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General
Church End is an isolated hamlet one kilometre north of Kensworth. It sits in a valley and consists of a few houses and farms, and the church of St Mary the Virgin. The church is the only one in the area, so that parishioners from Kensworth had to walk along the narrow Hollick’s Lane or across the fields, into and out of a steep valley, to reach their place of worship.
The area in which the twelfth century church stands was the original centre of Kensworth, until the enclosures of the eighteenth century forced people to build their houses adjacent to Kensworth Common, the only available public grazing area. The remains of a Saxon church have been found on the site, showing that Church End has had religious connections predating the Norman conquest of 1066.
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Church Path
The church of St Mary the Virgin at Church End, Kensworth and a nearby footpath, which runs north from the churchyard up Bury Hill, are haunted by a headless spirit and a witch
The spirit appears to be a milkmaid, complete with yoke from which hang two pails. Her most striking feature is her singular lack of a head! She walks down the path coming from the direction of the woods to the north and enters the churchyard. There are three local legends as to the origin of the ghost. The first has it that she was waylaid and murdered as she walked down the path. The second version of her death claims that she was killed by farm machinery in the early nineteenth century. In the third legend she dies a natural death and then her lover takes her head so that part of her can remain with him forever.
The witch follows the path from the woods to the north of the church, until she reaches the stile into the churchyard but there she stops. Instead of entering the churchyard she angrily shakes her fist at the church. Legend has it that a local witch was forbidden to enter the churchyard and now she spends eternity venting her anger at the church.
These same two figures, along with a black dog, are also seen on the footpath which crosses the fields to Kensworth.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
See also - Bedfordshire - Kensworth -
Footpath Number 4
To view images see:
Kensworth Album
To view reports about Church Path see:
13-10-2006 and 13-04-2007
Church End, St Mary the Virgin
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