'Bull stone'- Margaret Lister- The witches coven
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The Crook of Devon is situated on the A977 about 6 miles south west of Kinross, and was famous in the 17th century for its cattle fairs and witch burnings. In fact down the road at the side of the Institute on the right hand side is a field called 'LAMBLAIRES' and north west corner is the place where the "witches" were first strangled and burnt at the stake
The power of Satan in Kinross-shire, Scotland, was supposed to have been halted by the witch trials of 1662, believed to have been held at Tullibole Castle.
It is hard to believe that the peaceful village of Crook of Devon, about four miles to the west of Kinross, is the scene of an infamous killing of a coven of so called witches, which took place in the summer of 1662. Detailed accounts of these Scottish Witches Trials have survived and we are told that the court met on five different occasions, probably at Tullibole Castle. At the first trial the accused were Agnes Murie of Kilduff, Bessie Henderson of Pitfar and Isabella Rutherford of Crook of Devon.
After a long and close investigation, they were unanimously convicted and sentenced to be: "all three taken away to the place called Lamblaires, bewest the Cruik Miln, the place of their execution, tomorrow being the fourth day of this instant month of April, betwixt the hours of one and two in the afternoon, and there to be stranglit to the death by the hands of the hangman, and thereafter their bodies to be burnt to ashes for their trespass, whereupon William Donaldson, doomster, gave doom."
At the second trial about three weeks later, there were five accused who had been incriminated by the first three as having been present with them at their alleged meetings with the devil. These were the warlock, Robert Wilson of Crook of Devon, Bessie Neil of Gelvin, Margaret Lister of Kilduff, Janet Paton of Crook of Devon and Agnes Brugh of Gooselands. All met with a similar doom and were executed the following day.
Less than two weeks later, there were two accused: Margaret Hoggin, 'relict of Robert Henderson' and Janet Paton of Kilduff, 'relict of David Kirk'. Margaret Hoggin was apparently reprieved, owing to her great age of 79, but for Janet Paton there was no escape and she was strangled and burned between four and five o'clock in the afternoon of the day of her trial, Alexander Abernethie being her executioner.
An interval of over two months passed before the next trial was held, apparently because the remaining members of the coven had fled. But on 21 July, two prisoners brought to trial were Janet Brugh, wife of James Morels, and Christian Grieve, wife of Andrew Beveridge. Janet was convicted and executed the following day while Christian was acquitted, only to be re-tried and convicted by the same jury on 8 October. She also was strangled and burned by Thomas Gibson, doomster, five days later between the hours of two and three o'clock in the afternoon.
Several reasons have been suggested for these convictions. The individuals may have been of unpleasant or antisocial character, evidence against them was probably concocted by malicious neighbours, and confessions could have been obtained by keeping the accused in darkness and solitary confinement until they hallucinated. The jury consisted of fifteen eminently respectable local Scottish landowners, but there was at that time a deep and unreasoning belief in witchcraft and the power of Satan.
The church ministers on the jury were particularly interested in finding out what Satan looked like, and they must have been rather disappointed at the variety of descriptions they were given by the women. One said he was a bearded man with grey clothes and blue
bonnet; another said he was "a bonny lad"; to another he appeared in filthy clothes and a Spanish hat; his coat was black, grey or dun-coloured; to one 'witch' he appeared as a huge black man. But they agreed that the Devil was "amorous and ardent." The warlock
complained that Satan promised wealth which he never got, and gave him food he could not eat.
All these confessions would be quite amusing if it were not for their tragic conclusion. Nowadays the little hillock of Lamblaires, in a field beside Crook of Devon, looks peaceful, nothing indicates the dreadful scenes that must have taken place at this spot.
Here is a list of the witches who were in the coven
1.Agnes Brugh
2. Agnes Murie
3. Agnes Pittendreich
4. Bessie Henderson
5. Bessie Nell
6. Christian Grieve
7. Isabel Rutherford
8. Janet Brugh
9. Janet Paton (of Crook)
10. Janet Paton (of Kilduff)
11. Margaret Huggon
12. Margaret Litster
13. Robert Wilson
At the side of what is known locally as the "Broomie Road", near its junction with the old Kirk Road leading from the Muckle Town of Aldie to the parish kirk of Fossoway, is a large whinstone boulder known as the Bull Stone, for it is believed that it was used for the sport of bull-baiting-like that stone we can see on the green at Leslie. It once stood as high as a man, but some years ago was blasted by a local proprietor who intended to use it in the building of a dyke. He was ordered to cement it together again, but it could not be restored to its original height
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(Decrypt)
Ng fvqr bs jnyy haqre fgbar