In the mid-seventeenth century, the community of Cockpen, located in the county of Edinburgh, became entangled in the period’s rigorous judicial pursuit of alleged witchcraft. Among those brought before the authorities was Alison Cleugh, whose legal proceedings are marked in the historical record as case C/JO/2812. On November 15, 1649, she was identified alongside four other individuals, suggesting a collective or wave-based prosecution common to the anxieties of that era.
The documentation surrounding Alison’s involvement is sparse, providing little narrative detail regarding the specific grievances or accusations leveled against her. However, court records confirm that on the same date as her initial appearance, November 15, 1649, a confession was formally recorded. While the contents of this statement—and the subsequent details of her trial, T/JO/371—remain lost to history, the survival of these records serves as a testament to the brief and impactful intersection between Alison and the Scottish justice system during the autumn of 1649.