In September 1649, Marion Inglis, a 33-year-old resident of Corstrophine Hill near Edinburgh, found herself the subject of a formal legal inquiry recorded under case C/EGD/2374. The documentation concerning her prosecution highlights a persistent communal concern regarding her activities, noting that she had been accused of causing various forms of trouble as early as eight years prior to the 1649 proceedings. This protracted history of local grievance suggests that the accusations against her were not isolated incidents, but rather the culmination of years of tension within her immediate community.
The charges brought against Marion during her legal process centered specifically on allegations of property damage, with witnesses attributing the misfortune of their livestock and dairy production to her influence. Throughout the subsequent trials, T/JO/1517 and T/JO/1534, these allegations formed the core of the case against her. By focusing on the tangible loss of animals and the spoilage of dairy goods, the record reflects the high stakes of early modern rural life, where the welfare of livestock was inextricably linked to the economic stability of households on Corstrophine Hill.