THE LURE OF THE LORE: Amy Boucher’s tales of Shropshire Folk

Polly& Mary:

Two Lives Cut Short

As anyone who has read my previous articles may know, my primary interest is in the paranormal folklore of Shropshire. For me, ghost stories are such exciting things, and they serve as conduits for the attitudes and fears of a particular time or place. I think that when looking at such stories, it is as important to ask why apparitions are remembered, as it is to question their validity. More often these stories are crumbs of collective memory, perhaps relating to real people (though it is sometimes difficult to track them down historically, which you will see below) who had their lives cut short by traumatic events or cruelty. Thus, I think this is where the ghost originates, amid the shock and distress surrounding such a profound loss, a powerful, human desire to remember, and to understand rises from the ashes.

When looking at Shropshire’s ghost lore, I am often struck by the harrowing nature of some of the stories, particularly those involving women and young girls. Littered over Shropshire’s blue remembered hills are tales of murder and profound violation, and female apparitions who got left behind. Though these folk tales are difficult to read, they are certainly worthy of discussion. I’ve chosen two of such stories, the ghost of Mary Way- a women murdered whilst walking home, and Polly Mayas- a young girl who was treated appallingly before her murder in 1883. Stories like those told about Mary Way demonstrate the attitudes to women of the period, and also the systematic abuses women had to face. Polly’s story is a heart wrenching example of how children can suffer at the hands of those who purport to love them. Both Polly and Mary had their lives, and their personhood stolen from them, which is representative of many female voices lost in the patriarchal world of the past. Perhaps their ghosts serve as a reminder then, and a collective rally against the indignation and ill treatment they faced. There are a number of female murder victims in Shropshire whose deaths have entered into paranormal discourse, such as Nanny Morgan – who I have covered previously, but the stories of these two girls, especially Mary Way are less known. Therefore, I have had to rely in part on the folklore surrounding them. These stories convey the violence, violation, and appalling treatment they both faced, and the horrifying way their bodies were cast away. These girls were murdered in familiar settings, and in Polly’s case, by someone who should have loved her. Their names, and their stories deserve to be known. I want to retell these tales and discuss their importance to the wider paranormal narrative.

The Tragedy of Mary Way

Our first ghost story takes place in the parish of Muckley Cross, which sits on the road between Bridgenorth and Much Wenlock. It’s a small place and probably looks much the same as it did at the time of our story. Not much happens there, if we are to believe the silence of the surrounding fields and the birdsong, which made it the perfect place for such a heinous crime.

From what we can discern about Mary Way, she was a local girl, and in some versions of the folktales she was in her late teens or early twenties. She knew the area well, and walked the road frequently, on her way to work. Unfortunately, if she truly existed any facts about her personality or features are forgotten in the folklore, but we know that she was walking home from work one evening, when her life was tragically cut short. The story states that though she was comfortable walking these country lanes, she was still at risk. For two men were following her as she walked home, and they violently attacked her. Mary was beaten by the men and sexually assaulted, before they murdered her. It is said that the men cut off poor Mary’s head, before throwing it in a hedge and absconding from the scene of the crime. When Mary didn’t return home, her parents grew worried. Her father, as well as several other local men formed a search party, and went looking for her.

“Unfortunately, they found her body, and severed head on the main road out of the village.”

One cannot imagine how traumatic witnessing such a sight would have been. After she had been found, the search widened,

Right:

A Map of Muckley Cross

to try and find the murderers. It didn’t take long before the two men were found still covered in Mary’s blood.

They were arrested and the next few days were spent trying to gain a confession.

Eventually the men confessed and were sent to trial. The story says that they paid for their crimes and were hung at Shrewsbury Jail. As for Poor Mary Way, in death she gained no respite. For her spirit is said to wander the road between Muckley Cross and Bridgenorth in a confused and restless state. When she is seen, her spirit often manifests without her head, which to me is very sad. It’s sad that even in death she is being denied a personhood. She was once described as a very active spirit, however since new roads have been built, diverting traffic from the area, sightings have dwindled, and she’s faded from popular memory. of such a story, and how a crime like this would have profoundly affected an area like Muckley Cross. To witness such a young woman snatched from life would have been a collectively traumatic experience and would have left a lasting impression on the community. Perhaps that’s why her ghost endured, any strange noises became her whispers or events became a sign she hadn’t truly gone. Hers isn’t a story of anger or revenge- like some other famous Salopian spirits, rather I feel her spirit wants to understand why. Is this not representative of the community who lost her?

