Why a Booktrail?
Destination: Isle of Wight Departure Time: 1737
A fictional account of a very real murder
On Gallows Hill
What you need to know before your trail
This is the story of one Michal Morey who is born on the Isle of Wight in the late 17th century. He worked as a woodcutter and lived with his wife Beth in a run down cottage on the edge of Pan Wood. However Michal did not seem to like his quiet sedate life for he was known to be an angry,jealous man with a very fowl temper.
He is accused one day of the most awful of crimes and this is the story of what happens next, how his wife copes with what happens and how his neighbours view such a man living in their neighbourhood.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
This is actually based on a little known but real story of a notorious murder which took place at Sullens near Downend on the Isle of Wight in 1737. A woodcutter by the name of Michal Moray was accused of murdering his orphaned grandson, James Dover, who was being looked after by Morey and his wife Beth at the time. Michal and James are supposed to have gone int othe woods ( the area now known as “Burnthouse Woods”) where the boy was murdered. His body was found a few months later.
The cottage where Michal lived was burned down due to his trying to get rid of evidence apparently. The remains of the cottage can still be seen nestled at Downend, on the Island. The gibbet-post from where Michal’s body was hung now forms a prominent roof beam in the Hare and Hounds tavern, with the date 1737 carved on it.
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