Hero · Aldreth · Legendary
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William's witch cursed the Isle of Ely, then the reeds caught fire.
Stand where it happened
The causeway line is now a farm track and public byway running south from Aldreth towards the Old West River; nothing marks the legend. Check before you go: route status and parking were not confirmed on a council page.
Approaching Aldreth: William the Conqueror once put a witch on a wooden tower here to curse the Isle of Ely. It did not go to plan.
In 1071 the English rebel Hereward held the Isle of Ely against William the Conqueror. The twelfth-century Liber Eliensis and the Gesta Herewardi say the king tried to reach the island at Aldreth, building a long causeway across the marsh that sank under his armoured men. Hereward is said to have slipped among the king's ferrying fishermen in disguise and set the works on fire. William then hired a witch, set her high on a wooden tower, and had her chant curses at the islanders. Hidden in the reeds, Hereward's men lit the fen; the flames spread, the tower fell, and the witch broke her neck.