One of the most famous ghosts in Buckinghamshire is The Green Man of Fingest. It appears as a man, dressed in sturdy, green clothes, and who walks from the manor to the churchyard along Chequers Lane. According to available written records the ghost is that of a fourteenth century bishop Henry Burghersh.

According to an eighteenth century manuscript containing a history of Fingest the area was administered by St Albans Abbey then granted to the Bishops of Lincoln. Some of the bishops stayed at Fingest whilst visiting the local parishes, one of whom was Henry Burghersh who came there in 1321. Twenty years later he laid out a new park and was granted hunting rights in his Manor of Fingest. He was also given licence to enclose three hundred acres of land; the only problem was that is was common land used by the villagers. As a consequence enormous hardship befell the villagers, sixty families trying to scratch a living out of only one hundred acres. Naturally the villagers cursed the bishop who died in 1343 and shortly afterwards appeared as the now familiar green man.

It is said that he first appeared to a man, who had been one of his squires, dressed as a keeper in a short green coat with a bow and a quiver of arrows and a horn at his side. He said that he had offended God and injured the poor by his actions, and he was doomed to be the keeper of the park until it was opened up again. He begged of his squire to contact the canons and arrange to have the land released. Later a Mr. Batchelor is said to have had the banks and pales removed and the ditches filled so that the ghost was laid. Problem is that the ghost still seems to be around.

It is possible that the exorcism aspect of the story was an invention of the church, a tale to show that true repentance is essential for forgiveness. The suggestion that the ghost was not laid is reinforced by an article in the ‘Reading Mercury’ of 1898 that mentions Bishop Burghersh’s ghost which was said to appear in the churchyard in keeper’s dress begging once more for the land to be restored to the villagers. He has also been seen more recently though his garb varies from that of a keeper.

So is the ghost the bishop or has the Church followed its common practise of converting a pagan god into something more earthly, in this case a repentant bishop? Tales of the green man abound throughout the country, a supernatural figure, like the Celtic horned god Cernunnos, the Lord of the Forest, or Jack-in-the-Green. So is he god or ghost?

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See also - Buckinghamshire - Fingest - St Bartholomew

To view a report about Chequers Lane see: 22-07-2005

Fingest Manor

Fingest Manor is a relatively new building which is located on the site of an old abbey. It is said that there were tunnels which went from the abbey to the church dedicated to St Bartholomew. It is in this area that ghostly ladies have been seen wandering around but no further details are currently available.

Originally the manor was called Tingehurst which was once the name of the village. The grid reference is for Fingest Manor Farm.

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See also - Buckinghamshire - Fingest - St Bartholomew

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Skirmett Road

Buckinghamshire, like every county in England and numerous places all over the world, has its tales of black dogs. Fingest has its own when the phantom of a huge black dog was seen lurking beneath a tree on the road from Fingest to Skirmett terrifying passers-by.

For a detailed account of these dogs see our article on Black Shuck.

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St Bartholomew

The churchyard of St Bartholomew’s is said to be haunted by The Green Man, the ghost of Bishop Burghersh who appears in the churchyard in keeper’s dress begging for the land he stole to be restored to the villagers. Details of the origins of the haunting are given in the Chequers Lane article.

To view a map of the area click on the button below



See also - Buckinghamshire - Fingest - Chequers Lane

To view a report about St Bartholomew's see: 22-07-2005