England's last executed 'witch' may have survived, research suggests

The final execution for witchcraft in England took place just a few years before the infamous Salem witch trials in the US.

Getty Images Witch Trial, a young woman accused of witchcraft by Puritan ministers appeals to Satan to save her, circa 1692. — The final execution for witchcraft in England took place just a few years before the infamous Salem witch trials in the US.

The last woman believed to have been executed for witchcraft in England may have avoided the gallows, according to new research.

Professor Mark Stoyle, a historian at the University of Southampton, believes a spelling mistake by a court official meant the accused woman was not hanged but lived for several years.

Alice Molland was sentenced to Exeter Castle, Devon, in 1685 for ‘bewitching’ three of her neighbours.

She was supposedly executed in the Heavitree area of the city that same year, becoming the last witch executed in England.

A plaque commemorating the death of Alice Molland is located close to where she was sentenced

University of Southampton/PA Wire Undated photo released by the University of Southampton of a plaque commemorating the last people in England to be executed for witchcraft. — A plaque commemorating the death of Alice Molland is located close to where she was sentenced

Professor Stoyle’s research suggests that court documents from the time contained a spelling mistake and Alice Molland may actually have been named Avis Molland.

He said: “Seventeenth-century court records were written in Latin, and in this form it would have taken only one wrong stroke by the clerk to turn ‘Avicia’ (Avis) into ‘Alicia’ ( Alice). ).”

“Almost nothing is known about Alice’s life and attempts to shed light on her have failed.”

Molland was an uncommon name in Exeter, so when Professor Stoyle saw a reference to an Avis Molland in some local archives, he was struck by the resemblance.

“I immediately asked myself, did Alice Molland ever exist? Is Alice actually Avis?”

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Avis was imprisoned at Exeter Castle at the time of Alice’s enumerated trial

Getty Images Entrance to Rougemount Castle, Exeter, Devon, England. It is a large ruin of a red stone structure with a newer black gate on the left side. — Circumstantial evidence suggests that Avis was imprisoned at Exeter Castle at the time of Alice’s enumerated trial

According to records from that time, Avis Molland had been married with three children – but they all died.

“By the time of her trial in 1685, Avis Molland was a poor, middle-aged widow who was burdened with losses – just the kind of woman who was likely to be accused of witchcraft in early modern England,” Professor Stoyle said.

He added circumstantial evidence to suggest that Avis was imprisoned at Exeter Castle at the same time as Alice’s trial was listed.

Avis died eight years after Alice’s alleged execution in 1693.

If it was just a typo, they would actually be the last witches executed in England Bideford Three – Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles in 1682.

“The truth is, despite all my diligent searching, we may never know for sure if history got it wrong,” Professor Stoyle added.