Windsor Witches

The Windsor Witches was the common name for a witch trial in Windsor and Abingdon in England in 1579. The name referred to the four women trialed and executed for sorcery: the cunning woman Mother Elizabeth Stile, Mother Devell, Mother Dutten and Mother Margaret.

Witchcraft pamphlet:A Rehearsal both Strange and True, 1579

Elizabeth Stile, a local cunning woman who performed curses for money, was the first to be accused. She pointed out three accomplices, and confessed that they had murdered several people by use of magic, and that they owned familials and had the ability to transform into animals.

The trial was the subject of the famous contemporary pamphlet A Rehearsal both Strange and True, 1579. The trial belonged to the first English witch trials to enjoy fame through contemporary press.