Ellen Hayward was born in 1838 at Arlingham on the east bank of the Severn in Gloucestershire. 

By 1901, Ellen had given up dressmaking and named her occupation on the census as a herbalist. Over the following years she became well known locally as a ‘wise woman’ and a trusted source of herbal remedies. This was a fine line for her to tread as ‘wise’ men and women, or ‘cunning folk’ as they were also known, carried with them an aura of magic and spells, even in the early 20th century. It was this aspect which brought her to public attention (and to the notice of Parliament) when in 1905 a local man named John Markey accused her of practising witchcraft on his family. In May 1906, Cinderford ‘wise woman’ and herbal healer Ellen Hayward was tried for witchcraft at Littledean Magistrates Court in the Forest of Dean.

My Special Guest Is Rachel Hayward

Rachel grew up on the River Thames at Cookham Lock where her father was a Lock Keeper for nearly 30 years. Not only was this a unique experience but the house itself was haunted and was the topic of her book The Lock House Haunting.

When she moved to Gloucestershire in the early 1990s it was not long before she became involved in the Paranormal again and as a result formed the team ROPE (Researchers of Paranormal Events. )

Ellen Hayward

Ellen worked with her mother as a dressmaker and, after the deaths of her parents, lived with one of her brothers. Over the next several years Ellen bore three illegitimate children, the first, James, in 1862 when she was 24, the second, Edward, in 1871 and the third, Ruth, in 1875. There is no information about the father or fathers of any of the children bar Ellen’s application seeking support for Edward from one Edwin Hayward (no relation), also of Arlingham. The application was unsuccessful on the basis of ‘a lack of corroborative testimony’, that is, he denied it. Ellen’s story is one of difficulty and triumph, resilience and strength in the face of hardships. 

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