William Henry Paynter
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William Henry Paynter (1901-1976) was a Cornish
antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
and
folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
who specialised in collecting
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
-stories and
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
during the 1920s and 1930s - crucial years when witch beliefs were in decline in Cornwall. His folklore collecting preserved many stories of Cornish
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
and
cunning folk Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Their services a ...
that would otherwise have been lost. Paynter was born in
Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...
and later lived at
Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...
. He travelled all over
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
on what he called his ‘Witch Hunt’ and was popularly called ‘The Cornish Witch-finder’ for the novelty of his research. He was made a
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
of the
Cornish Gorseth Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morg ...
in 1930 in recognition of his work, and took the
bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...
‘Whyler Pystry’, or ‘Searcher Out of Witchcraft.’ Paynter was a prolific Cornish writer and published a large number of articles on his findings, which are a vital record of the survival of witch beliefs and practices into the early decades of the twentieth century. He also wrote a book on witchcraft in Cornwall, which Paynter was unable to find a publisher for in his lifetime. As well as witches, Paynter also researched the wider folk beliefs and practices of the Cornish and produced articles on
ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
,
charms Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Cha ...
,
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
s, the folklore of
birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
and wildlife. As Paynter wrote before the Second World War, after which so many of the old beliefs in the supernatural collapsed, Paynter's writings may be said to comprise the last significant collection of Cornish folklore. Paynter also researched the antiquities and history of East Cornwall, upon which he wrote, and his historical writings are of similar interest. Due to his work Paynter was familiar figure on Westcountry television and radio. Paynter was also a founder member of the Callington
Old Cornwall Society The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies (FOCS) was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its ol ...
, in 1928, and did much to stimulate interest in Cornwall's past in that part of the
Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...
. In 1959 Paynter set up The Cornish Museum at East Looe, where he exhibited the collection of Cornish artefacts he spent his life collecting. He included displays on
charms Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Cha ...
, early lighting devices, a section on early
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
, another on
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
, relics of Cornish
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
, a
china clay Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...
exhibit, a section of an old Cornish kitchen, and many others illustrating how people lived in past generations. Presumed lost in the years since William Henry Paynter's death 40 years ago, Paynter's manuscript work on Cornish Witchcraft and folk magic was recovered in 2009 and became available for study for the first time. The manuscript was published in book form in 2016.


Sources

* Paynter, William H. & Semmens, Jason (2008) ''The Cornish Witch-finder - William Henry Paynter and the Witchery, Ghosts, Charms and Folklore of Cornwall''. St. Agnes:
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies (FOCS) was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old ...
* Paynter, William H. (2016) ″Cornish Witchcraft - The Confessions of a Cornish Witch-finder″. Liskeard: Privately Printed. * Semmens, Jason. ''"Whyler Pystry": A Breviate of the Life and Folklore-Collecting Practices of William Henry Paynter (1901–1976) of Callington, Cornwall'' in ''Folklore'' 116, No. 1 (2005), pp. 75–94. * Semmens, Jason. "Tales of Cornish Witches." ''Old Cornwall'' 13, No. 7 (2006), pp. 22–27. * Semmens, Jason. "Further Tales of Cornish Witches.” ''Old Cornwall'' 14, No. 4 (2011) pp. 53–66.


External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071130043920/http://www.cornishwitchcraft.com/ * http://www.oldcornwall.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Paynter, William Henry 1901 births 1976 deaths Writers from Cornwall People from Callington, Cornwall People from Liskeard Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Historians of witchcraft Historians of Cornwall 20th-century English historians