The New
Perlustration of Great Yarmouth front page
ROW NINETY FIVE ‑ KITTYWITCHES ROW *1,*2
From Middlegate Street to King Street.
"Of the rows most spoken of
and remembered, this
the narrowest, measuring 27
inches at the west end certainly takes first place. The two overhanging
and open timbered houses on the south
side attract much
attention, as also the four wooden struts. The fluted pillared doorway
is rarely met with in other rows today.
Speculation is rife as to the origin of
the name. Some attribute
Kittywitches row as the resort
of witches, others to one named Wytche
living nearby. Yet another theory ‑ a small crab on Breydon is known as
a Kittywitch, and to enter the west entrance crablike might probably account
for this famous thoroughfares name". *2
Row 95 ran from
Middlegate Street to King
Street, and is called Kitty
witches Row. Its entrance at the King
Street end is four and a half feet wide. At the west end it was only 30 inches
wide, and a tight squeeze for some to
pass through. Due to its
narrowness it was dark and gloomy
even on a bright day.
"Kitty witches" according to Forby, were women who at certain seasons
of the year, went about from house
to house in grotesque dresses levying
contributions. Others have suggested that the name may have been
derived from a certain resident named
Christopher Wytche. Kitty witch was also a name apparently given to a certain species of crab found on
the Breydon mud. Palmer tells of several witches, though these were not as such
connected in any way it seems with Row 95.
In 1583 two women were indicted at Yarmouth sessions for witchcraft, and were adjudged to stand openly in the pillory in
the market place every market day until
they confessed their guilt. One
of them obstinately refused to obtain her liberty in this way, and was
remanded to prison for a year, during
which period she was from time
to time put in the pillory at the discretion of the bailiffs. These measures
still failed to obtain a confession, and she was eventually hanged.
In 1644 sixteen women were tried,
condemned, and executed as a result of being pointed out
by the inquisitor, Matthew Hopkins, appointed by Parliament, and making
a circuit of the counties. He was
invited to Yarmouth by the corporation.
The Witches of Salem
Later in the same century, a puritan named William Towne, who had
lived in Yarmouth and migrated to new
England, settled at
Salem with his wife and two daughters,
and soon had another son and daughter.
Rebecca, the eldest daughter
who had been born in
Yarmouth, married a prosperous settler, Francis Nurse,
and they had a number of their
children settled with them
on their estate,
together with their own wives, husbands and children. In
1692, when she was in her
seventies, and apparently
a virtuous Christian, she was accused by Mr.Parris, the
minister, with witchcraft, on the
evidence of some excitable young
girls who claimed to have been bewitched by her. She was tried,
convicted,and condemned to death. She was led up the church aisle in chains,
and expelled from the church on earth and from all hope of salvation thereafter.
Two weeks later she was taken
with other women similarly condemned, through the streets of Salem, to
the top of a steep hill and hanged.
Mary, the next sister, who had once played
on the beach at Yarmouth with
Rebecca, was thrown into prison in irons. Soon afterwards a third sister was
treated in the same way. When condemned
to death Mary addressed the Judges, Magistrates and Ministers, imploring them to consider what they were doing,
and how far
their course was
consistent with the rules and principles of justice, but they were deaf
to all
reason. She was dragged to witches hill and hanged, but her
religious and sincere sayings
drew tears from all those present. The third sister, Sarah, was transferred to a
gaol in Massachusetts, and there
appears to have escaped her persecutors.*1
The 1936 row survey says ‑ Several overhanging Tudor storeys on the
south side in timber framed filled
brick nogging. This is an extremely narrow row, very picturesque. There are but a
few dwellings in the row, merely back windows or vents from those in the
adjoining parallel rows. It would
be a great pity to lose this row.
Kittywitches row with mainly warehouses
on either side of it
might very well be preserved .
The areas on either side being developed as suggested in this
report. The few tenements it contains (one should be removed) should be converted to business
uses.