As I have previously mentioned, at the time of writing I cannot find much historical verification of the crime, but this doesn’t mean we cannot learn from the folklore. To me, though it cannot be specifically proven that Mary existed, it also cannot be proven she is a complete product of fiction. Perhaps there was a similar crime, a murder or attack of a young woman that later, as years passed became the retelling we know now. As I have said a there are a multitude of examples of murdered women littering Shropshire, throughout history. Perhaps hers is a far older story than we realise.

If we move away from the conversation regarding historical basis, we can turn to discussions as to why her story has endured. I believe this is because she is a symbol of that collective fear of a community, she represents the reason why women quicken the pace and stay vigilant whenever walking at night.

“She has become the woman that didn’t get away, all of our fears personified.”

Mary Way’s story has endured because although who she was has been lost to time, crimes on such a scale have, and continue to happen to women. As generations past, those who told her story would have done so to remember, but also to warn young women of the dangers such a world posed to them. A similar example is within the ‘Bloody Jack’ serial killer narrative at Shrewsbury Castle- a character lost to history. His story continued to warn women not to trust strange men, the soldiers that came and went from the town throughout the Middle Ages.

I want to go to a different part of Shropshire now, to the village of Kynnersley and its nearby Apley pool. Kynnersley is part of Telford and Wrekin today, but it still bares all the trappings of the small rural community that it once was. Its local church has its origins in the 13th century, and the villages oldest house dates in part to the 16th century. In the centre of the village there’s a raised bit of land known as ‘The Whim’. On The Whim an oak tree stands, which served as the hanging tree for the local courthouse in years gone by. These were the parameters of Polly Mayas’ known world, the community she grew up in. This would be where she would meet her end.

We know much more about Polly Mayas, and her death, due to newspaper reports after her murder. Polly lived with her father Thomas, and her stepmother Elizabeth, as well as Elizabeth’s three children in the village of Kynnersley. She was still a child at the time of her death, with her age varying between 10 and 12 depending on reports. One source suggests she was a vulnerable child, perhaps suffering from some sort of learning disability due to the dated language used to describe her. Her father was hardworking, and spent long hours out of the house, leaving Elizabeth to contend with four children.

The story suggests Elizabeth resented this and directed her aggression towards Polly.

“Polly suffered greatly under the watch of Elizabeth. She was starved of food and affection, and beaten frequently, used as a human punching bag for Elizabeth’s vile temper.”

Polly hadn’t known much love in her short life and was ostracised from the other children. It hurts my heart to think of the fear she lived in before her death. It’s not known whether her father knew the true extent of the abuse, due to Elizabeth covering her tracks, or if he didn’t care. However, Elizabeth was to go too far. One day she chastised the girl, hitting her several times, each time harder and without restraint. Polly didn’t stand a chance and died of a fractured skull. Elizabeth then cut up the young girl’s body and tried to burn it, but it didn’t work. Thomas said in his statement at the time that he returned to find Polly dead, and Elizabeth claimed it had been an accident, that Polly had fallen on the fire. She

Photo: St. Chad’s Church, Kinnersley

then prevented Thomas from getting the doctor, claiming they should ‘make away with it’ (Polly) due to her history of abusing the girl. Polly’s remains were discarded in several places, with her severed head being disposed at Apley Wood pool (known as Apsley park at the time) near Wellington. The neighbours (who had raised concerns previously about Polly’s treatment) were told that she’d been sent to Shrewsbury to learn a trade, and nothing was spoken of her for around a month.

On the 9th February 1883 Polly’s head was found. There are two stories regarding this, that which was told in the newspaper at the time, and the paranormal folk tale- which parallels in part, the narrative.

