The trials of the Lancashire Witches that took place at Lancaster Castle in August 1612 are among the most famous and infamous in English history. Twenty people stood accused, of whom ten were hanged on Golgotha Hill overlooking the town following the two-day trial, and the case stands as the second-largest witchcraft trial in British legal history (the largest being in Salem, Massachusetts (still a British colony at the time) in 1692).

As a result, the story is well known and has been the inspiration for many books, television and radio shows. Yet, none of these has answered one fundamental question - why did these events occur in 1612? What, or who, was the driving force behind the prosecutions? In the vast majority of narratives, the blame is laid squarely on the shoulders of the magistrate, Roger Nowell, who is usually cast as a single-minded witch-hunter. But this will not do; two years earlier Roger had been the high sheriff of Lancashire, which placed him in control of law and order in the county - yet there was no serious persecution of witches in that year when he had all of the resources he would have needed to carry one out. Clearly, Roger was no witch-hunter.

So, if not Roger - then who? Based on original research, this talk will uncover the man who was the real instigator of the trials and his motivation for doing so. A man who was also linked with the Essex Rebellion in 1601 and the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Prepare for a rollercoaster of a ride as we reveal the life and times of Cuthbert the Bad.