Sunday November 4th 2018
In 2004, I visited a particular spot - on the West Midlands / Staffordshire border - that had been of passing interest to me, for a couple of reasons, for some time. I initially came across the place while searching for local examples of 'deviant burial sites'... i.e. places where, in previous centuries, 'undesirable types' like suicides and murderers were sometimes buried. The lore surrounding such matters is varied and long, so, suffice it to say, such places as crossroads, gibbet sites, or perhaps the area where a particular wrong-doing was perpertrated, were often utilised for these interments.
The location being discussed in this post was a rural crossroads in Codsall Wood - a few miles outside Wolverhampton - formed by the meeting of Husphins Lane and County Lane. It is known locally as 'Deadwomans Grave' and, if that monicker isn't sinister enough for you already, there is a boulder situated at one side of the crossroads that is widely said to be the 'grave marker' itself!?
As often occurs in these matters, however, this is pretty much all that is known of this intriguing subject. Exactly 'who' the 'Deadwoman' is - if she ever existed, of course - is a detail lost to history.... but one local legend suggests that this is actually the grave of a 'witch!? Another story claims it is the last resting place of a 'murder victim'... while yet another says that the woman concerned was some poor, unfortunate, soul who was 'hanged for stealing apples'!? Needless to say, we sincerely hope that this latter was not the case..... and it is more likely that the spot probably serves as a grave for some unfortunate local who simply 'took her own life' and was dispatched according to the rather unfeeling, superstitious laws of the time...... probably?
Also, as often occurs with such places, the spot has also attracted something of a 'haunted' reputation over the years.... though, it has to be said, the details of the matter have always seemed to fall into the category of 'legendary haunting', records mainly consisting of a 'the location is said to be haunted by...' suggestion, rather than anything more substantial?
During my early-January, 2004 visit, however, I happened to cross the path of 2 locals who rode their horse regularly through the crossroads and (it goes without saying) I couldn't resist asking them if they knew anything of the sites more 'spooky' reputation? One told me that she had passed through the locality at all times of the day and night for many, many years and had never seen anything untoward. However, she added, her horse had previously shown unrest at 'approaching the crossroads' along Husphins Lane, for whatever reason, for some time......?
Moving forward in time to more recent months now and I happened to find myself in conversation with a number of people who knew the Codsall Wood area rather well on a social networking site. Having raised the subject of The Deadwomans Grave with them, I was surprised to find that many - mostly long-standing residents of the region concerned, who actually knew the crossroads in question - had never actually heard of the 'grave' association at all!?
The location being discussed in this post was a rural crossroads in Codsall Wood - a few miles outside Wolverhampton - formed by the meeting of Husphins Lane and County Lane. It is known locally as 'Deadwomans Grave' and, if that monicker isn't sinister enough for you already, there is a boulder situated at one side of the crossroads that is widely said to be the 'grave marker' itself!?
As often occurs in these matters, however, this is pretty much all that is known of this intriguing subject. Exactly 'who' the 'Deadwoman' is - if she ever existed, of course - is a detail lost to history.... but one local legend suggests that this is actually the grave of a 'witch!? Another story claims it is the last resting place of a 'murder victim'... while yet another says that the woman concerned was some poor, unfortunate, soul who was 'hanged for stealing apples'!? Needless to say, we sincerely hope that this latter was not the case..... and it is more likely that the spot probably serves as a grave for some unfortunate local who simply 'took her own life' and was dispatched according to the rather unfeeling, superstitious laws of the time...... probably?
Also, as often occurs with such places, the spot has also attracted something of a 'haunted' reputation over the years.... though, it has to be said, the details of the matter have always seemed to fall into the category of 'legendary haunting', records mainly consisting of a 'the location is said to be haunted by...' suggestion, rather than anything more substantial?
During my early-January, 2004 visit, however, I happened to cross the path of 2 locals who rode their horse regularly through the crossroads and (it goes without saying) I couldn't resist asking them if they knew anything of the sites more 'spooky' reputation? One told me that she had passed through the locality at all times of the day and night for many, many years and had never seen anything untoward. However, she added, her horse had previously shown unrest at 'approaching the crossroads' along Husphins Lane, for whatever reason, for some time......?
Moving forward in time to more recent months now and I happened to find myself in conversation with a number of people who knew the Codsall Wood area rather well on a social networking site. Having raised the subject of The Deadwomans Grave with them, I was surprised to find that many - mostly long-standing residents of the region concerned, who actually knew the crossroads in question - had never actually heard of the 'grave' association at all!?
Contrary to what I had been told previously, one woman said that she had ridden a number of horses in the region for many years and could pretty much 'never' get a mount to pass by the location involved! "Never could get a horse near it!" she said. Another informed me that the site had caused many horses to shy and play up over the years.....
One story - of course a 'missed opportunity', given the date - says that the ghost of the graves occupant is said to appear 'sitting on the marker stone' at midnight, on Halloween! Others spoke of seeing 'mists' around the crossroads.... but this was something they had generally put down to early-morning atmospheric conditions in frosty weather, perhaps?
During some renovations to the crossroads a number of years ago, the local council actually removed the stone and are said to have unceremoniously dumped it in a marl-hole known as The Black Pit. Subsequently, there was uproar over the act and it was suggested that 'the ghost of the deadwoman had been released'!?! Whatever - the Council are said to have quickly retrieved the stone and replaced it in its former resting place..... where it has stayed - unmolested - ever since!!
As a parting note on this particular subject, it's interesting to note that a 2nd 'Deadwomans Grave' appears for the general Codsall region..... this latter example appearing on the Oaken Tithe Map, located at the crossroads formed by Heath House Lane and the A41 Holyhead Road at Wrottesley......
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