Witchcraft in 16th and 17th Century Yorkshire

‘Witchcraft in 16th and 17th century Yorkshire’ looks at the essentially domestic nature of the majority of the Yorkshire witchcraft trials. Within the county there are very few examples of such things a witches’ sabbats or deals with the Devil. Usually, accusations focus on such matters as causing sickness in livestock, bewitching children, and causing death by magical means. And, contrary to what many people seem to believe, in Yorkshire at least the majority of people accused of this crime seem to have been found not guilty.

Dave Weldrake has lived and worked in West Yorkshire for most of his life. He is a former chairman of the Yorkshire branch of the Council for British Archaeology and was for nearly 25 years the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service. He is now semi-retired but continues to offer walks and talks on a range of history and folklore topics.