Perhaps from fear, or promise of a lighter sentence or maybe because of past grudges, Ursula accused other local women of being involved in the witchcraft, they in turn accused more. Brain thoroughly investigated each accusation until the trial included 13 women and 1 man from St. Osyth and local villages. It is hard to know what motivated Brian to pursue these cases with such zeal. It could have been that religion played a key part. In the introduction to his pamphlet he declared that witches were “blasphemers against the most high God”. Perhaps it was deliberate move to make a name for himself as a Justice of the Peace, this is something he certainly achieved as in 1585 he had been given the prestigious title of ‘Sheriff of Essex’. Or maybe it was naivety. Perhaps as the women all accused each other he felt obligated to investigate and ended up falling down a rabbit hole which he couldn’t escape from without losing face.
When Brian Darcy finished interrogating the suspects they were moved to the prison at Colchester Castle to be held until the London judges completed their circuit of the country holding court in the counties. The conditions in the prison were terrible. Cold, damp and crowded, disease was rife and some died before or soon after trial. These were incredibly poor women and they had to pay for their stay in prison. Many couldn’t afford this so even after acquittal they remined imprisoned. We must also think of the children left behind. Some of the women were single parents raising illegitimate children by themselves. In one case husband and wife were both accused leaving their three children to fend for themselves. Historian Doctor Marian Gibson has searched the Parish Records held at Chelmsford and after his mother, Ursula Kemp is taken way, Thomas Rabbet’s name does not appear again. Those who may have taken him in, such as his Godmother, were also accused of witchcraft and it remains unknown what became of him. At the time St. Osyth was a tiny village. It is unlikely that a single household existed that wasn’t touched in some way by these horrendous events.
I wonder how Brian Darcy felt about the outcomes of the witch trials. After all his time and effort and detailed investigations only 2 of the accused were sentenced to death for witchcraft; Ursula Kemp and Elizabeth Bennett. The hearing would have been a public affair in the open sided courthouse in the centre of Chelmsford. Hanging would have taken place quickly after sentencing and it is likely the women were buried on the site of older barrows opposite the court building. It is unlikely that the community that sent them to the trial would want the body returned to them.
