On Monday 16th August 2004, North Cornwall got a bit of bad weather…

 To be more specific, 7.1 inches of rain fell over the high ground inland from the village of Boscastle. This was funnelled through the valley in which Boscastle sits and resulted in a 7 foot rise in river levels in one hour, and a 10 foot wave that swept down the main road, travelling at an estimated 40 miles an hour.

 In total, 440 million gallons of water flowed through Boscastle on that day, 50 cars and 6 buildings were washed into the sea, and around 150 people were rescued by a fleet of seven helicopters.

 I was at work when I first heard the news of this event that Monday afternoon, and my first reaction was not 'Oh my Gods, I hope no-one has been killed' it was actually 'we’ve just lost the Museum of Witchcraft'.

This may seem a little harsh, but as far as I am concerned, as well as being a fascinating tourist attraction, the Museum of Witchcraft also does a great deal to change peoples perceptions of Witchcraft and Paganism in general.

 It was founded by a Devon man called Cecil Williamson, whose first encounter with witchcraft came when he intervened to stop some thugs persecuting a local witch.

Cecil was later sent to an up market prep school in Norfolk and then to Malvern College, where he allegedly met a wise woman who lived in the school grounds. She taught the young Cecil some simple but effective spell craft, which he used against a school bully.

In fact Cecil didn't really hold to the threefold law of return in his magical practices. As far as he was concerned anyone who got on the wrong side of him deserved everything they got. Part of the Museum of Witchcrafts many displays include poppets and curses made by Cecil and directed against many different people.

Cecil later befriended Gerald Gardner (Wiccans will need no introduction to him) and the two opened up the first Museum of Witchcraft on the Isle of Man in 1951 with Gerald as the resident witch.

Gerald was no stranger to publicity, in fact he actively pursued it, and he persuaded several newspapers, radio and television stations to cover Witchcraft following the repeal of the Witchcraft act in 1951.

 Cecil and Gerald eventually fell out over the museums displays, which Cecil wanted to concentrate on Folk magic and Gerald wanted to be more sensational.

In 1954 Cecil moved his collection to the village of Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, while Gerald continued to run the museum on The Isle of Man.

The Christian community of Bourton were not happy about witchcraft in their village, and held protests outside the museum ranting about evil and Satanism the way Christians like to do. Cecil himself received death threats and found dead cats hung from trees in the garden. When an arson attack destroyed one wing of the museum, Cecil decided to move.

In 1961 the museum relocated to Boscastle where it has remained ever since. Cecil ran the museum until 1996 when it was sold to the current owners at midnight on 31st of October.

1996 was also the year that Cecil joined the ancestors, aged 90. He left behind a large collection of magical tools and equipment along with his private collection of magical artifacts, most of which are now on display at the museum.

In my opinion the decision to locate the Museum in Cornwall was something of a no-brainer. The county has long been associated with the mystical. In fact first time visitors are hard pressed to describe Cornwall without using the word Magical. It is easy to see why. Travel onto the wilds of Bodmin Moor and stand within the stone circles known as the Hurlers, or touch the man-made stone slabs that form the Cheesewring and you can literally feel the mass of earth energy collected within. The whole county seems constantly alive with magic and Cornish Witches used this energy frequently.

Witches in Cornwall were also lucky enough to avoid the majority of the middle age Witch Burnings. The reason for this is that as well as functioning as the local Wise Woman, Cornish Witches were only too happy to openly adopt the new Christian faith. All they had to do was replace the word 'Spirits' or 'Old Ones' with the word 'Lord' or 'Christ' and they were largely left alone. Clever little witches.

Although when I use the phrase 'left alone' I mean just by the Witch smellers, because a Cornish Witches life was a busy one. As well as sorting out local disputes, and casting well being, and sometimes not so well being, spells, a Witch could also make a living 'Selling The Wind' to sailors and fishermen. With Cornwall surrounded by sea on all but one side, predicting the weather was vitally important to sailors, fishermen, farmers and witches. Those wishing to control the elements would purchase the wind tied in a handkerchief or rope from the local witch. The wind would be released by untying the knots as required. The first would produce a gentle breeze, the second a strong wind, and the third a tempest.

It is still quite common to find glass fishing floats hanging in the windows of Cornish cottages. These are the local equivalent of 'Witchballs' said to offer protection not from witches, for more often it was the witches that blessed and sold them, but from curses and evil.

One would imagine the current museum owners make good use of this protection, because to this day, they still receive death threats and hate mail, with some even suggesting that the Boscastle floods were Gods attempt to wash the museum away!

He didn't do a very good job because on March 25th 2005, the newly refurbished Museum of Witchcraft re-opened its doors after extensive refurbishment. It includes new artifacts donated by Pagans and non-Pagans from all over the country.

The museum now contains many fascinating Pagan artifacts including Cecil Williamsons scrying mirror (which refused to budge or break during the floods) Aleister Crowley’s golden chalice, and one of the world's best collections of ritual sex magic artifacts, known as the Richel Collection.

It is also the perfect place to find out about Cornish Witchcraft, which some believe may also have been used by wreckers to lure ships onto the cliffs during Cornwall's smuggling history.

Quite simply, for any Pagans visiting Cornwall, the Museum is a must see and Boscastle itself, is a perfectly picturesque village that offers a fascinating day out. Just don't mention to the locals that it looks like rain.

Incidentally no-one was killed during the floods, but the gift shop opposite the museum, which sold a variety of Christian anti-Pagan books, was washed away.

                                                                                             Above article by Ian

Accompanying pictures by Nick Smith, taken on Sunday the 15^th of August 2004, the day before the flood we were on holiday nearby. Top right, the Witchcraft museum Underneath are views of the stream that overflowed and left is the Christian shop that was washed away in the flood.