Witches: Suffolk's Dark Legacy

A major Suffolk Archives exhibition on the 1645–47 Suffolk witch trials, the 150 people accused, Matthew Hopkins and the changing image of the witch, with loans from the British Library and Tate.

Between 1645 and 1647 the Suffolk witch trials were among the most brutal and widespread in England. This exhibition from Suffolk Archives follows the stories of some of the 150 Suffolk people accused of witchcraft and the role of Matthew Hopkins, the self-appointed Witchfinder General. It displays the Malleus Maleficarum and King James I's Daemonologie on loan from the British Library, and traces the changing image of the witch from the pointed-hat hag to the self-sufficient witch of television and film, through books, prints and artworks including John Waterhouse's The Magic Circle on loan from the Tate. The exhibition runs from 16 October 2026 to 21 February 2027 and is supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund and Debach Enterprises. No admission price is published.