In keeping with the sprit of Halloween and with ‘spidery' handwriting in mind, why not have a go at transcribing this document, entitled ‘Presumptions against witches'
Without giving too much away, it is a list of criteria used by a judge to determine the guilt of an individual accused of witchcraft. If you can’t work it out, you may be in need of one of Caroline Adams excellent palaeography workshops - keep an eye on the IHGS website for upcoming sessions.
In the meantime, a full transcription will be published next month, so you can judge your own attempt.
Reproduced with kind permission West Yorkshire Archive Service
