Hadleigh’s own ‘White Witch’ still casts a spell

The famous white witch and “Cunning Man” would charge customers a fee of half a penny for his services, but it was considered money well spent, especially when curses were concerned.

James Murrell was born in in Rochford in 1785. He was believed to be the seventh son of a seventh son, which in folklore was believed to give someone special powers, and was the only child in his family to receive an education.

The route to “witch” was an odd one for James. His first job was as a surveyor’s apprentice, before becoming a cobbler in Hadleigh. From fixing shoes he somehow made the change to chemist apprentice and then herbalist and “healer”.

In 1812 James married Elizabeth Button. They are believe to have had 16 children, but unfortunately most of them died in infancy.

The “cunning man” – dubbed so not through any wickedness but because of his healing powers – he set up his own consulting room in his front room of his cottage in Endway, Hadleigh, close to where McDonald’s stands today. The room was said to have bunches of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling and contained a large chest.

That same chest can now be seen at Southend Central Museum where it takes pride of place in a new exhibition, Wunderkammer: Southend’s Cabinet of Curiosity, which is on until October 2022.

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Carole Mulroney, cabinet member for environment, culture, tourism and planning at Southend Council, said: “The exhibition is a rare opportunity for visitors to view stunning artefacts that have never been presented to the public until now.

“Murrell’s mysterious chest is a fabulous addition that has to be seen in person.”

Wunderkammer is an immersive exhibition exploring the history of collecting and humanity’s timeless desire to collect and view curiosities.

And who wouldn’t be curious about Cunning Murrell? Members of the Hadleigh and Thundersley Community Archive have conducted extensive research into James Murrell and stress that it is hard to distinguish between fact, fiction and myth, as much of what was known of his knowledge, skills and abilities was passed down verbally as stories, and later turned into legend.

The historical facts about James Murrell are recorded in parish registers, death certificates and census returns but his “magical capabilities” are more difficult to pin down.

His mystique was only enhanced by the fact his travels around Essex were only conducted at night and that much of Murrell’s work involved curing people who had been blighted by witchcraft.

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For that Murrell kept a stock of thin iron bottles, specially made for him by Hadleigh blacksmith Stephen Choppen.

Into one of these he would place twists of hair, toe-cuttings, gobbets of snot, and a measure of urine, all taken from the victim. The bottle was then sealed and placed into the cottage hearth.

The fire was banked up, and the victim told to retire to bed.

In the middle of the night, the bottle would explode, to spectacular effect, usually blowing the fireguard and lumps of coal and wood across the parlour, while a great cloud of steam shot up the chimney.

Murrell was said to be a religious man and was believed to be able to recite the bible backwards. Rumours say he often had arguments with the local vicar.

There is no photograph or etching of the Cunning Man, but Hadleigh artist David Hurrell’s drawing of Murrell provides some guidance to his appearance.

In December, 1860 Murrell became ill and he is said to have predicted the date of his own death.

He died on December 16, 1860, and was buried in the churchyard at St James the Less, Hadleigh, in an unmarked grave.