Behind the North-South Grave: The Evolution of the Molly Leigh Legend
- May 18
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Witch of Burslem: The Mystery in the Graveyard
In 1748, Margaret Leigh, an old hag popularly known and feared by many around Stoke-On-Trent, passed away at the age of 63 and was buried in an unorthodox method. Instead of remaining in the conventional east to west direction she was re-buried facing north to south. A stone slab to this day sits on her grave, its right angular appearance standing out from the other gravestones and grabbing the attention of people passing by. For many, a burial would have been the final chapter of the book but for Margaret Leigh it was just the prologue to a very sinister tale that still remains legendary amongst the residents of the potteries.
A Brutal Childhood on the Moorlands
Separating historical fact from hearsay is a challenge, but records suggest she was born in 1685 at Jackfield, an isolated estate nestled on the desolate moorlands just outside Burslem. Local myth claims she was born with teeth and managed to eat a hard crust of bread within hours of her birth, later choosing to suckle milk from livestock rather than her own mother. The truth is that Molly lost her parents at a young age. If she did drink directly from nearby animals, it was not a sign of the occult; it was a natural instinct for survival.
Superstition in the Pre-Industrial Potteries
To understand why the townsfolk hated her, one must understand 18th-century Burslem. Long before it became a bustling industrial hub revolutionised by potters like Josiah Wedgwood, it was a deeply isolated, insular farming village. Cut off from major trade routes, its muddy lanes were dark, and its people were intensely superstitious, with a worldview unchanged since the Middle Ages. Life was brutal. Dental hygiene was non-existent, and diseases like smallpox frequently left survivors disfigured. Lacking an education and carrying the physical scars of a harsh childhood, Molly became an easy target for local gossip.
The Blackbird and the Drunken Parson
Inheriting her family's land and livestock, Molly carved out a living hawking milk on the streets of the village. She was regularly accompanied by a pet blackbird that perched on her shoulder. A sight that deeply unsettled the paranoid community. Petty grievances quickly spiralled. Neighbours accused her of watering down the milk, but her fiercest critic was the local parson, Reverend Thomas Spencer. Molly rarely attended church. This sparked a bitter feud with the parson, who frequently drank at The Turk's Head pub.
It was within the smoky rooms of The Turk's Head (which later became the famously haunted, fire-damaged Leopard Inn) that Spencer launched his smear campaign. When a blackbird perched outside the tavern. The superstitious drinkers claimed the beer turned sour and that those inside developed sudden rheumatism. Spencer fired a gun at the bird but missed. When he fell bedridden with severe stomach pains shortly after, he claimed Molly had sent the bird as a demonic familiar to spy on him.
With the parson leading the charge, the town turned completely on Molly. Every stroke of bad luck. Ruined crop. Sick calves in Burslem. She was blamed on her doorstep. Though she never stood trial under the law, she was completely ostracized. With no one willing to buy her milk, she spent her final years entirely alone at her Jackfield cottage, passing away at the age of 63.
Yet, death did not ease the town’s panic. Terror gripped the streets as residents claimed to see Molly’s phantom. This spirit was accompanied by her mischievous blackbird, gliding through the village. Driven by fear, or perhaps looking for valuables to loot, Reverend Spencer peered through the window of her empty cottage one evening. To his horror, he saw the unmistakable spirit of Molly Leigh sitting peacefully in her armchair. She was knitting by a blazing fire. Some rumours state that her feet were in the fire.
The Midnight Exorcism & Molly Leigh Grave
Terrified, Spencer rallied a group of priests from nearby towns. Together, they launched a midnight exorcism. They captured her blackbird in a sack and desecrated her grave. According to legend, they drove a wooden stake through her heart before burying the bird alive alongside her. To ensure she could never trouble the town again, her body was turned to face north-to-south. This was a deliberate disruption of traditional Christian burial practices intended to prevent her from seeing Christ on Judgement Day.
For centuries, visitors stared at the massive, expensive stone table-tomb and wondered: how could a penniless orphan afford such a grand monument? Was it paid for by Parson Spencer to act as a heavy physical weight to pin her spirit down?
The Shocking Discovery in the Archives: Stoke-On-Trent History
The truth, as it turns out, completely shatters the myth of the old witch.
In recent years, local historians uncovered Molly Leigh’s actual last will and testament, signed just days before her death in April 1748. The document revealed that far from being a penniless beggar, Molly was an incredibly wealthy, independent landowner. She owned multiple properties and vast acres of land. This spanned across Burslem and Newbold Astbury. She bought the massive stone tomb herself.
Furthermore, her will paints the picture of a pioneering woman who used her fortune to protect other women. In an era where women had almost no financial rights, Molly left her estate to her mother, specifically writing that her stepfather could not touch a penny. She also left a yearly income to her female cousin, explicitly blocking the cousin's husband from controlling the money. Most ironic of all, the townsfolk who ostracised her actually benefited from her death; she left a massive charitable trust to buy food and clothing for the poor of Burslem.
The Real Reason Behind the Smear Campaign
This archival discovery completely flips the narrative on Parson Spencer. Molly was actually a deeply religious woman, but she fiercely refused to pay her church tithes because she despised Spencer's public drunkenness and aggressive demands for money. The parson's witchcraft accusations were not a holy crusade; they were a malicious, vengeful smear campaign against an independent, wealthy woman who dared to say "no" to him.
Even after her vengeful north-to-south reburial, local folklore claims her spirit refused to be silenced, reportedly haunting the area while defiantly chanting: "Weight and measure held I ever, milk and water sold I never!"
A Legacy That Refuses to Die
We may never know the true events of Molly Leigh’s life and death but her grave remains in St John’s Cemetery where it is visited by teenagers each Halloween. They chant the rhyme ‘Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh, you can’t catch me,’ a ritual which apparently reveals her ghost. Whether she does or doesn’t reveal herself, her legend undoubtedly lives on.
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