Sir Roger Smith monument - St Michael and All Angels - Edmondthorpe, Leicestershire - Stone Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

An alabaster monument to Sir Roger Smith, who died in 1655 and was responsible for building the nearby Hall. Sir Roger is tiered with effigies of his two wives, one of whom was Lady Ann Smith.

"The church holds the tomb of Sir Roger Smith, which includes decorative alabaster figures. A fault in the alabaster of the Smith monument helped give rise to the Edmondthorpe Witch Legend. The legend tells that Lady Ann Smith was a witch who could turn herself into a cat. While a cat, she was wounded in the paw by her butler, and the injury remained on her hand when she became human again.
During the Second World War the Hall (built by Sir Roger Smith in 1621) was used as a prisoner of war camp for Italian personnel, but was destroyed by fire in 1943. Buildings from the 19th century stable block, which was designed by R. W. Johnson in 1869, remain.An avenue of mature trees leads from South Lodge (formerly West Lodge) to the Hall through the park on the southern edge of the village.

The effigy of Lady Ann Smith, has a red stain on the wrist, due to natural colouring in the stone. She was considered to be a witch who could turn herself into a cat. During her lifetime, a white cat, who was a considerable thief, was resident in the Hall. One morning the butler caught the cat in the kitchen and attempted to kill it with a cleaver. The cat was wounded in the paw. Dripping blood, it fled out of the window never to be seen again. That day Lady Ann appeared with a bandaged wrist. When the bandages were eventually removed a red scar was clearly visible on her wrist. This red mark appears on her effigy in Edmondthorpe church and is said to 'bleed' under certain circumstances.In 2000 a number of interesting discoveries were made when the monument was dismantled and restored. An inscription of “WB 1658” on the rear of the cartouche may refer to William Byrd, a mason-contractor who is known to have made church monuments.
Sir Roger Smith also built Edmonthorpe Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1943, some say it was further work of the witch Anne Smith!"

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Approximate Age of Artefact: 1655 Relevant Website: Not listed

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