In the spring of 1658, the judicial machinery of the Scottish legal system converged upon Jonnet Holmes, a resident of the coastal parish of Largs in Ayrshire. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/247, emerged during a period of heightened legal scrutiny that saw numerous individuals brought before the courts on charges of witchcraft. On 31 March 1658, a porteous roll—a formal register of indictments—was issued to summon a collective group of accused individuals to answer for their alleged crimes. Jonnet was among those named in this sweeping legal action, marking the commencement of a process that would require her presence before the authorities.
The proceedings reached a critical point on 4 April 1658, when Jonnet appeared before the court in Ayr. As recorded in the trial notes under reference T/LA/1601, her appearance was part of a larger session of the Ayr Court list held on that same day. The administrative trail of her case remains preserved within these dual porteous rolls, serving as a stark archival testament to the formal procedures governing the trial of Jonnet during this volatile era of early modern Scottish history.