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146 BYGONE SUSSEX.
that believing a child to be bewitched she had undertaken to break the spell. She took a piece of red cloth and stuck into it sixty needles and a halfpennyworth of pins. Then she put it on the fire upon the " emeryes" and stuck a dagger in the midst. It was a long time before it was consumed, but she could not tell who had bewitched the child, as no one came in to be accused as she had expected. In 1645, the mayor and jurats ordered two old women accused of witchcraft "to be tried by putting them in the water."
In 1574, the Mayor and jurats endeavoured to put down what was evidently the old custom of young and old going forth with drums and flags to cut boughs in the neighbouring woods.
The iron industry flourished to an extent that alarmed the authorities of Hastings, Winchelsea, and Rye, who were afraid that the woods which supplied them with fuel would be exhausted by the demands of the iron works. Their remonstrances with Lord Buckhurst, and their endeavour to obtain protection from Parliament, make a curious chapter in the history of an industry that has long ceased to be a source either of profit or annoyance to the five ports. |
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