It is recorded in the registers of Rushock Church of 1660, that Joan Bibb, at the instigation of the person, The Rev. William Shaw, was ordered to be tried and thrown into a pond as a witch, to prove or disprove a case. Presemable this was done, and luckily she managed to survive, for she sued the parson in the Civil Court and was awarded £10 damages for insult and injuries. The method of testing is interesting. The big toes and thumbs were tied crosswise and the woman thrown into the pool. If she floated it was conclusive proof that she was a witch.
Joan Bibb is buried in Rushock Churchyard, the entry in the Church records records her burial 20 June 1671 wife of Walter (who appears to have remarried in the September)
