William Godfrey
By the early seventeenth century, the former Cinque Port of New Romney may have lost its access to the sea, but the silting up of its harbor increased the richness of the land for farming. One of the area’s residents, William Godfrey made a profit not just from agriculture but renting out properties. In 1609, he leased a house to John and Susan Barber, a carpenter and his wife. However, the rental did not entirely go to plan.
The Barber’s were plagued by inexplicable knockings and drippings from the house and began to believe it was haunted. During their stay there, Mrs. Barber had a baby and began to think that someone was trying to steal it away. She eventually accused her landlord of sending three familiars to spirit the child away.
The Barbers moved out. However, their bad luck followed them to their new home, which they again laid at Godfrey’s door. In the meantime, their former landlord had rented the house out again, this time to a farming couple, the Holton’s. However, history repeated itself, and they too were plagued by the eerie goings-on. In 1614, their son fell sick in the house- only to die just after Godfrey paid a visit. Convinced now of their landlord’s ill intent, corroborated by the Barber’s stories, the Holton reported Godfrey for witchcraft, and in 1617 he was taken to court.
The trial went on for months, with various other witnesses supporting the Barber’s and Holton’s in their claims. One William Clarke even claimed that Godfrey had bewitched his ducks. None of this, however, seemed to worry Godfrey and he even managed to provoke Clarke into a brawl by making a joke to him about also bewitching his mare. Despite the tensions surrounding witchcraft during the period, the court acquitted Godfrey. William Clarke, on the other hand, was found guilty- of assault on the farmer/landlord.
Perhaps common sense prevailed in the case of William Godfrey. Or maybe, unlike many other supposed male witches, he really was blessed with the devil’s own luck.