'Witch Trial and Fair Scenes', Bexhill Observer, 16 September 1961

Bexhill Observer, 16 September 1961, in two parts. A picture spread headed 'Witch Trial and Fair Scenes: Round Table and BATS put on a novel show and draw thousands', reporting the re-enactment of the 1780 Bexhill witch trial in a field opposite Sutherland Avenue. Nearly four thousand people watched. The two accused women were played by members of the Bexhill Amateur Theatrical Society and given the names Meg Blunt and Betsy Moore for the performance; the names of the women actually accused in 1780 are not recorded. The paper describes the procession, the trial, the weighing against the Bible, a display of witch dancing, a hog roast, a ducking pool, and a bonfire with an effigy, lit by the farmer who lent the field. Bexhill Museum item 036 to 037. Bexhill Observer cutting held in the Bexhill Observer archive at Bexhill Museum. Shown in UNSEEN: The Alex Sanders Archive at Bexhill Museum, Part One, The Town That Was Already Listening (9 August 2026), presented by Julian Porter of Bexhill Museum and hosted by Sharon Day for Alexandrian Witchcraft. 'Witch Trial and Fair Scenes', Bexhill Observer, 16 September 1961. (1961). Bexhill Observer archive, Bexhill Museum. Alexandrian Witchcraft Timeline & Archive. https://www.alexandrianwitchcraft.com/archive/bexhill-museum-036-witch-trial-and-fair-scenes