The Newbury Witchcraft Act of 1604

Hundreds of executions for witchcraft were carried out during the English Civil Wars. This one in Newbury was something of an anomaly because witchcraft was a crime that was typically handled through the courts. The legal history went back to 1517 with the Bill Against Conjurations and Witchcrafts and Sorcery and Enchantments. That law was later repealed, but the act against conjurations, enchantments and witchcrafts followed in 1562.