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General
Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles take the last part of their names from the dedication of their parish churches. The first part of the name derives from Ceadeles funtan which means ‘Caedel's spring' as recorded in 949 CE. In the Domesday Book the name was recorded as Celfunde. In the 2001 Census the parish population was 12,937.
There is evidence of a very long occupation of the surrounding area as Palaeolithic flint stone implements have been found along the valley of the River Misbourne. There have also been finds of second and third century Roman coins. The first recorded evidence dates from the seventh century when a mission led by St Birinus, converted a local Saxon landowner to Christianity and thus the whole community.
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The Greyhound
In the days of coach travel the Greyhound was a very important staging inn. So much so that, even today, a coach still stops there. Only thing is that this coach is a spectral one. It first appears on the Amersham Road then travels along the High Street to stop outside the Greyhound Inn. The driver looks towards the inn then the whole apparition vanishes. The coach appears to date from the early part of the eighteenth century. It appears as if the coach is equipped for the winter as the coachman wears thick clothes as do the passengers perched on top of the coach.
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Local Roads
A headless horseman has been seen riding through the streets of Chalfont St Peter. At present this is all the information we have.
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The White Hart
In the 1920s the White Hart in Chalfont St Peter was run by Donald Ross. Always ready with a joke and an anecdote, Donald was famous far and wide. But Donald's skills did not end there, as he was an accomplished musician. He was able to perform virtually any tune that a customer would name and at the very least he could follow their humming of a tune on his violin.
When Donald died he was missed by people for miles around but he never entirely left the White Hart. A few weeks after his death the faint sounds of his violin could be heard drifting through the inn. Even today his music can occasionally be heard when the inn is quiet. Donald, who was born in Scotland, always wore a Norfolk jacket, knee high breeches and hand knitted stockings which were turned back at the knee.
In the 1980s the inn was occupied by Mike and Christine Newson and their daughter Kerin. When they first moved in a number of mishaps made them seriously doubt their decision to move there. These included their car bursting into flames while it was parked outside and several water pipes bursting and flooding the cellar. The previous occupants had always felt a presence there and sometimes the furniture would have been found to have been moved.
Then their three year old daughter started waking the household up at 04:00 by talking to someone she called John. This was followed by the sounds of footsteps on the stairs. One night Mike was woken by the feeling of something brushing past his face. When he opened his eyes he saw three figures standing over him, two quickly vanished then the third, a large portly man, faded away, it was 04:00. In addition the burglar alarm went off twice, at 04:00.
Eventually it all became too much for Christine, so when she next heard her daughter talking to John she rushed into the room and shouted “Leave us alone!” he has not returned since.
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