Trigger Warning: female persecution, murder, capital punishment
Recently we visited Belvoir Castle, near Grantham, Lincolnshire. It is home to the Manners family, and the workplace of Joan Flower and her two daughters.
After Henry and Francis Manners ~ sons of the Earl of Rutland ~ died, Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa were accused of witchcraft. It was believed they had cursed the family after recently being sacked from their jobs at the castle, with the boys’ deaths being a final act of revenge.
They were known locally as herbal healers, but after the family fell ill, it was deemed that the Flowers women were responsible. The boys’ deaths left the Earl without an heir.
Others were implicated. Anne Baker, Joan Willimot and Ellen Greene were named by the sisters, and all the women confessed to communing with familiar spirits; Flower’s cat “Rutterkin” and Willimot’s cat “Pretty”, amongst others.
Joan Flower would not confess, and in a bid to prove her innocence exclaimed that she would choke on food if she was guilty of the crimes she was accused of. She was brought some bread and butter and is reported to have died after taking her first bite.
Margaret and Philippa were summarily tried, and then hanged at Lincoln Castle in 1619.
It has been suggested that the Flowers women were framed by George Villiers, who wanted to marry the Earl of Rutland’s daughter, Katherine. By marrying Katherine and using the Flowers as a smokescreen, he could kill the brothers and inherit the Manners’ wealth, including Belvoir Castle.
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