In 1705, a woman named Mary Stewart, a resident of Kilbride on the Isle of Arran within the jurisdiction of Argyll, became the subject of a formal legal inquiry under the charge of witchcraft. This period in Scottish history was marked by a persistent administrative and judicial focus on allegations of diabolical pacts and maleficium, and Mary’s case was officially recorded and archived under reference C/EGD/2451. As was common practice in the early eighteenth century, the documentation of her proceedings would have been managed by local kirk sessions or presbytery courts, reflecting the legal framework that governed communal concerns regarding spiritual and social order in the Hebrides.
While specific narrative details of the testimony brought against Mary remain brief in the extant records, her inclusion in the archives of this era serves as a testament to the persistent application of the Witchcraft Act of 1563. The record highlights the jurisdictional complexity of the time, placing her experience within the broader context of Argyll's judicial landscape. Though the details of her ultimate fate or the specific nature of the accusations levied against her are not elaborated upon in the surviving notes, Mary represents a significant figure in the historical study of the late-stage Scottish witch trials, illustrating the intersection of local community tensions and the formal mechanisms of the state during the twilight of these prosecutions.