In the spring of 1650, the presbytery records of Largs in Ayrshire document the legal proceedings against a woman named John Sheddon. Her case, filed under reference C/LA/3189, emerged during a period of heightened judicial scrutiny regarding the crime of witchcraft in Scotland. On April 22, 1650, the administrative machinery of the local kirk and civil authorities converged to address the allegations brought against her, initiating the formal trial process recorded as T/LA/1754.
During the course of these proceedings, John provided a statement that was formally entered into the legal record as a confession. While the specific nature of the activities to which she admitted remains obscured by the brevity of the surviving archives, the existence of this confession was a pivotal element in her trial. By documenting her testimony, the authorities in Largs established the framework through which her case would be navigated according to the prevailing legal and ecclesiastical standards of mid-seventeenth-century Scotland.