Agnes Waterhouse

Agnes Waterhouse (c. 1503 – 29 July 1566), also known as Mother Waterhouse, was one of the first women executed for witchcraft in England.

In 1566, she was accused of witchcraft along with two other women: Elizabeth Frauncis and Joan Waterhouse. All three women were from the same village, Hatfield Peverel. Agnes was put on trial in Chelmsford, Essex, England, in 1566 for using witchcraft to cause illness to William Fynne, who died on 1 November 1565. She was also charged with using sorcery to kill livestock, cause illness, as well as bring about the death of her husband. Her eighteen-year-old daughter Joan Waterhouse was also accused (but found not guilty) of the same crime. Joan Waterhouse's testimony ultimately helped to convict the two other women. The pamphlet was written by John Phillips, and though incomplete, outlines the testimonies of the three women accused of being witches. During the first examination Reverend Thomas Cole and Sir John Fortescue were present. Sir Gilbert Gerard, the queen's attorney, and John Southcote, justice of the queen's bench, were present for the second examination. Elizabeth Francis was the first to be accused, and is the one who accused Agnes Waterhouse. She was given a lighter sentence, but was hanged after a second conviction thirteen years later.

Next, Joan Waterhouse testified that she once tried to "exercise" the cat while her mother was away. Joan Waterhouse had been refused a piece of bread and cheese by a neighbour's child, Agnes Brown, and had invoked the toad's help. She told how the toad promised to assist her if she would surrender her soul, which she did, and then the toad supposedly haunted Agnes Brown in the form of a dog with horns.