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General
The area around Penn is extensively wooded and filled with lanes and footpaths. It is said that from the top of the church tower, high on the wooded hills, you can see twelve counties on a clear day. At one time Penn was famous for its tiles.
The name Penn can have one of two meanings, either it is Old English for 'enclosure' or it is Celtic for 'headland' which ties in with the village location on a prominent hill. In the 2001 Census the parish population was 3,779.
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The Crown
The Crown in Penn in said to be haunted by a woman in white. The ghost is believed to be that of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England, as she used to drink there with her lover, David Blakely, who she murdered.
Ruth Ellis murdered David Blakely at 21:30 on 10th April 1955 outside the Magdala, a four-story public house in South Hill Park, Hampstead. She confronted him by his car and took one shot at him with a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson Victory model revolver. This first shot missed and Blakely ran around his car only to be felled by a second shot. He collapsed to the ground whereupon Ruth stood over him and fired three more shots into him, one from only a centimetre away. Ruth then told a witness Clive Gunnell, who Blakely had been out drinking with that night, to call the police and waited for them to arrive. She was charged with murder and at her trial admitted what she had done, the jury taking only fourteen minutes to convict her. She was executed on the morning of Wednesday 13th July 1955. At first, as was the custom, she was buried within the walls of Holloway Prison but later her body was exhumed and buried at St Mary's in Amersham. Her headstone was inscribed ‘Ruth Hornby 1926–1955' but it was destroyed but her son, Andy, just before he committed suicide in 1982. Now her grave is overgrown with yew trees.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
See also - Buckinghamshire - Penn -
Pauls Hill
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Holy Trinity Church
The ghost of a farm worker, who died when he fell from a horse in the eighteenth century, is said to have been seen in the churchyard of Holy Trinity church. Is this the same ghost of an eighteenth century farm hand called Clark was killed when he fell from his horse and since that time he has been seen riding his horse and terrorising all that see him in the area of Penn?
To view a map of the area click on the button below
See also - Buckinghamshire - Penn -
Local Roads
To view a report about Holy Trinity Church see:
07-10-2011
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Local Roads
In the eighteenth century a farm hand called Clark was killed when he fell from his horse. Since that time he has been seen riding his horse and terrorising all that see him in the area of Penn, Forty Green and Hogback Wood (to the south of Forty Green). In 1880 four farmers decided to rid the area of Clarke's ghost so, fortified with strong ale, they set off to find him. Suddenly he appeared through a hedge and galloped off ahead of them. They set off in pursuit, all the time aware that no sound came from his horse's hooves. When they reached Penn church the phantom turned and laughed at them then disappeared in a grey mist. This proved too much, not necessarily for the farmers but certainly for their horses, who bolted in absolute terror. The next day the farmers returned to the scene of the chase and found the hoof prints from only four horses, theirs.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
See also - Buckinghamshire - Forty Green -
Local Roads
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Pauls Hill
In the 1980s a ghost appeared in Penn that some people believe may have been that of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England. The ghost leaves the churchyard by the gate to the east and walks down Pauls Hill heading south.
Ruth Ellis murdered her lover David Blakely at 21:30 on 10th April 1955 outside the Magdala, a four-story public house in South Hill Park, Hampstead. She confronted him by his car and took one shot at him with a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson Victory model revolver. This first shot missed and Blakely ran around his car only to be felled by a second shot. He collapsed to the ground whereupon Ruth stood over him and fired three more shots into him, one from only a centimetre away. Ruth then told a witness Clive Gunnell, who Blakely had been out drinking with that night, to call the police and waited for them to arrive. She was charged with murder and at her trial admitted what she had done, the jury taking only fourteen minutes to convict her. She was executed on the morning of Wednesday 13th July 1955. At first, as was the custom, she was buried within the walls of Holloway Prison but later her body was exhumed and buried at St Mary's in Amersham. Her headstone was inscribed ‘Ruth Hornby 1926–1955' but it was destroyed but her son, Andy, just before he committed suicide in 1982. Now her grave is overgrown with yew trees.
The ghost is thought to be that of Ruth Ellis as she and Blakely used to drink at the Crown which is only a hundred metres from the church. The Crown is also haunted by a white lady. In addition David Blakely is buried in the churchyard. In a final letter she sent to David Blakely's parents she wrote ‘I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him'.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
See also - Buckinghamshire - Penn -
The Crown
To view a report about Pauls Hill see:
07-10-2011
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