That day, two men were poaching on the banks of Apley pool, when they came across the bag containing her head. According to the ghost story, the men were poaching when they noticed a young girl paddling in the shallows of the water. They called to her, but she continued to play, as if in her own world. She was walking slowly towards the reeds, so they tried to follow her. When they approached her, their dogs began to bark and whine, so they turned to find out what had startled them. When they turned back to the girl, she had gone, but in the reeds near where she was heading was a sack floating on the surface. The men approached it, and looked inside, to find her partially burnt remains. If we are to believe the ghost story, Polly wanted to be found, and she has frequently been sighted in that area up until the time of writing, both in the direct area and the surrounding vicinity of Apley wood.

The newspapers correlate in part with the story, though there is no mention of her ghost. The men – one being Joseph Bates, ‘gas man’ at Apley Castle, were hunting for duck eggs with their dogs when they found her head. The police were informed, and the pool was drained but no remnants of the body was found, though a few days later her legs were found after a widespread search. Locals were called in and she was identified as being Polly Mayas (or Mayers as some newspapers spell it). Police, later on, arrested Mr and Mrs Mayas for the murder.

When details of Polly’s murder hit the newspapers, the local people were understandably outraged. The cottage Polly had lived in was ransacked, and Elizabeth’s belongings burnt. So shocking was the crime that extra police officers had to be drafted in to stop Wellington police station from being overrun. Huge crowds assembled outside the police station shouting and demanding to get to the two people. Extra precautions had to be taken when transporting the pair to avoid them being lynched. The Cheshire Observer stated,

“The feeling aroused against the prisoners since their apprehension is of such a nature that the police are compelled to use extraordinary precautions in conveying them to and from Shrewsbury Gaol for the purpose of examination before the magistrates, the crowd - being most threatening and loud in the desire to wreak summary vengeance on the accused”.

They had been transported from Shrewsbury to Wellington by mail train’

The trial took place in Stafford, and Mr Justice Stephens heard the case on 26th April 1883. Polly’s father was acquitted of murder but sentenced to 18 months hard labour due to being an accessory, and Elizabeth, despite her plea of having mental health problems was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter. She died within six years of her imprisonment.

The murder was reported all over the world, and it is said that “Large crowds have visited the place, and intense excitement prevails”. Even as this excitement dimmed, and the years passed, reported sightings of Polly continued, she never left Apley wood.

“Apparitions of a young girl playing alone, as well as her wandering the area are being reported to this day.”

Strange feelings, noises and high emotions are also reported, and I certainly believe that areas of Apley wood felt melancholy when I used to walk my dog through its well kept grounds. If we are to believe these apparitions are true, I don’t think Polly wants to be forgotten.

I think with this sentiment it’s important to understand why her ghost story has endured. Whether or not Polly haunts the area, the shocking details of this crime would have had a lasting legacy on its inhabitants, and to those directly involved in finding her remains, she would have haunted them for the rest of their lives. Polly’s story is a heart wrenching example of how children can suffer at the hands of those who purport to love them, and who are let down by the world around them. Polly’s ghost conveys the violence and appalling treatment that was the reality for the vulnerable, in a world where their voice didn’t matter. She is remembered due to the sorrow and rage of her community, who were willing to tear down police doors in hope something like this could never happen again. Polly is a reminder not to let something like this happen again, to strive to give a voice to the voiceless. This desire to avenge her, to right those wrongs done unto her, would have been the driving force behind her story entering folklore, and one of the things that made poor Polly a ghost. It was a crime that was talked about, passed on from generation to generation, which when coupled with unexplained phenomena or events, would have created the ghost.

One of the things that struck me most about these two ghost stories is that both girls suffered a complete loss of identity, their bodies cast away- and beheaded, with any semblance of who they were, destroyed. There was no regard for their personhood, they were dehumanised to an extreme point, and now we know so little about who they were before their spirits became a lasting memory in the minds of the local community, little recalled today, and this is so sad. Unfortunately, crimes such as these haven’t gone away, and thus to modern audiences it’s easy to understand how such a legacy continues. And here is where I want to return to my original point. After the shock and distress subsides, that powerful human desire to remember and understand the unthinkable rises from the ashes, and the ghost story commences.

I want to remember these two women. They deserve to be remembered.