The Witch’s Stone, Dornoch: Memorial to Janet Horne, the Last Witch Executed in Britain
At a glance
| What | A small stone marking where Janet Horne was burned for witchcraft |
| Date on stone | 1722 (most historians give 1727) |
| Why famous | Janet Horne was the last person executed legally for witchcraft in the British Isles |
| Where | Littletown, Dornoch, in a private garden but visible from the road |
| Apology | Included in the Scottish Government’s 2022 apology to those accused of witchcraft |
| Entry | View from the road only |
Why it matters
In a garden in the Littletown area of Dornoch, a small weathered stone carries a date and a short memory: the burning of Janet Horne, the last person to be executed legally for witchcraft in the British Isles. It is not ancient, it is not carved with symbols, and it is easy to miss. But it marks the end of a terrible chapter in Scottish history, in which thousands of people, most of them women, were accused of witchcraft and around 2,500 put to death.
Janet Horne
Janet Horne lived in Dornoch with her daughter, who had deformities of the hands and feet. Neighbours claimed Janet had turned her daughter into a pony and ridden her to meet the Devil, and that the Devil had shod her, which was why she was lame. Both were accused of witchcraft. Janet is also thought to have shown signs of dementia; it is said she could not recite the Lord’s Prayer correctly, which was taken as proof of guilt.
The trial before the sheriff-depute, Captain David Ross, was quick. Both mother and daughter were found guilty and sentenced to be burned. The daughter escaped. Janet was stripped, covered in tar, paraded through the town in a barrel and burned alive. Tradition says she warmed her hands at the fire that was to kill her.
1722 or 1727?
The stone is inscribed 1722, but most historians give the date of her execution as 1727, and the poet Edwin Morgan noted the error in his poem about her. Historic Environment Scotland describes the date as uncertain. Nine years after her death, in 1736, the Witchcraft Act was repealed, and witchcraft ceased to be a capital crime in Scotland.
In March 2022 the First Minister of Scotland made a formal apology on behalf of the Scottish Government to the people accused, convicted and executed under the Witchcraft Act.
Seeing it
The stone stands in a private garden in Littletown on the south side of Dornoch and can be seen from the road. Please do not go into the garden. It has weathered badly, so look for the date.
Around Dornoch
Dornoch itself is a handsome small cathedral town by a famous golf links. Dornoch Distillery, run by two brothers in the old fire station, is one of Scotland’s smallest and most admired. On Loch Fleet just north, the Jacobites lost their last skirmish before Culloden at the Battle of Littleferry in April 1746. Further up the coast, the fairy-tale towers of Dunrobin Castle, seat of the Earls of Sutherland, rise above the sea near Golspie, and at Brora Clynelish stands beside the revived Brora Distillery. Across the Dornoch Firth at Tain is Glenmorangie, and on the Tarbat peninsula beyond is the Pictish masterpiece of Hilton of Cadboll. For the distilleries of the far north see our far north whisky trail, and for more stones with a story see our guide to the famous stones of Scotland.
Sources
- Historic Environment Scotland — blog, Disability History Month (2019), on Janet Horne.
- Wikipedia — Janet Horne.
- Edwin Morgan, “Janet Horne” (National Library of Scotland learning resources).
- Northern Times — coverage of the 2022 apology.