next step in our pursuit to best tell the human story of the victims in a wider context. We are grateful to the Friends of Moyse’s Hall and Bury Society for the purchase of the trial book, which has helped open the door for this exciting next chapter of study for our town.” 

Bury St Edmunds holds the unfortunate distinction of having hosted the largest witch trial in English history.

Cllr Ian Shipp, Cabinet Member for Leisure at West Suffolk Council, said: “The witch trials is a disturbing part of our history in Bury St Edmunds that sadly carried over and influenced the United States. We already see many visitors from America to Moyse’s Hall which as a history museum reflects the good and bad from our past in order that we may learn from it. This link with Salem is the natural step for both museums and we look forward to exploring this further through our exhibits.”

Rachel Christ-Doane, Salem Witch Museum’s Director of Education, said: “We are excited about this collaborative opportunity, particularly because the roots of the Salem witch trials lie in England. We meet visitors from the UK regularly, many of whom have family connections to our local trials. We anticipate a fruitful exchange of information with Bury St. Edmunds as we compare the similarities and differences between these famous witchcraft panics.”

The transatlantic partnership between the two museums is part of a wider project in the town which seeks to highlight Bury’s darker history including the Bury St Edmunds witch trials.

Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, the town’s official tourism brand, ran a national digital marketing campaign last Autumn and Winter designed to capitalise on the rise of what is known as ‘Dark Tourism’. In March, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds staged their own in-house production A Tryal of Witches, which focused on the trials in the town. To coincide, Moyse’s Hall Museum curated an exhibition on Superstition: Strange Wonders and Curiosities along with a series of guest talks on the subject of witch trials, folklore, and superstition.

In addition, the town has many historical connections with the USA including Bartholomew Gosnold —founder of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and Jamestown in Virginia. Bury St Edmunds had a pivotal role in the history of the Magna Carta, a charter of liberties on which the American Constitution is based. RAF Bury St Edmunds, now Rougham Airfield, welcomed 3,000 GIs, known as the Bomber Boys of the Mighty Eighth whose contribution to the Allies’ strategic bombing offensive helped turn the tide of war against the Nazis and free occupied Europe.

Sue Warren, Head of Marketing for Our Bury St Edmunds BID which operates the official tourism brand Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, said: “We are delighted that the two museums will be working in partnership. With direct ties to the Salem witch trials and as the hometown of Bartholomew Gosnold, Bury St Edmunds shares a fascinating and layered historical connection with the USA but in particular Massachusetts—one that continues to intrigue and attract American travellers seeking deeper stories from across the Atlantic.”

In January of 1692, the largest and deadliest witch hunt in colonial North American history began in Massachusetts. The daughter and niece of Salem Village minister Reverend Samuel Parris started exhibiting strange behavior. When the cause of their suffering could not be discerned, a local doctor pronounced the children “under an evil hand.” Their illness was caused by witchcraft. 

As word spread, others began to experience the same torment. Children and adults complained that disembodied spirits (or specters) were stabbing, choking, and pricking them. As the afflicted began to identify their attackers, neighbors, family members, and total strangers were accused of witchcraft.  
Over the course of the year 1692, approximately 150 innocent people were jailed. Young and old, men and women, rich and poor, were arrested from towns throughout the colony. Fourteen women and five men were hanged, one man was tortured to death, and at least five perished in prison. 

Though witchcraft suspicions were common in Massachusetts, convictions were rare. In the 30 years before the Salem witch trials, there had been only one execution for the crime. However, a combination of stressors made the year 1692 a “perfect storm.” England’s nullification of the colony’s original charter in 1684 led to legal uncertainty which was not yet resolved. Ongoing wars with Indigenous tribes and their French allies were causing enormous losses in blood and treasure. Inflation spiked. Severe weather resulted in bitter winters and harsh, dry summers. 

To the Puritans, these calamities indicated they had either displeased God or the devil was at work. As suspects began to break under interrogation in 1692, their staggering reports of hundreds of witches confirmed the colonists’ worst fears. 

When the recently-appointed Royal Governor arrived in Boston in May with a new charter, he found local jails overflowing. Compelled to act, Governor Phips created an emergency Court of Oyer and Terminer. Legal confusion continued as the new charter was slowly implemented. The magistrates were advised to consult various English precedents, including A Tryal of Witches which described the Bury St Edmunds cases. In a controversial move, spectral evidence was allowed in Salem. This led to an extremely high conviction rate.

A number of factors finally led to the end of this tragic witch hunt. Several high-ranking people were accused, including the Governor’s wife, public outcry increased, and important gentlemen of the colony voiced opposition to the court’s methods. The last hanging date was September 22nd and the Court of Oyer and Terminer was disbanded a month later. The remaining cases were heard by a new court that no longer accepted spectral evidence. Few were found guilty and the final convictions were overturned by Governor Phips.  

Reparations acknowledging the innocence of these victims began to be awarded in 1711, continuing until 2022 when the last convicted Salem “witch” was cleared.

The Salem Witch Museum opened in Salem, Massachusetts on May 6, 1972 as the first in the city to bring the full story of the Salem witch trials to visitors from near and far.

The museum’s mission is to be the voice of the innocent victims of witch hunts from 1692 to the present day. This non-traditional museum conveys this history through two presentations. The first provides an immersive look into the events of 1692. Visitors experience the drama of that dark time through life-size tableaux, lighting, and narration, as they are witness to the web of lies and intrigue of the Salem witch hunt. The second exhibit, Witches: Evolving Perceptions explores the European witchcraft trials, the evolving image of the witch, and the larger issues of persecution and scapegoating in American history.

The story of the Salem Witch Museum begins in the seventeenth century, when this site was home to the elder minister of Salem, Reverend John Higginson and his adult daughter, Ann Dolliver. Though the minister largely stayed out of the witchcraft turmoil in 1692, his daughter was accused of witchcraft, arrested, and examined. Although she confessed to creating poppets and more, she never came to trial and returned to live with her family.

The museum is housed in a brick-and-brownstone Gothic Revival building constructed between 1844-1846 for Salem’s East Church, later known as the Second Unitarian Church. Its use for worship ended in the mid-1940s, and the building was eventually sold. For a decade, it housed the Salem Antique Auto Museum and Americana Shops. Damage from a fire had previously required the bell towers to be shortened and a second fire in the 1960s caused significant interior damage to the auto museum. The building was then purchased and restored by the owners of the Salem Witch Museum and has been used for this purpose ever since. With its red lit windows and imposing presence, it has become an iconic landmark in Salem.

The Salem Witch Museum has been a leader in preserving the history of the Salem witch trials for decades. In 1992, this institution was a driving force behind the creation of the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. Over the past ten years, the museum has also become known for its research efforts. Emphasis is placed on investigating the lives of the individuals on all sides of the witchcraft panic. The museum has become an important resource for the hundreds, if not thousands, of descendants who visit Salem each year. Of course, many of these individuals can trace their roots even further back to England.