A Witch story - St Michael and All Angels - Edmondthorpe, Leicestershire - Weird Story Locations on Waymarking.com

"Local superstition surrounds the Smith monument in Edmondthorpe church. Sir Roger Smith, lord of the manor of Edmondthorpe, died in 1655. An alabaster tomb was erected over his grave with effigies of his two wives. One, that of Lady Ann Smith, has a red stain on the wrist. She was considered to be a witch who could turn herself into a cat. During her lifetime, a white cat, who was a considerable thief, was resident in the Hall. One morning the butler caught the cat in the kitchen and attempted to kill it with a cleaver. The cat was wounded in the paw. Dripping blood, it fled out of the window never to be seen again. That day Lady Ann appeared with a bandaged wrist. When the bandages were eventually removed a red scar was clearly visible on her wrist. This red mark appears on her effigy in Edmondthorpe church and is said to 'bleed' under certain circumstances. The stain made by the cat's blood etched into the flagstones on the kitchen floor for centuries and it was impossible to remove it, even with repeated scrubbing. Finally, Lady Yarborough had the offending stones removed in 1920."

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"The church holds the tomb of Sir Roger Smith, which includes decorative alabaster figures. A fault in the alabaster of the Smith monument helped give rise to the Edmondthorpe Witch Legend. The legend tells that Lady Ann Smith was a witch who could turn herself into a cat. While a cat, she was wounded in the paw by her butler, and the injury remained on her hand when she became human again.
During the Second World War the Hall (built by Sir Roger Smith in 1621) was used as a prisoner of war camp for Italian personnel, but was destroyed by fire in 1943. Buildings from the 19th century stable block, which was designed by R. W. Johnson in 1869, remain.An avenue of mature trees leads from South Lodge (formerly West Lodge) to the Hall through the park on the southern edge of the village.

The effigy of Lady Ann Smith, has a red stain on the wrist, due to natural colouring in the stone. She was considered to be a witch who could turn herself into a cat. During her lifetime, a white cat, who was a considerable thief, was resident in the Hall. One morning the butler caught the cat in the kitchen and attempted to kill it with a cleaver. The cat was wounded in the paw. Dripping blood, it fled out of the window never to be seen again. That day Lady Ann appeared with a bandaged wrist. When the bandages were eventually removed a red scar was clearly visible on her wrist. This red mark appears on her effigy in Edmondthorpe church and is said to 'bleed' under certain circumstances.In 2000 a number of interesting discoveries were made when the monument was dismantled and restored. An inscription of “WB 1658” on the rear of the cartouche may refer to William Byrd, a mason-contractor who is known to have made church monuments.
Sir Roger Smith also built Edmonthorpe Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1943, some say it was further work of the witch Anne Smith!

The red mark on her left wrist can be seen. It does seem sad that she attracted the label of Witch because of a red vein in the alabaster of her carved effigy."

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Type: Local Legend or Lore Referenced in (list books, websites and other media): Haunted Britain and Ireland by Richard Jones, ISBN: 1845379322 The Folklore of Leicestershire and Rutland by Roy Palmer ISBN: 0752424688 The Secret Lore of the Cat by Fred Gettings ISBN: 0818405104 Additional Coordinates: Not Listed Website Reference: Not listed

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