27/05/2026
A bizarre series of events occurred in the beautiful Cotswolds town of Chipping Campden during the summer of 1660, known afterwards as The Campden Wonder. Witchcraft, murder and piracy?
William Harrison worked as a steward to the Viscountess of Campden, Lady Juliana Noel. The Noel seat was at Campden House, burned down by occupying Royalist troops during the Civil War to prevent the advancing Roundheads from using its makeshift fortifications. William lived in a surviving building among the ruins, mainly to collect rents on behalf of the Viscountess who now resided elsewhere.
On Thursday the 16th of August, 70 year old William set out on his rent collecting rounds, heading on foot to the village of Charringworth with the intention of working backwards so that he would have the greatest amount of money with him nearer to Chipping Campden where he would be relatively safe from any potential threats. A very real fear considering that his home had been burgled a few weeks previously, while his servant had been attacked in their yard by some oddly-dressed ruffians.
The sun set but William had still not returned home, so his wife sent their young servant, a John Perry, to look for him along the road. Dawn rose the next day with no sign of either man now, so William Harrison's son rode out to investigate, following the route his father would have taken. He found John Perry soon enough, who had drawn a blank when asking at Charringworth, so the pair set off around the other villages on old William's route. They soon learned that a woman had found some items on the road near Chipping Campden, which turned out to be the comb, hat and detached collar of William Harrison. Young Harrison was dismayed to see spots of blood on the items, so on the return journey to Campden he quizzed John Perry at length.
Perry claimed that he had encountered a couple of friends on the way to Charringworth whom he had chatted with for some time but who then walked him some of the way back home as he was frightened of the darkness. He crouched in a chicken coop until the full moon appeared then set out again on the search, but a mysterious fog descended on the area which made him lose his bearings. He claimed to have spent the night lying prone in a field, hiding from unseen terrors, before making it to Charrington as dawn rose, then bumping into Harrison junior as he headed back home once more.
Suspicion fell on John Perry and he was brought before a Justice for official questioning. Perry's family were very poor and his mother Joan was suspected by many to be a witch, so they were not held in high regard by the community. John changed his story over and over before seemingly cracking, demanding to see the Justice to tell the truth. Did he have anything to do with William Harrison's disappearance? No – but his brother and mother did – they killed him!
John Perry told a tale of poverty and desperation, how his brother Richard had pressured him into robbing the Harrison house, and how to get them off his back he had told them of old William's rent route and that he would be walking it alone. When he was sent out by Mrs Harrison to look for her husband, he encountered his brother on the road who made it clear he had wicked intentions, and the pair walked back along the route in search of the old steward. They saw him disappearing through the gate of a walled garden near to Chipping Campden and Richard dashed ahead while John waited by the road. After some time he went through the gate, only to find Richard and his mother Joan standing over a terrified William Harrson...then witnessed Richard strangling him.
The adult members of the Perry family were arrested and confined, but something strange happened one sunday as they were led from their makeshift cells to church. Richard's children ran from their house to hug their father, but as they let go and stepped back, both their noses began to bleed profusely. This was deduced to be old Joan's witchcraft in action, by which she had enchanted her family into doing her evil bidding.
A law was brought in on the restoration of Charles II which pardoned any crimes committed during the Civil War and the Interregnum which followed – with the exception of murder, piracy and other serious crimes – in the spirit of reconciling divided communities. As the robbery they were charged with had actually occurred during that time they were advised by a lawyer to plead guilty and be pardoned, which they did. As no body had been produced in the case of William Harrison's death, the murder charge was dropped, but for some reason they were not released from custody.
John Perry stuck to his story, now insisting that his mother had been attempting to both bewitch and poison him from her confinement, but when a new judge decided to proceed with a fresh murder trial, as surely Harrison would have returned home by now if he was alive, things got even stranger. Perry now recanted his confession, claiming he had been temporarily insane, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The judge saw them as proven criminals not to be trusted, even though their admitted crimes had been pardoned, and found them guilty of murder in short order.
The three were taken to Fish Hill and roughly where Broadway Tower now stands - a gallows was erected. As Joan was still believed to be a witch they hanged her first in the hope that the spell over her sons would be broken and they would tell the truth, but this did not happen. Richard went next, imploring John to tell them he was innocent, who just shouted to the crowd that he would never give them such a spectacle. As John prepared to drop through the scaffold though, he made an ominous statement. He knew absolutely nothing about the fate of his master, but they would be hearing all about it soon…
Perry's tarred co**se swung on the gibbet at Fish Hill for a couple of years before something incredible happened in Chipping Campden. A carriage approached the town...shouts went up, people ran back and forth with the news...William Harrison had returned! The now 72 year old steward was alive - and he had a wild story to tell.
Harrison claimed that after leaving Charringworth a man riding a horse had forced him into a ditch then slashed him with a sword, his hat and collar coming off as he defended himself as best he could. Another rider charged in, cutting him in his leg, then a third man arrived and the three overpowered him. After stealing his rent collection they then weirdly stuffed more money than they stole in his pockets then threw a big cloak over his head. Placing him one of the horses, they tied his hands around the rider's waist then set off southwards. After a painful, gruelling journey they arrived at the port of Deal where Harrison was sold for seven pounds to a ship's captain.
He worked aboard the ship for some weeks before they were attacked by Turkish pirates and Harrison, with the other slaves, was handed over to them in return for leaving the ship in peace. He ended up in a prison near Smyrna where an elderly physician bought him to work at his distillery. When the old doctor passed away Harrison simply diguised himself in a cloak, walked out of the house and headed towards the nearest major port, with a silver bowl he had secreted away. Using this to pay for his passage, Harrison managed to get to Portugal where he encounted some English sailors at Lisbon, from where he made his final voyage home.
An utterly bizarre story but William Harrison stuck to it, unmoved by the death of the innocent Perry family and despite the ridiculous idea of a gang of highwaymen enslaving a wounded 70 year old man. It has been speculated that he needed to get out of town for a while, possibly over something to do with the restoration of Charles II although his boss was a dedicated Royalist, and didn't even tell his wife his plans. It has even been speculated that he didn't return at all and that the man who arrived in Chipping Campden in 1662 was actually an imposter. We will never know...
