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 and that by drawing her blood she would break the evil spell she had cast over her. The case was reported in newspapers as far afield as Scotland, Wales, London, Liverpool and Cornwall, and reveals that belief in witchcraft was still prevalent in Dorset well into the late 19th century.[1] Interestingly, a similar attack was described by Thomas Hardy in his novel The Return of the Native, written at Sturminster Newton in 1876-8, in which Susan Nunsuch attacks Eustacia Vye with a stocking needle with the object of ‘drawing’ her blood believing she had bewitched her children.
The Sherborne woman accused of witchcraft in 1884 was 83-year-old Sarah Smith (1802-1890) and her accuser was her 54-year-old neighbour Tamar Humphries (1830-1910).
Sarah and Tamar had lived next-door to each other at Coldharbour in Sherborne for 13 years, Sarah having shared a house there with her widowed brother Thomas Brackstone (1800-1883) following the death of her husband in 1866. After her brother’s death in March 1883, Sarah remained living at the property where on 19 September 1884, while digging potatoes in her garden, she was attacked by Tamar who shook her by the shoulders saying “Oh Sal Smith what’s thee done to my child? You are a witch, and I’ll draw the blood of thee.” Then with a needle she had been using to mend a carpet Tamar stabbed at Sarah’s hands and arms. The attack was witnessed by another neighbour Jesse Galpin.[2]
Sarah must have reported the attack because on 25 September 1884 Tamar was brought before the County Petty Sessions at Sherborne where she was tried before the local magistrates – Lieutenant-Colonel J.R.P. Goodden of Compton House, Major J.J.L. McAdam of Greenhill House, Captain Carr Glynn of West Hall, Folke, and Mr Albert Clayton of Bradford Abbas.
Tamar was represented by Mr Sidney Watts[3], the Yeovil solicitor who in August 1880 had appeared for the prosecution at the Colmer Murder Trial when Robert and Jane Colmer, herbalists of Yeovil, were sentenced to death for the unlawful murder of Mary Budge of Crewkerne, the result of a botched abortion.[4]
Speaking on behalf of Tamar, Mr Watts told the Bench that his client had heard that Sarah had given her a bad name and on the day in question had merely given her a ‘gentle shake’. Mr Watts cross-examined Sarah about her relationship with Tamar, who told him they had been neighbours for 13 years and that she knew Tamar had an invalid daughter, but they had not quarrelled. In Sarah’s defence she was described as being ‘well-known as a quiet inoffensive person.’[5]
The Bench agreed that Tamar had carried out a disgraceful assault on an old woman and fined her £1 and 11s. 6d. costs, or 14 days’ hard labour if she failed to pay. A secondary complaint against Tamar’s daughter Jane Humphries who was accused of using threatening language towards Sarah was dropped because it had occurred some time ago. Mr Watts applied for costs but as Sarah was receiving parish relief no order was made. Reporting the trial the Western Gazette noted that ‘The Court was crowded, the ‘witchery’ case creating considerable interest.’[6]
Who were Tamar Humphries and Sarah Smith?
Both women were born in Sherborne and both were probably illiterate.[7] Sarah had worked as a glover[8], probably as an outworker, and Tamar as a silk winder[9] and later as a general servant. Sarah does not appear to have had any children, whereas Tamar had ten children born between 1849 and 1868.
Sarah Smith (née Brackstone) (1802-1890) was born at Sherborne in 1802, the daughter of Richard Brackstone (also known as Braxstone or Bragstone) (1773-1846), a blacksmith, and Hannah (née Collins) (1772-1855), a silk winder. Sarah was married twice, firstly at Sherborne on 24 October 1831 to Richard Knight (1800-1854) of Trent, an agricultural labourer, and secondly at Trent on 16 September 1855 to Robert Smith (1793-1866), a cooper. Neither marriage appears to have resulted in any children. Following the death of her second husband in August 1866, Sarah returned to Sherborne where she lived at Coldharbour with her widowed brother Thomas Brackstone (1800-1883), a shoemaker.
