The Robbers Grave.

In a corner of St Nicholas’s churchyard in the small village of Montgomery in Mid-Wales can be found a simple grave where previously none had existed. This simple grave site was devoid of grass growing upon it for over 100 years, the following story explains why.

The grave marks the spot of John Davies who moved into the area from Wrexham in 1821 where he had earnt a living as a Plasterer, he started working locally for a Widow known as Mrs Morris and her daughter Jane on their run down farm in the area. Thanks to John Davies’s hard work and dedication he managed to turn the farm around so that it was making a profit once more. This did not sit well with a local man named Thomas Pearce who had hoped to purchase the farm at a knock down price as it had been making a loss.

To make matters worse Jane Morris had fallen for John Davies due in part to his hard work in turning the family’s fortunes around, the problem was that she was engaged to a local man named Robert Parker. This resulted in Parker and Pearce plotting to get rid of John Davies so they could both pursue their seperate agendas.

Parker and Pearce committed a violent robbery and left evidence at the scene of the crime that implicated Davies, this resulted in him being arrested and charged with the crime which carried the death penalty.

It is said that no sooner was the noose placed around Davies’s head that a great storm took place and above the noise of the rolling thunder he was heard to say,”If I am innocent, the grass, for one generation at least will not cover my grave”. As the trapdoor was about to open he cursed the two men who had set him up and called upon them to appear before God to account for their crimes.

Photographs by Gary Tacagni.

John Davies grave (RobbersGrave) where the grass has started to grow once more.

It is said that Parker died soon afterwards in a blasting accident and Pearce died from a wasting disease. As Davies had stated no grass grew on his grave for over 100 years and even to this day the grass is still patchy around his grave site.