Betty Potter's Dip
The Folklore of an Essex Wayside Grave
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8934803 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Halliday (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 125 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 113-124 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0015587x.2013.837674 |
| OpenAlex | W2035840187 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
Betty Potter's Dip, an unmarked roadside location at Boxted in Essex, is named after Elizabeth Potter, an eighteenth-century suicide who was buried there. Folklore has since assumed that she was a witch. This paper examines the events surrounding Elizabeth Potter's death and burial in relation to the practice of burying suicides by the roadside, and discusses why some roadside burials may have been associated with witches. Notes1 Correspondence on suicide burial, some of which is cited in Halliday (Citation2010), appears in the 'East Anglian Miscellany' columns of the East Anglian Daily Times for 26 October 1901, 9 November 1901, 14 December 1901, 4 January 1902, 18 January 1902, 25 January 1902, and 22 March 1902.2 ERO/EA Great Horkesley baptism registers, 1721–93; marriage registers, 1686–1741. ERO/EA is 'Essex Ancestors', an online subscribers' service of the Essex Record Office. The service provides images of genealogical records, including parish registers. Before 1752 Great Horkesley parish registers reckoned the start of the year as occurring on 25 March (Lady Day). A marriage of Nathaniel Potter to Sarah Slowgrave is recorded on 9 February 1702/03, but this may be another person who shared the same name, and who may have left the village as there is no record of the baptism of their children. An Edward Potter married Susannah Lay at Great Horkesley on 1 April 1746; they had three children. The youngest, another Elizabeth, was baptized on 15 July 1753 and buried on 16 December.3 Ann and Hannah were interchangeable names.4 Boxted village website, http://ww.boxted.org.uk/book.htm#betty; East Anglian Daily Times, 1 December 2006.5 See http://www.hiddenea.com/essexb/htm.6 Daddy Witch's grave may be by the pond at National Grid reference TL 614468; the Bartlow grave probably at National Grid reference TL 584453.7The Sunday Pictorial, 8 October 1944 and 15 October 1944. Articles on Scrapfaggot Green appear in FLS News 17 (June 1993): 12–13; 19 (June 1994): 11; 20 (November 1994): 11; 22 (November 1995): 3; 24 (November 1996): 2; and 26 (November 1997): 3–4. Halliday (Citation2013) reinvestigates the episode.As contributions to this section, the Editor welcomes comment and debate on topical issues or on recent articles appearing in the journal. Shorter, accessibly written items of general interest, reports on work in progress, notes, and queries are also welcome.Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert HallidayRobert Halliday has a long-standing interest in the folklore of his native East Anglia, and has been intrigued by roadside burials since seeing the 'Boy's Grave' near Newmarket as a child. He started horse-riding lessons in 2010 at age fifty-five (which helped prompt his interest in the folk beliefs about horses and witchcraft). He has just completed a two-volume study of the history of gravestones in Suffolk
Ancient history · Archaeology · Baptism · Folklore · Genealogy · Miscellany · Theology · Classics · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |