Law & Order Archives - Strong Women of Sherborne

Lucy Toogood: Sherborne’s first policewoman?

Lucia (the Latinised version of Lucy) Toogood is named in the 1547 Sherborne Court Rolls as a ‘tithingman’ – a parish officer elected to preserve good order. Was she Sherborne’s first policewoman?! Rachel Hassall Further reading: Joseph Fowler, Mediaeval Sherborne (Dorchester: Longmans Ltd., 1951), p.222.

Sarah Smith (1802-1890): accused of ‘witching’ her neighbour’s daughter

Was this Dorset’s last witch trial? At the County Petty Sessions held at Sherborne on 25 September 1884 a woman was tried for stabbing her elderly next-door neighbour with a darning needle. This seemingly minor case created considerable interest because the attack was the result of the woman believing her neighbour had ‘witched’ her daughter … Read more