Murder Stones.
Nether Cassock, Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

The Pedlar's Stone

CenotaphMurder-Stone
Photo of The Pedlar's Stone
Peter Robinson / "The Pedlar's Stone, Stell Bush Edge" / CC BY-SA 2.0
Inscription
No inscribed text recorded in the source found - a memorial stone known locally as The Pedlar's Stone, at Stell Bush Edge.
Context & sources

THIN SOURCING - would benefit from someone visiting or checking Dumfries Museum's records directly. This stone marks the spot where a young pedlar was murdered on 14 November 1820. The clogs reportedly used to kill him are said to normally be on display at Dumfries Museum. Beyond the photographer's own caption on Geograph (itself citing an unspecified contemporary press account, not independently located here), only a secondhand postcard listing was found repeating the same wording - no victim's name, perpetrator, or trial outcome has been traced. Worth contacting Dumfries Museum directly, both for the clogs' accession record and for any associated case file.

References Further research needed

Behind a paywall

  • An archived newspaper account referenced (but not linked in a working form) on the Geograph photo page itself - the page notes 'read what the popular press had to say' with a link and an archived-link backup, neither of which resolved to readable text here.

Needs an in-person visit

  • Dumfries Museum - reportedly holds the clogs used in the killing; their accession records would likely give the victim's and perpetrator's names and the outcome of any trial.
Field notes
Town
Nether Cassock, Eskdalemuir
County
Dumfries and Galloway
Country
Scotland
Coordinates
55.3498, -3.2395
Year
1820
Condition
Legible
Contribute

Know something we don't?

Submit a correction, an extra detail, or a photo for this record. Reviewed by hand before it's applied.

Reviewed by hand before publishing — no automated posting.