Local historians say that in the mild spring of 1629 twenty seven local women, men and children were locked up in the tolbooth of Peebles, which stood at the foot of the Bridgegate beside the Eddleston Water. They came from Peebles and from West Linton, Blyth Bridge, Romannobridge, the Manor valley, Stobo, Innerleithen, Traquair and Kailzie. They were imprisoned, tortured, given a sham trial and executed. Accounts give the place as Calf Knowe, now called Venlaw Hill, and say the final executions took place on Christmas Eve 1629.
Another local guide says at least nineteen women were tried and executed there, strangled and then burned. The figures differ between sources, but the 1629 total of twenty seven is the one on the memorial plaque, which reads, "In memory of all those in Peeblesshire persecuted under the 1563 Witchcraft Act including these 27 executed in 1629." A local play and a song have since been written about the events. This was neither the first nor the last time people were executed for witchcraft in Peeblesshire, and another major trial followed in 1649.
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