Bury St Edmunds Witch Trials: Before Salem, There Was Bury

Before Salem, There Was Bury St Edmunds

Discover the fascinating history of the Bury St Edmunds witch trials and the remarkable connection between the 1662 trial in Suffolk and the Salem witch trials of 1692.

The Bury St Edmunds Witch Trials

Long before the infamous Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, witchcraft accusations were being heard in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds.

Two trials are particularly significant: the large-scale witch-hunt of 1645 and the 1662 trial of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender.

The 1662 trial became one of the best-documented English witch trials of the period and has a remarkable connection with Salem.

The 1662 Bury St Edmunds Witch Trial

In 1662, Amy Denny and Rose Cullender, two women from Lowestoft, were tried at the Assizes in Bury St Edmunds after being accused of witchcraft.

The trial was presided over by Sir Matthew Hale, one of the most prominent judges of the seventeenth century, and included what became known as ‘spectral evidence. Both women were convicted and executed on March 17 1662.

An account of the proceedings was published as A Tryal of Witches. It is thought to be one of the most detailed surviving accounts of an English witch trial. A rare copy is held at Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds.

From Bury St Edmunds to Salem

The Salem witch trials took place in Massachusetts in 1692, 30 years after the Bury trial.

The published account of the 1662 trial was available in New England and was consulted during the Salem proceedings.

The 1645 Witch-Hunt

The 1662 trial was not an isolated event. In 1645, Bury St Edmunds became the centre of one of the largest witch-hunts in England.

Around 140 people from all over Suffolk were brought by cart to Bury St Edmunds for trial in what is believed to be the largest witch trial in English history.

Eighteen people were executed for witchcraft in the town on 27 August 1645.