An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present - Doreen Valiente 2018

Drake, Sir Francis

Sir Francis Drake is known in all English history books as the man who delivered England from the Spanish Armada. Not so well known is the fact that in his native Devonshire he is reputed to have belonged to the witch cult.

During the Second World War, at the time when England seemed in imminent danger of invasion, a large gathering of witches took place in the New Forest, to work a rite to protect our country. It was recalled then that similar rituals had been carried out in past years against Napoleon, and before that against the Spanish Armada. (The ceremony against Hitler took place at Lammas 1940; and the writer has known personally two people who took part in it.)

Many legends have gathered about Drake and his defeat of the Armada. That of Drake’s Drum is well known; and its ghostly beat is said to have been heard during both the First and the Second World Wars. In the West Country, Drake is told of, in winter evening fireside tales, as a particularly active ghost, who has been known to lead the Wild Hunt on dark nights of wind and storm.

This identification of Drake with the leader of the Wild Hunt is interesting, because the Wild Hunt, is definitely connected with the Old Religion. Other stories say that, because he practised witchcraft in his lifetime, Drake’s soul cannot rest. This is why his ghost drives a black coach and four about the Devonshire lanes on stormy nights.

Another version of the story says that Drake sold his soul to the Devil in return for the defeat of the Spaniards, and this is why his spirit is doomed to wander. Both tales are basically versions of the same thing, that Drake belonged to the Old Religion.

There is a headland at Plymouth, to the west of the docks and overlooking the entrance to Devonport, which is called Devil’s Point. It was here that Drake is said to have foregathered with the witches, in order to raise the storms that harried the Spanish ships and played a large part in the Armada’s defeat. This headland is still believed to be haunted as a result of the witchcraft that took place there in olden times.