Alice Glaston

Alice Glaston ( – 1544) was an 11-year-old English girl from Little Wenlock who may have been hanged in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England, under the reign of Henry VIII. The evidence surrounding how Alice met her death is provided from a single source and open to interpretation.

The Cambrian Journal dated 1861 provides a transcription of local parish registers written by the vicar of Much Wenlock, Sir Thomas Butler in the 1500's. This text includes a list of burials with dates, grouped by year, including the following written in the year 1544: "Here was buried John Dod of the parish of Little Wenlock, who was hanged here, as also Alice Glaston, 11 yrs of age, of the parish of Little Wenlock, and Wm. Harper, a tailor." The most commonly identified first person to have been executed as a witch in England is Agnes Waterhouse in 1566, and whose name appears in Judy Chicago's feminist history art installation The Dinner Party.

Present-day assumptions that Alice was hanged for the crime of witchcraft may have taken root following the release of The Spirit Child, a fictional supernatural radio play performed in October 2014. A feature film 'Dreams of Eleven Year Old Witch''' produced by Vitality Entertainment is currently in production. The film has been written by J Ashley and directed by Harry Patterson with child actress Alia McLeish making her debut in the leading role as Alice Glaston. The age classification rating is not known at this time but the film is due to feature "distressing scenes, violence and death."''