St Magnus Cathedral - Witchcraft Trials and Dungeons.

Witchcraft Trials - People accused of witchcraft in Orkney from 1594-1708 were usually incarcerated in St Magnus Cathedral with trials also held in the church. One of the first people tried and executed for the crime of witchcraft in Orkney was Allison Balfour in 1594. Balfour was accused of having been hired by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney, to poison his brother.
While Patrick Stewart was acquitted in this instance, Balfour was executed.
The dungeon located between the choir and the south transept, also known as Marwick's Hole, was used as a prison until as late as the 18th century and those accused of witchcraft would have been held here before their trial and execution. The opening to the cell that is visible was originally a window. It is called a bottle dungeon because of the way the floor arches upward, like the inside of a champagne bottle.
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