A murder stone at St Catwgs, Cadoxton, Wales.
Often these were crimes that shocked the community.
Other murder stones are more verbal.
The murder stone of Miss Margaret Williams.
The community was outraged at the verdict but there was little they could do.
A year after the death, a murder stone was erected over her grave.
The epitaph was composed by a local Quaker and well-known orator.
The murder stone in Cadoxton is the only one in Wales.
Likewise, the murder stone in Ardwell is the only one in Scotland.
But there are plenty of them in England.
Rotherham had sold Bessie’s shoes and was on his way to Loughborough when he was arrested.
He confessed to the crime and even showed the constable the hedge stake he had used to kill Bessie.
The Murder Stone of Elizabeth Sheppard.
The story behind Mary Ashford’s death and trial has significance in Britains legal history as well.
At the dance, she met Abraham Thornton and the two were seen having spent time together.
Two hours later, she was found drowned in a water-filled pit on the fields.
Examination showed that Mary was raped.
But the story doesnt end there.
Mary Ashford and Abraham Thornton.
Mary’s brother William Ashford brought an appeal for murder against Thornton.
Thornton was rearrested and brought to trial a second time.
It was then Thornton played his trump card.
Thornton claimed the right to trial by combat, an archaic law that had never been repealed by Parliament.
Under this law, the two parties met and dueled until death.
Ashford, who was frail and smaller than Thornton, declined the battle and Thornton was acquitted.
The murder of Mary Ashford was also an opportunity for moralists to warn young women against certain behavior.
Her stone is a chilling example of the sorry culture of victim blaming.
The killer was apprehended, and he became the last man to be hanged at York.
It readsDO NO MURDER.
Unfortunately, the stone was destroyed in January 2018 when a car crashed into it.
Penrice Murder Stone, Penrice Churchyard.
Photo:Explore-Gower/Flickr
The murder stone of William Wood, of Eyam, Derbyshire.
William was murdered by three men who robbed him of 100 in 1823.
