Create a Memorial to the 'Maidstone Witches' who were wrongly persecuted, convicted and executed
Maidstone Borough Council
On 27th July 1652, six local women - Anne Ashby, Mary Brown, Anne Martyn, Mildred Wright and Anne Wilson all of Cranbrook, along with Mary Reade of Lenham were found guilty of Witchcraft and taken to Penenden Heath just a few days later and executed by hanging. Three of these women were later to receive a Judicial Reprieve that arrived a month too late.
These were not witches guilty of performing maleficia as they were accused, they were widows or spinsters who had no man to stand up for them and they were persecuted for being old, poor, for being a 'nuisance' or not going to church, they were persecuted for being a burden or for being different.
The vindication of these women is as relevant today as ever, as we seek to redress social injustice against a continuing backdrop of religious division, fear and misinformation and as we continue to fight for equality and rights for all members of our society.
Petition by
Sponsored by
To:
Maidstone Borough Council
From:
[Your Name]
We the undersigned ask that a permanent memorial is erected in the Borough, in their memory so that the names of the six women wrongly executed for witchcraft in 1652 are finally remembered and honoured, instead of being vilified and treated with scorn.