Mary Bateman was a disciple of Joanna Southcote, the woman who proclaimed in 1792 that she would be giving birth to the Second Messiah. This momentous event never happened but it didn’t stop followers like Mary from believing that the possession of a “Southcote Seal” would ensure a trip straight to heaven.
Mary owned a hen which laid eggs inscribed with religious messages such as “Christ is coming”. She also had a bad habit of defrauding people and attempting to poison them when they stopped paying up. One unlucky victim was Rebecca Perigo from whom she extracted a large sum of money as well as other interesting items
“a goose, two pair of men’s shoes, a goose pie, a tea caddy, two pillow slips, sixty pounds of butter, two or three hundred eggs, a pair of black silk stockings, a piece of beef and three bottles of spirits.
Mary, who became known as the Yorkshire Witch, was tried and hung for the murder of Rebecca Perrigo. Such was the morbid fascination with her that the hospital which dissected her body charged 3d each to 2,500 people who came to view her remains. They also had her skin tanned and pieces distributed as souvenirs.
Mary’s body is preserved to this day at the Thackray Medical Museum. There is no truth to the rumour that her special hen absconded with the Southcote Seal…..










































