Margaret McGuffok, a resident of Barnweill in the parish of Tarbolton, Ayrshire, was a figure whose reputation within her community eventually drew the attention of the Scottish legal authorities. Known locally by the ominous moniker "the witch of Barneweill," Margaret was caught up in the judicial machinery of the late sixteenth century. Her case, documented under the reference C/LA/2643, eventually led her from the rural landscapes of Ayrshire to the capital for trial.
The legal proceedings culminated in Edinburgh, where the court delivered a verdict of guilty against Margaret. The finality of the judicial process resulted in a sentence of execution, carried out on December 6, 1587. In accordance with the penal practices of the era, the sentence was enacted by strangulation followed by burning. While later records mention an additional date of July 23, 1605, no further details accompany that entry, leaving the 1587 date as the definitive point of her execution as recorded in the Ayr Burgh accounts.