S01E02: The Witch Hunts | Lucy Worsley Investigates

Duration: 59'03''

Synopsis

What started Britain's century of bloody witch hunts? Lucy Worsley uncovers the story of one supposed witch whose case lit the fuse for the state-sanctioned killing of thousands.

Further Information

More clips from Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

'Witches'' impact on women | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2022 | 7'14''

Lucy Worsley discusses the violence and interrogation women faced when being accused of witchery.

More resources about Early Modern Britain

04: The Battle Against the Spanish Armada | Battlefield Britain

04: The Battle Against the Spanish Armada | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'48''

Peter and Dan Snow take a look at the battles that shaped our nation. Drake's unlikely sea victory against th...

05: The Battle of Naseby | Battlefield Britain

05: The Battle of Naseby | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'58''

Peter and Dan Snow take an in-depth look at the battles that shaped our nation using state-of-the-art graphics. They go back t...

Episode 1 | Elizabeth I's Secret Agents

Episode 1 | Elizabeth I's Secret Agents

BBC Two | 2017 | 58'46''

A look at the world's first secret service. When the pope declares Queen Elizabeth I a heretic, spymaster William Cecil must stop the...

01: Elizabeth I | Queens that Changed the World

01: Elizabeth I | Queens that Changed the World

Channel 4 | 2023 | 46'43''

Elizabeth I pacified a divided nation, and foiled multiple plots against her. English culture flourished under her reign, and...

S01E01: The Reformation | Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

S01E01: The Reformation | Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'16''

Lucy Worsley discovers how the history of the English Reformation has been manipulated and mythologi...

What Caused the Spanish Armada? | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

What Caused the Spanish Armada? | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

BBC Two | 2015 | 4'47''

Dan Snow discusses the foundations of what caused the Spanish Armada.

S02E04: Bloody Mary | Lucy Worsley Investigates

S02E04: Bloody Mary | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'51''

Does 'Bloody Mary', England’s first crowned queen, deserve her reputation? Lucy Worsley investigates, asking whether Mary sho...

01: Day One | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

01: Day One | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

BBC Two | 2015 | 58'54''

Anita Dobson stars as Elizabeth I, and Dan Snow tells the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588.

06: Mary, Queen of Scots | Historyonics

06: Mary, Queen of Scots | Historyonics

BBC One | 2004 | 29'24''

Nick Knowles asks whether Mary, Queen of Scots, one of history's most famous monarchs, was a manipulator or a martyr.

02: The Battle for England | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

02: The Battle for England | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

BBC Two | 2015 | 58'42''

Dan Snow relives fierce sea battles and looks behind the scenes in the court of Elizabeth I as the Spanish fleet...

03: Jane, Mary and Elizabeth | She-Wolves: England's Early Queens

03: Jane, Mary and Elizabeth | She-Wolves: England's Early Queens

BBC Four | 2012 | 58'46''

Helen Castor explores the lives of the Tudor queens Jane, Mary and Elizabeth, and how each struggled with w...

02: Henry VIII | Landmarks

02: Henry VIII | Landmarks

BBC Two | 1993 | 19'01''

This programme looks at the life of Henry VIII. A history series for 9-11 year olds.

S01E01: From the Prison to the Palace | David Starkey's Elizabeth

S01E01: From the Prison to the Palace | David Starkey's Elizabeth

Channel 4 | 2000 | 49'47''

In this first episode David Starkey examines Elizabeth I's life before her coronation. If her reign was ful...

00: Learning Zone | Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History

00: Learning Zone | Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History

BBC Two | 2013 | 29'11''

Lucy Worsley presents six films about the mental and physical health of our past monarchs, covering Henry ...

Episode 1 | Edward and Mary: The Unknown Tudors

Episode 1 | Edward and Mary: The Unknown Tudors

Channel 4 | 2002 | 49'05''

The story of two of Henry VIII's most extraordinary children, Mary 1st and Edward VI - England's fundamentalists.

Henry VII: The Winter King

Henry VII: The Winter King

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'03''

Author Thomas Penn takes an extraordinary journey into the dark and chilling world of the first Tudor, Henry VII. His investigations reveal the ru...

Episode 2 | Elizabeth I's Secret Agents

Episode 2 | Elizabeth I's Secret Agents

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'07''

A look at the secret network behind Queen Elizabeth I's 40-year reign and the world's first secret service. An ambitious aristocrat t...

