Lesson Y8-U01-L05

The Witchfinder General in Suffolk Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U01-L05, The Witchfinder General in Suffolk: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 7: Year 8: English Civil War, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Between which years did Matthew Hopkins's witch-hunts take place?

    • 1645 to 1647
    • 1620 to 1630
    • 1685 to 1690
    • 1603 to 1610

  2. What grand title did Matthew Hopkins invent for himself?

    • Chief Inquisitor
    • Master of Witches
    • Witchfinder General
    • Royal Witch Hunter

  3. Which group of eastern counties fought for Parliament and was the setting of the hunts?

    • The Scottish Covenant
    • The Northern Army
    • The Royalist Assize
    • The Eastern Association

  4. What method was standard in England for executing convicted witches?

    • Beheading
    • Drowning
    • Hanging
    • Burning at stake

  5. What did Matthew Hopkins's 'swimming' test for witchcraft involve?

    • Lowering into water
    • Tasting holy water
    • Walking on coals
    • Holding hot iron

  6. What was Hopkins's method known as 'watching'?

    • Public whipping
    • Sleep deprivation
    • Pin pricking
    • Water immersion

  7. What was tested during the method of 'pricking'?

    • Heart rate
    • Water flotation
    • Physical strength
    • Insensible spots

  8. Who wrote 'Select Cases of Conscience Touching Witches' in 1646 to attack the hunts?

    • John Lowes
    • Matthew Hopkins
    • John Stearne
    • John Gaule

  9. Which group made up most of those accused of witchcraft?

    • Male landowners
    • Wealthy merchants
    • Poor older women
    • Young soldiers

  10. How was Matthew Hopkins paid for his investigations?

    • Town fee
    • Land grants
    • Church tax
    • Royal salary

  11. Who was Hopkins's partner in the witch-hunts?

    • John Gaule
    • John Stearne
    • John Pym
    • John Hampden

  12. What was the legal status of judicial torture in England?

    • Mandatory
    • Regulated
    • Encouraged
    • Banned

  13. Why are confessions gained through sleep deprivation considered unreliable by historians?

    • Improves memory
    • Creates clear evidence
    • Proves absolute guilt
    • Causes false confessions

  14. Why must historian accounts written by Hopkins himself be treated with caution?

    • They lacked detail
    • They were modern
    • They were anonymous
    • They were biased

  15. What financial motivation did a paid witchfinder have during trials?

    • Collecting church tithes
    • Lowering local taxes
    • Securing royal pensions
    • Earning further fees

  16. Why was the 'swimming' test considered a no-win scenario for suspects?

    • Pardon or reward
    • Exile or fines
    • Trial or release
    • Guilt or drowning

  17. Which institution's breakdown allowed the English witch-hunts to surge?

    • Church courts
    • Trading companies
    • Merchant guilds
    • Parish schools

  18. What religious belief drove many Puritans to support the witch-hunts?

    • Active Devil
    • Divine right
    • Papal supremacy
    • Monastic reform

  19. Why do modern historians describe seventeenth-century witch trials as rigged?

    • Lawyers defended suspects
    • Tests guaranteed failure
    • Kings intervened directly
    • Juries were bribed

  20. What caused the massive spike in witch-hunts between 1645 and 1647?

    • Civil War disruption
    • Royal decree
    • Foreign invasion
    • Severe famine

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