Witchcraft

James Jagger, the cunning man of Bicester

Priory Road, Bicester

Late 18th century to early 19th century

Jagger was born illegitimate in the late 18th century and raised by George Gurden at the turnpike house near Priory Road and Chapel Street. In 1793, according to John Dunkin's 1826 account, he tried to raise the devil and was met by a horrid form covered in black hair with huge horns. It turned out to be a prank by Charles Parkins in a bull's hide.

He gained a reputation as a diviner of lost objects. His best known client was Mrs Saunders, landlady of the Rose and Crown, who hired him to find a missing silver clasp. He put a basin of water in the pub passage, locked himself in another room and did something unrecorded, and the clasp is said to have appeared in the basin.

After that job Jagger said he was seized by an invisible force and carried over the roofs of Bicester. He was found next morning near Kirtlington, four miles off, and said demons like asses with panniers on their backs had dragged him through hedges and ducked him in ponds. The sources are Dunkin's Anecdotes of Bicester (1826) and Bloxham's Folklore of Oxfordshire (2005). The flying tale is Jagger's own account as passed down, so it is tagged traditional. The pin is the street area, not a building.

Historical figure; no site to visit.
Evidence
Long-standing local tradition
Access
No public access
Location
51.900, -1.150 (Parish-level only, treat as an area)

Sources: Dark Oxfordshire, "James Jagger, Magical Cunning Man of Bicester" [other]

View on the map →

Comments

Loading…