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General
The name Fenny Stratford literally means a fenny street ford, a marshy ford on a Roman Road, in this case Watling Street. This was a major route north from London but it was generally in poor condition as most parishes could not afford the maintenance costs.
When the first stagecoaches appeared in 1658 traffic began to flow through Fenny Stratford but its prosperity did not really grow until two acts of Parliament were passed in 1706 ad 1740. These enabled parishes to charge tolls for use of the road which went towards its repair. The improvement to the road increased traffic and Fenny Stratford began to prosper. By the heyday of coach travel in the early 1800s there were forty alehouses and coaching inns in the village.
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The Old Bull
A number of years ago the landlord of the Old Bull in Fenny Stratford would open up the locked cellar to find that the heavy barrels had been moved around. This always happened during the night. Once they tried to catch the culprit by scattering cleaning powder on the floor, in the morning the barrels had been moved but there were no footprints.
We can not find The Old Bull in Fenny Stratford so the map link points to the nearest likely site, The Bull and Butcher.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
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River Ouzel
An old local legend tells of a phantom horse seen in the valley near the river Ouzel. Some people believe that it may be associated with Dick Turpin as he frequented the area.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
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