See caption
Much Wenlock Guildhall, where Alice Glaston would have been imprisoned during her final days
Wikimedia Commons

Alice Glaston (c. 1535 – 13 April 1546) is probably the youngest female ever to be legally executed in England, aged just eleven.[a]John Dean, hanged for arson in 1629, is the youngest known victim of the executioner, at the age of eight or nine.[1] She was executed at Much Wenlock, Shropshire probably by hanging, along with two other people. The court records have been lost, but it has been speculated that the crime of which she was found guilty was either murder or witchcraft.[2][3][b]The Witchcraft Act of 1542Series of Acts passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland making witchcraft a secular offence punishable by death. had declared witchcraft to be a crime punishable by death.[4] It remained in force for five years before its repeal by King Edward VII in 1547, during which time there appear to have been no prosecutions under the Act.[5]

Alice was buried at the local parish church, her burial recorded by Sir Thomas Butler, vicar of Much Wenlock.[6] Her story inspired the writer Paul Evans to create a speculative radio poem about her, The Spirit Child, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 27 October 2014.[7]

Notes

Notes
a John Dean, hanged for arson in 1629, is the youngest known victim of the executioner, at the age of eight or nine.[1]
b The Witchcraft Act of 1542Series of Acts passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland making witchcraft a secular offence punishable by death. had declared witchcraft to be a crime punishable by death.[4] It remained in force for five years before its repeal by King Edward VII in 1547, during which time there appear to have been no prosecutions under the Act.[5]

References

  1.  
  2. 13 April 1546
  3. p. 211
  4.  
  5. p. 109
  6. p. 11
  7.  

Bibliography

BBC. The Spirit Child. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04mc1hc.
Capital Punishment U. K. The Execution of Children and Juveniles. http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/child.html.
deVire, David. Tail of the Tigress: Views on the Road to Gender Equality. Backdaw Publishing, 2016.
Eschner, Kat. England’s Witch Trials Were Legal. Smithsonian Magazine, 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/englands-witch-trials-were-lawful-180964514/.
Hartshorne, Charles Henry. Extracts from the Register of Sir Thomas Butler, Vicar of Much Wenlock. Reprinted from the Cambrian Journal, R. Mason, 1861.
Lyon, Samantha. A Grim Almanac of Shropshire. The History Press, 2013.
Voltmer, Rita. “The Witch Trials.” Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft & Magic, edited by Owen Davies, Ebook, Oxford  University Press, 2017, pp. 97–133.