The Cadoxton Murder Stone (Margaret Williams)
1823 · St Catwg's Churchyard, Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Description
In July 1822, 26-year-old Margaret Williams, a pregnant domestic servant, was found dead in a ditch on the marsh below the churchyard with marks of violence upon her. The prime suspect was the son of the farmer she had worked for—and the alleged father of her unborn child—but due to a lack of evidence, he was released and is said to have fled to America. This stone was erected a year later in 1823, paid for by prominent local businessman George Tennant. Unusually, this stone was designed specifically to put the "Fear of God" into the unknown killer, with a chilling inscription warning that although they had escaped human justice, God's "terrible but righteous judgement" would assuredly pursue them for eternity.