Hi! Hope you’ve had a good week!

No Sunday Post today because I didn’t read a single word on holiday but I wanted to show you something I saw that fascinated and enraged me! It’s not bookish so feel free to skip if you aren’t interested!

We came across this grave on the Dartmoor moors in the middle of nowhere on a crossroads and our local guide told us the story which was along the lines of:

In the late 18th century, Kitty Jay was a servant in a farmhouse and the owners son got her pregnant. This was scandalous in those days as they weren’t married.

The farmer threw her out, the church abandoned her and the son denied everything (that’s what made me mad!) With no options, she hung herself in an outbuilding.

In those days victims of suicide weren’t allowed to be buried on consecrated ground because the locals believed the spirit would make its way back to familiar territory and haunt them so they were buried under crossroads without the rites of Christian burial. 

Years later her body (and that of her unborn child) were dug up and set in a fresh grave on the crossroads surrounded by stones. To this day, no matter what time of the year, there are always fresh flowers on her grave. No one knows who puts them there but legend says it is the Dartmoor pixies!

There are all sorts of ghost stories and pagan ritual type things surrounding the grave but I just think it’s an utterly sad story. I do like that the town and people in it were forgotten but Kitty’s story lives on!

Here are some more pictures of the moors (the sheep free roam – also cows and horses do this too!)