| Alice Glaston | |
| Birth Place: | Little Wenlock, Shropshire, England |
| Death Date: | 13 April 1546 (aged 11) |
| Death Place: | Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England |
| Death Cause: | Execution by hanging |
| Conviction: | Unknown |
| Conviction Penalty: | Death |
Alice Glaston (– 13 April 1546) was an 11-year-old English girl from Little Wenlock who was hanged in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England, under the reign of Henry VIII.[1] [2] She is likely the youngest girl ever to be legally executed in England, though 8- or 9-year-old John Dean was hanged for arson in 1629.[3] The crime for which she was hanged is unknown, but it is speculated that she was accused of either murder or witchcraft.[4] She was hanged with two other people.[5] Sir Thomas Butler, vicar of Much Wenlock, records Glaston's burial at his church.[6]
In October 2014, writer Paul Evans released The Spirit Child, a speculative supernatural radio play about the events leading to her execution.[7]
In 2024, writer J Ashley started work on novel Dreams of an Eleven Year Old Witch, a story based on the story of Alice Glaston, and the innocence of her childhood. The book plays mostly on speculation and guess work owing to little available information on the young girls life and subsequent execution.