S09E06: The Spanish Armada | Secret History

S09E06: The Spanish Armada | Secret History

Channel 4 | 2001 | 49'01''

Documentary looking at the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in the summer of 1588. Looks at what happened and ...

04: Peasants' Revolt to Tudors | Michael Wood's Story of England

04: Peasants' Revolt to Tudors | Michael Wood's Story of England

BBC Four | 2010 | 59'08''

A portrait of one village through the whole of English history. Amazing finds in the school archive help tra...

07: Elizabeth I | Great Britons (2002)

07: Elizabeth I | Great Britons (2002)

BBC Two | 2002 | 58'19''

Michael Portillo champions Elizabeth I, arguing that she fought religious fanaticism, established Britain's tradition of tolerance, an...

More from Lucy Worsley

The American Revolution: 01: The Break-Up | Lucy Worsley Investigates

The American Revolution: 01: The Break-Up | Lucy Worsley Investigates

BBC Two | 2026 | 59'03''

Lucy Worsley investigates the turning points that led to America’s declaration of independence from Bri...

Episode 3 | Lucy Worsley's Victorian Murder Club

Episode 3 | Lucy Worsley's Victorian Murder Club

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'53''

The trail has gone cold, but could a new murder 12 years later provide fresh leads? Lucy Worsley’s hunt for a Victorian seri...

Florence Nightingale: Nursing Pioneer

Florence Nightingale: Nursing Pioneer

BBC Four | 2023 | 1'11'10''

Film following the life of an extraordinary woman, a trailblazer who revolutionised modern nursing and reformed healthcare at home and ...

Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley

Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley

BBC One | 2021 | 1'29'03''

Lucy Worsley explores the lives of six real people who lived, worked and volunteered during the Blitz, highlighting the government's reliance ...

S01E03: Queen Anne and the Union | Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

S01E03: Queen Anne and the Union | Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'02''

Lucy Worsley explores how Queen Anne's legacy has been marred by historical fibs.

02: The American Civil War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

02: The American Civil War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2019 | 59'04''

Lucy Worsley shows how the history of the American Civil War has been retold over time, in mov...

Lucy Worsley's Christmas Carol Odyssey

Lucy Worsley's Christmas Carol Odyssey

BBC Four | 2019 | 58'58''

Lucy Worsley reveals the surprising stories behind our favourite Christmas carols. From pagan rituals to religious conflicts, French d...

A Merry Tudor Christmas with Lucy Worsley

A Merry Tudor Christmas with Lucy Worsley

BBC Two | 2019 | 58'59''

Recreating festivities from Henry VIII's era, Lucy Worsley dresses, eats, drinks, sings and parties like it is 500 years ago - disc...

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley

BBC One | 2018 | 1'28'57''

Documentary, presented by Lucy Worsley, which uses dramatised testimony to tell the story of a group of working-class women conducting a dange...

02: The Glorious Revolution | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

02: The Glorious Revolution | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2017 | 58'58''

Lucy explores how British history is a concoction of fibs. She debunks the 'Glorious Revolutio...

03: The Road to Revolution | Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia with Lucy Worsley

03: The Road to Revolution | Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2016 | 58'49''

Lucy investigates how the Romanov family's grip on Russia unravelled in their final centur...

Episode 1 | Six Wives with Lucy Worsley

Episode 1 | Six Wives with Lucy Worsley

BBC One | 2016 | 57'37''

Documentary series featuring dramatic reconstruction in which Lucy Worsley delves into the personal lives of Henry VIII's wives, begi...

Dancing through the Blitz: Blackpool's Big Band Story

Dancing through the Blitz: Blackpool's Big Band Story

BBC Two | 2015 | 1'29'01''

Documentary film celebrating the big band sound and uncovering the social history behind the music that kept the nation...

Georgian Architecture | The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain

Georgian Architecture | The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain

BBC Four | 2014 | 3'51''

Lucy Worsley investigates Georgian neo-Palladian architecture.

George III Versus Parliament | Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History

George III Versus Parliament | Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History

BBC Four | 2013 | 3'01''

Lucy Worsley discusses the battles in parliament during King George's moments of madness.

01: The Living Room | If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home

01: The Living Room | If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home

BBC Four | 2011 | 59'01''

Lucy Worsley looks at the history of the living room from a medieval great hall, through a Georgian drawin...