Francis Hutchinson

Who was Francis Hutchinson?

Francis Hutchinson was Bishop of Down and Connor and an opponent of witch-hunting.

Hutchinson was born in Carsington, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, the second son of Mary and Edward Hutchinson or Hitchinson. He was taught history by his uncle, Francis Tallents, a Puritan clergyman, before beginning his studies at Katharine Hall, Cambridge at the age of 18. He graduated B.A. in 1681 and M.A. in 1684, a year after he was ordained by the bishop of London and was appointed Lecturer at the rectory of Widdington, Essex. This living represented the lowest rung of the career ladder of the Church of England and Hutchinson remained there until appointed vicar of Hoxne, Suffolk in early 1690 by local Whig magnate, William Maynard. Hutchinson wrote "Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft," whose second edition appeared in 1720 with a chapter attacking the witch-hunting in Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1690s by debunking the charge of witchcraft.

He studied several cases of witchcraft and witch trials, criticising some procedures. For example, he opposed the idea that children and young teenagers acted as accusers in cases of bewitching after having reached the conclusion that they feigned demon possession and several innocents had died for that reason, and wrote a book that ended the persecution of witches in England.