Journal of Witchfinder General Nehemiah Wallington

From the Telegraph:

Now the journal by 17th century Puritan writer Nehemiah Wallington has been opened up by a team from The University of Manchester's John Rylands Library who are using cutting edge camera technology to photograph and ''digitise'' the diary which is being kept at Tatton Hall in Knutsford, Cheshire.

Wallington was an eloquent and well-read writer who filled 50 notebooks in which he documented his own philosophies on life to keep himself sane. When he died in 1958 he left over 2,500 pages written on himself, religion and politics.

The witchcraft trials occurred at Essex after Hopkins exploited much folklore and storytelling about evil witches that were causing catastrophe and death. Local gossip would be directed against those who were a bit "odd" or perhaps were suspected of having "cunning" powers.

The handwritten notebook is the only copy known in existence. Mansion and Collections Manager Caroline Schofield from Tatton Park said: "Nehemiah Wallington was an intelligent working man who achieved much in the face of such difficulty and exhaustion in daily life."