England's forgotten witch hunts claimed far more victims than Salem's infamous trials, says the founder of an Essex museum

Emma Wardall, founder of the Essex Witch Museum, says 107 people were executed and a further 47 died in prison in Essex between 1542 and 1736 — dwarfing Salem's 19 hangings. Over 800 people in total were charged with witchcraft in Essex across two centuries, yet the county's history remains largely unknown to the public.

Self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins was paid by towns to bring witches to trial, leading to 15 women executed in Chelmsford in a single year, 1645.

Exeter, meanwhile, was England's last execution ground for witchcraft, where local magistrates even prosecuted so-called 'cunning folk' hired by residents to find lost spoons and purses.

Chelmsford has now called for pardons for women targeted in the witch hunts, while Wardall's museum — currently without a permanent space — aims to restore the identities of the accused.