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General
Beaconsfield derives its name from the Old English beacnes and feld referring to open land marked by a beacon. That said the name is possibly a corruption of Bekensfield meaning ‘a clearing in the beeches’. At first glance the town appears to be a modern one but this belies its long history. Situated astride the A40 it became an important staging point on the London to Oxford road and was lined with inns catering for the numerous travellers.
The older part of the town consists of seventeenth and eighteenth century houses and a parish church dating back to the fifteenth century. The newer part of the town grew up around the railway line and was at one time separated by open countryside from the old town. To the north of the railway, in Warwick Road, can be found the world’s oldest model village, Bekonscot, which was built around a 1930s theme.
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Chiltern Cinema
The old Chiltern Cinema in Beaconsfield is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former manager, Walter Gay. Walter was manager in the late 1960s and seems to have decided to stay on, even though he is dead. By the early 1980s he had been seen six or seven times, once seated in the theatre and at other times standing on the stage. An usherette saw him, a thin grey haired man, when he was seated in the deserted cinema after the film had finished. Thinking it was someone who had fallen asleep (a not uncommon occurrence) she went to get some help but by the time she returned he had gone.
But Walter’s appearances are not the only things to occur. During the showing of a film one afternoon the curtains were closed but would not open again. As a result the audience had to have their money refunded. The curtains are operated by a button outside the auditorium and no amount of coaxing would get them to open. No fault could be found but by the next day they were operating normally again.
At night all the cinema doors were locked and this was even independently verified, yet by morning, when members of staff arrived at the cinema, they would find the fire doors pushed outwards. Just before a screening of The Exorcist the projectors blew up but no reason could be found.
In the flat above the cinema strange things also occur. One resident, Claire Matthews, found that a shelf in the bathroom had come away from the wall and was lying smashed in the bath, which was some distance away. The toilet would keep flushing by itself and objects would break of their own accord during the night. If the objects didn’t break then they would either be found in a different location or not found at all. Most of these events seemed to occur when Claire had female friends staying at the flat. One previous owner had a dog that refused point blank to enter the flat.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
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Oxford Road
During the 1920’s the sounds of a coach’s wheels were heard night after night heading towards Beaconsfield along the Oxford Road but nothing was ever seen. This is not the only coach to have been heard along that particular road as there are many tales of unseen coaches.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
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