In 1670, Janet Conochie, a married woman residing in the burgh of Bo’ness in Linlithgow, found herself formally entangled in the mechanisms of the Scottish judicial system regarding the charge of witchcraft. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1896, reflects the broader legal environment of late seventeenth-century Scotland, a period during which the prosecution of alleged maleficium remained a persistent feature of local and national court proceedings.
As a resident of a significant port town on the Firth of Forth, Janet lived within a community where social tensions and ecclesiastical oversight frequently intersected. While the surviving records for Janet are concise, they place her directly within the scholarly context of the 1563–1736 witch trials, a period characterized by intense scrutiny of behaviors perceived to be outside the boundaries of divine or communal order. Though the specific circumstances that led to the accusations against Janet remain confined to the archival note, her case serves as a point of historical evidence for the experiences of women within the legal frameworks of the Restoration era.