The Cantlin Stone - Kerry's 300 year old mystery

He was found dead on the hills between Bettws-Y-Crwyn and Kerry in January 1691.

Some said he had been a pedlar who had been robbed and murdered while others claimed he had died of hypothermia or a heart attack.

In the aftermath a dispute arose between the two parishes as to which had the responsibility, and cost, of burying the deceased.

It would lead to a bitter dispute and one which would alter the parish boundaries forever.

The Cantlin Stone.

Bettws eventually buried the deceased under the condition it claimed the land where the dead man was found as part of their parish.

For centuries the stone was a simple slab which had bore a crude carving of the words 'WC buried here 1691. Died at Betus.'

However over the following centuries the story of the mysterious grave gained a life of its own.

By the end of the 19th century many had believed the man's name was unknown and in fact the surname, Cantrell, had been born of the words 'Can't tell' - pointing to the confusion of the place where he had died and that neither parish had wanted to bury a nameless man.

By that time the grave had become known as the Cantlin Stone.

Certainly the original site of the grave was hard to find high in the hills.

In 1858, the Ludlow M.P. Beriah Botfield erected a limestone cross in a more convenient stop on the hill road between Bishop's Castle and Kerry.

The Botfield Cross.

The cross had pseudo-druidic embellishments of serpents, eggs and seeds though the original stone had also been kept.

This cross fell in 1970, and was left broken in pieces until 2000 when a grant was obtained from South Shropshire District Council to erect a new cross.

The replica cross was carved in Yorkstone by Jonathan Bower Protheroe.

The pieces of the old cross were laid across the unmarked grave at Bettws-y-Crwyn church thought to be the pedlar's grave.

From 1980 to 1990 a free festival was held at the stone, but was moved to Llanbister in 1991.

Bettws-Y-Crwyn Church.