We Are Witch Quilt
We Are Witch Exhibition: 8th October - 4th November (dates provisional)
Stories of Lynn Museum | Saturday Market Place | King’s Lynn | PE30 5DQ
We Are Witch is a collaborative needlework project that honours the women killed under the Witchcraft Act in East Anglia. It highlights their persecution, the miscarriage of justice and promises not to forget them. Or the legacy this chapter of history leaves for women. Far from a historical honouring of an act of long ago We Are Witch highlights contemporary issues of oppression, freedom of speech and feminism.
This is a project of national, regional, and local cultural significance, and we are thrilled to be able to exhibit it in King’s Lynn, where at least two of the women commemorated on the quilt were from, and one of them, we know from local records, was executed here.
‘Mother Gabley’ has the dubious honour of being the first Norfolk ‘witch’ to be condemned under the 1563 Witchcraft Act, and Margaret Read, executed in 1590, has her own local legend attached in the form of of the “Witch’s Heart” - a crude carving of a heart in a diamond shape above a window on a premises in Tuesday Market Place.
We have adopted the Witch’s Heart design as our logo for West Norfolk WyrdFest – look out for this symbol next to all official WyrdFest event listings.
All of us witches
- writing workshops
Established poet, writer, and tutor Sue Burge leads two workshops inspired by King's Lynn's role in the witch trials.
Take part in either workshop for £25 or book both for just £40.
The cost includes one oneline follow-up session to help you polish one piece for inclusion in the final week of the We Are Witch exhibition.
The workshops will take place at the Education Room at Stories of Lynn on Wednesday 14th October 2026.
Workshop 1
10.30-13.00
Voices in the burning air
In this workshop we will explore the atmosphere of fear and suspicion which prevailed during Matthew Hopkins’ reign of terror. We will discuss poetry and prose which gives voice to those accused of witchcraft in order to inspire your own new writing via a series of innovative prompts.
Workshop 2
14.00-16.30
Practical Magic
Love potions and hexes, curses and blessings: in this workshop we will look at the power of poetic spells as well as exploring the world of fairy tales and local folklore to enable you to conjure your own practical magic in response!
