Heads up Nor-Wiches. Spooky things are descending on Great Yarmouth this half term in the form of WITCH DAY.
Happening at the Tolhouse Gaol and the Elizabethan House Museum on Wednesday 25th October – here’s the wickedly witchy plan for the day:
Tolhouse:
10am – 2.30pm Witchfinder costumed character and general admission opening.
3 – 4pm Politics of Perdition Talk by Dr Danny Buck.
5.45 – 7pm WITCH performance, £10 (more details below).
Elizabethan House:
11am – 3pm Witch-Craft Fair (‘witchy’ craft makers and the Norfolk Folklore Society).
And if all that’s not scary enough, stay in Great Yarmouth for the Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Fairground Frights, taking place 25th – 29th October, 5.30 – 9pm (not for the faint hearted!)
WITCH by The Feathered Thorns
On 10th September 1645, nine women and two men stood trial for witchcraft. Of these eleven, six women were found guilty and sentenced to be executed. It wasn’t the first or last witch-trial in Great Yarmouth, but probably the most notorious, as the Yarmouth Assembly had called on Matthew Hopkins the famous ‘Witchfinder General’ to come to the town to ‘discover and find out’ witches.
The Tolhouse Gaol is one of the oldest gaols in the country, dating back to the 12th century. Down beneath the ground you can visit and stand inside the original cells, still standing despite being bombed twice in the second World War. It was in this building where those eleven people were tried for witchcraft in 1645.
Now part of Norfolk Museums Service, the building has been a museum since the 1880s. Opening during school holidays, this half term the museum is hosting a whole day of ‘witchy’ events on Wednesday 25th, inspired by the stories of witch trials in Great Yarmouth, including a very special evening performance!
‘WITCH’ created and performed by Polly Wright and Jason Wick of The Feathered Thorns, is an immersive performance. Previously shown at the Norwich Arts Centre, the performance is arriving in the atmospheric setting of the Tolhouse Gaol this October. It explores themes of otherness and being an outcast. The band describe it themselves as:
“Live Music, Spoken Word and projected image, to explore the representation of the Witch as the outsider figure who encompasses magic, power, fear, fragility, shame and retribution and how the theme of the witch and those who hunt her, holds powerful lessons and remains potent and relevant for our time and always.”
A ticket for the WITCH musical performance is £10 and includes general admission earlier in the day. Plus, if you added the talk, you could attend all the events at Tolhouse for £14. Witch-Craft Fair at Elizabethan House is a separate event and included in general admission for that site 11am-3pm.
Fairground Frights 2023 is for 10 years +. Wristbands are currently on sale online for £22 per person. The gate price on the day is £24.
Looking for more cosy Autumn layers for Halloween and beyond, inspired by Norfolk? Head over to our store.
