KITTY JAY'S GRAVE (DARTMOOR UK)
N 50° 36.299 W 003° 47.563
30U E 443904 N 5606198
A grave of a tragic suicide who could not be buried in consecrated ground so buried at a cross roads high on Dartmoor.
Waymark Code: WM12N5
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/27/2006
Views: 224
In the late 1700's an orphaned baby girl was taken into the nearby Poor House at Newton Abbot. She was named Jay. (This unfortunately was a current slang term for a woman of ill repute or working girl)so a further name of Kitty was added.
When she was older Kitty Jay was sent to work at Canna Farm near Manaton as an "apprentice" which meant she was cheap labour and could be used to work in the house and in the fields. As time went by and she grew into a pretty young woman she received the attentions of the farmer's son and subsequently became pregnant by him. At this time in history if a girl became pregnant the father had to marry or the mother would be outcast.
The farmer's son refused to admit he was the father and Kitty Jay subsequently was forced to leave the farm. Left with no alternative but to commit suicide which she did by hanging herself in one of the barns at Canna.
At this time in history suicides were refused burial in consecrated grounds by the Church and were often buried at cross roads with a stake in the heart to prevent the soul of the deceased from returning and haunting the living.
Kitty Jay was buried at a cross roads of sorts near Hound Tor on Dartmoor.
The grave soon became known as 'Jay's Grave' and it did not take long for strange occurences to start happening . On some moonlit nights a dark figure may be seen kneeling beside the little grave with bowed head and it's face buried in it's hands. Noone has ever been able to say if the ghostly figure is male or female due to it always being dressed in a black cloak. Some say it is the ghost of one of those responsible for driving Kitty from the farm and others say that it is the soul of the faithless farmer's son who as punishment has been sent to stand vigil over the grave of his victim and his unborn child.
Another strange occurence associated with the Kitty Jay's grave is the alleged daily appearance of fresh flowers on the grave, nobody is ever seen leaving them but no matter what time of year there are always flowers, posies or greenery sat on the lonely mound. Tradition says that the flowers are the work of the Fairie folk who out of sympathy tend the grave throughout eternity.
First Name: Kitty Jay
Last Name: Unknown
Born: Not listed
Died: Not listed
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