Last Sunday I went for a walk in Essex starting in Takeley. A few miles into the walk in the tiny hamlet of Helmans Cross, Great Canfield I came across a "Parish Stocks" and "whipping post". Which was vaguely interesting. What was more unusual was that this idyllic rural country crossroad was where Elizabeth Abbot was burnt to death as a witch in 1683. It is pretty shocking to think that just over 300 years ago that we were murdering people by burning them alive for being "witches". The vast majority were of course not a witch but were mentally ill, or had fallen out with their neighbours or were just different.
I've tried to google and get more information about Elizabeth and what happened but apart from this I can find nothing.
