In January 1634, Henry Hoggart, a man of humble socioeconomic status residing in the Berwickshire village of Ayton, found himself subject to the scrutiny of the Scottish legal system. As a creelman, Henry’s daily life was defined by the movement of goods, traversing the local landscape to transport produce or wares to market. This itinerant occupation, which kept him constantly on the roads and in contact with various communities, placed him in a visible but precarious position within the social fabric of early modern Scotland.
Following his detention, the records indicate that legal proceedings were initiated against him under case reference C/LA/3314. On 14 January 1634, the judicial process advanced to the trial phase, catalogued as T/LA/2104. While the specific nature of the allegations levelled against Henry remains confined to these archival designations, his case stands as a formal entry in the broader history of the Scottish witch trials. His experience reflects the mechanisms of the era's criminal justice system, whereby individuals from the lower strata of society were drawn into formal investigations that sought to address profound communal anxieties.