Tamar Humphries (née Duffett) (1830-1910) was born at Sherborne in 1830, the daughter of David Duffett (1792-1857), a carpenter, and Charlotte (née Elloway) (1794-1859). She was married at Sherborne on 7 October 1849 to William Humphries (1829-1917), a farm labourer.
Following the court case Tamar Humphries and Sarah Smith remained neighbours, with Sarah living at Coldharbour until her death from natural causes on 30 December 1890, aged 89.[10] She died beside her fire where she was found crouched by a little girl who used to visit her.[11]
Tamar died at Coldharbour on 3 August 1910, aged 80. Her cause of death was given as gastro enteritis (21 days) and senile decay.[12]
Rachel Hassall
13 July 2025
With grateful thanks to Katherine Barker for drawing my attention to this case in her Sherborne Camera (The Dovecote Press, 1990).
References:
[1] Local newspapers that reported the trial include the Western Gazette, 26 September 1884, Salisbury Times, 4 October 1884, and Southern Times and Dorset County Herald, 4 October 1884.
[2] ‘A BEWITCHING CASE’, Western Gazette, 26 September 1884.
[3] Bob Osborn, ‘Sidney Watts, solicitor and twice mayor of Yeovil’, Yeovil’s Virtual museum https://www.yeovilhistory.info/watts-sidney.htm (accessed 13 July 2025).
[4] Bob Osborn, ‘The Colmer Murder Trial’, Yeovil’s Virtual Museum https://www.yeovilhistory.info/colmer-trial.htm (accessed 13 July 2025).
[5] ‘SUPERSTITION IN DORSETSHIRE’, Salisbury Times, 4 October 1884.
[6] ‘A BEWITCHING CASE’, Western Gazette, 26 September 1884.
[7] Sarah Brackstone (1802-1890) signed the marriage register at her wedding at Sherborne on 24 October 1831 to Richard Knight (1800-1854) of Trent with her mark (a cross). Tamar Duffett signed the marriage register at her marriage at Sherborne on 7 October 1849 to William Humphries (1829-1917) with her mark (a cross).
[8] The 1861 census for Yeovil Marsh, Somerset, lists Robert Smith, 70, retired cooper, and his wife Sarah Smith, 60, glover.
[9] Tamar Duffett (1830-1910) was married at Sherborne on 7 October 1849 to William Humphries (1829-1917). In the marriage register Tamar is described as a minor (under the age of 21) and a silk winder. In the 1881 census for Coldharbour, Sherborne, William Humphries, 51, is described as a labourer, Tamar (written as Thomas), 49, a general servant, and their daughters Jane, 24, a general servant, and Rosa, 13, a scholar (i.e. at school).
[10] Death certificate for Sarah Smith records that she died on 30 December 1890 at Coldharbour, Sherborne, aged 89, widow of _ Smith, dairyman. Cause of death: senile decay. The death was registered on 1 January 1891 by Thomas Clarke, nephew, Coldharbour, Sherborne.
[11] ‘FOUND DEAD’, Western Gazette, 2 January 1891: ‘On Tuesday afternoon, Sarah Smith, a widow, aged eighty-nine, living by herself in Cold Harbour, was found dead in a crouching position by her fire grate. A little girl, named Green, who was in the habit of calling upon the old woman, went to the house, and seeing her in the position, returned home and informed her mother that she was asleep. Other persons afterwards went to the house and found the woman dead, having evidently succumbed several hours previously. Supt. Florance was communicated with, and he laid the facts before the Coroner, who, after making personal enquiries, did not consider an inquest necessary. Deceased had been in failing health for some time, and been medically attended by Drs. Yorke-Davies and Atkinson, by whom a certificate that death was due to natural causes was returned.’ The little girl was probably Ethel Maud Green (1883-1943), the eight-year-old daughter of George Green, a baker, and Sarah (née Baulch), who in 1891 were living at Coldharbour.
[12] Death certificate for Tamar Humphries records that she died on 3 August 1910 at Coldharbour, Sherborne, aged 80, wife of William Humphries, a farm labourer. Cause of death: Castro Enteritis 21 days, certified by Thomas F. Desart LRCP. The death was registered on 4 August 1910 by John Humphries, grandson, Coldharbour, Sherborne.