Doctor Who Series 11: 10 Huge Questions We Are Asking After The Witchfinders

10. How Accurate Was The HIstory?

Unless it really did get wiped from the history books, the aptly named Bilehurst Cragg is an entirely fictional place. Graham recognises the nearby Pendle Hill which is indeed a Lancashire Landmark famous for the witch trials of 1612.

Most of those on trial were women, but not exclusively so. Among their alleged crimes were murder, bewitching horses, stealing from the dead, possessing familiars, and specific displays of magic – one, for instance, was accused of charming milk into butter. Such specific charges are not mentioned in the episode, but Becka Savage does claim to have culled the horses because they had been possessed by the devil. Behind many of the allegations were family feuds so it was an authentic touch to have landowner Becka related to Willa and her grandmother.

The ducking stool was actually used to try women for dishonouring their husbands, with witches instead being tied up and thrown into the water. The principle behind both methods was the same. If the accused didn’t drown it meant that the waters of baptism were rejecting them.

Another method for identifying witches was to prick a skin blemish to see if it bled. A pricker, as carried by King James, was one of the tools of the witch finders. It was rigged of course. They often had two needles – one sharp and the other blunt.