Burnham Green

Contents -- Click to go to item

General
Harmer Green Lane
Whitehorse Lane 1
Whitehorse Lane 2

A brief note about the area
The ghost of a headless horse
The ghost of another headless horse
A phantom horse and rider
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General

Burnham Green has the look and feel of a traditional English village complete with a village green. On the green sits the White Horse public house with a history dating back over three hundred years and which sports an inn sign depicting a headless horse, a local legend.

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Harmer Green Lane

The road to Harmer Green from Burnham Green is said to be haunted by the ghost of a headless horse. Whitehorse Lane which is at the end of Harmer Green Lane is similarly haunted so it is possible that they are the same ghost or there has in the past been a confusion of tales or locations.

Many of the roads in this area are sunk deep into the landscape due to erosion over the centuries. These roads are believed to date from as long ago as the Bronze Age. It is on one of these roads that the headless horse is seen and it is said that the haunting relates to a battle which took place there between the Saxons and the Viking invaders in the year 1002.

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



See also - Hertfordshire - Burnham Green - Whitehorse Lane

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Whitehorse Lane 1

During the English Civil War a farmer, by the name of Pennyfather, lived at Welch’s Farm and was a staunch Royalist. It is said that the Roundheads attacked his farm and decapitated the farmer placing his head on a spike in the stable yard as a warning to all. It is also said that the spike still existed in 1981. Pennyfather’s favourite white horse would not be lead away quietly and was also decapitated. Now a spectral horse, which is believed to be Pennyfather’s, haunts Whitehorse Lane. It has been seen on several occasions and was described by one witness from Tewin Orchard as ‘pure white’ and standing fifteen hands high. This witness believes that she saw the horse early one evening in the 1960s. At first she thought it was a living horse grazing in the orchard behind her cottage but it later disappeared when there was no where for it to have gone.

Many locals have seen the headless horse and people say that you can not make any animal walk along the lane at night. At the top of the lane is the White Horse public house which opened in 1806 and is named after the legend.

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



See also - Hertfordshire - Burnham Green - Harmer Green Lane

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Whitehorse Lane 2

In 1990 Graham Young was driving along Whitehorse Lane and was nearing the Whitehorse public house when he noticed a horse and rider galloping up behind him. He pulled over to let the pair pass and it was just after they had gone by that he realised that it was a bit strange for a rider to be out as it was 23:45 and the road is a very dark and narrow one. When he looked up he found that the horse and rider had vanished. Other people have also seen the horse and rider on the same road.

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