Crossroads were regularly used to bury criminals and suicides. It was un-consecrated ground and very often at the boundaries of a parish. It was thought that if the spirit rose from its grave, the crossroad would confuse it. Across the country, many crossroads bare the name of a suicide or criminal: in Gloucestershire, these include Tom Long’s Post, Chapman’s Cross, Shipton’s Grave, Betty’s Grave & Maud’s Elm (see Roy Palmer’s Folklore of Gloucestershire, 2001, Tempus).
Betty’s Grave Crossroads, Poulton
Betty’s Grave, Poulton
Tom Long’s Post, Minchinhampton
Chapman’s Cross
Chapman’s Cross takes its name from a suicide (Palmer, 2001: 116)
Maud’s Elm, Cheltenham
For the story of Maud’s Elm, see The folktale of Maud’s Elm