Keeping a promise… a visit to Penn

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Sue Vincent

When my son suggested we take the car out for a run, he left it to me to decide where we would go. Choosing a route that would put the ‘new’ car through its paces, and assuring myself that he wouldn’t mind me visiting the odd place or two… just quickly, with the camera… I decided it was about time I kept a promise to Noelle Granger and wander out to Penn and Jordans so I could share them with her, at least online. Sadly, we could not visit the Mayflower Barn, allegedly made from timbers from the famous ship of that name.

Mayflower Barn

© Copyright David Squire ( CCL ) at Geograph

The barn, once open to the public, is now in private hands.  We could not park anywhere near the burial ground of the Friends Meeting House, where William Penn is interred either. Penn was the founder of the North American Colony of Pennsylvania in 1681 under the royal charter granted by King Charles II. After failing at Jordans, the very least I could do was visit the church in the village of Penn and see what it might offer. Although Penn was a Quaker, every old parish church holds traces of local history.

William Penn's gravestone

William Penn’s gravestone at Jordans © Copyright Mark Percy (CCL) at Geograph

A family named Penn lived at Segraves Manor, the ‘big house’ in the village of Penn, and William’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn after whom William named the colony, believed himself to be a descendant of this family…wrongly, as it turns out. It would have been a useful relationship, as there were royal connections going back to the previous century, when Sybil Penn was nurse to the young Edward VI and his sister, who would become Queen Elizabeth I. The main royal connection in William’s day, though, was that King Charles owed his father money and the lands granted to William in America were in payment of this debt.

As I wandered up to Holy Trinity church, I wondered what, if anything, I might find. My visit was to be in the nature of a ‘raid’… a rapid descent with a camera to document as much as possible in as little time as possible. It is a technique we have perforce perfected when we find ourselves arriving at a church a few minutes before the bride or the coffin. It is not the best way to experience a church, or any sacred place for that matter, but it is often a good place to start. No research, no expectations… and if I thought this was going to be a ten minute raid, I was very much mistaken….

The first job is always to walk around the church exterior, have a look at the gravestones and architecture… get a feel for how the place has evolved over the centuries. This one seemed to have a rather suspicious-looking stone beneath the base of its tower. It would not be the only one in the area to have used prehistoric stones in its foundations… the church at nearby Chesham has a stone circle as its footings.

Curiously, Penn church is one of three within a stone’s throw of each other that is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The churches at Penn Street and Seer Green also bear that name and will undoubtedly have to be visited at some point.

This church, however, was first built in the late twelfth century, and the first priest recorded in the area was ‘Hugh, Clerk of Penn’ in 1183. Two hundred years ago, when vaults were dug beneath the nave to receive the bodies of the Curzon and Howe families and those of the grandsons of William Penn, the vicar is said to have seen the date 1177 carved into a foundation stone.

The nave is the oldest part of the building, with the tower being added in the fourteenth century. You can see the changing styles easily in the doors and windows that were added in later years, from the curved doorway dated 1756 to the fifteenth century doorway of the porch with its heavy, ancient timbers.

The oldest grave in the churchyard is that of the William Penn who was lord of the manor in the village, and who died in 1693. Old gravestones sit mellow amongst the daffodils, while newer ones shelter beneath the yews or in the converted garden beyond the wall.

The burial ground is the last resting place of a number of well-known people. Alison Uttley, who wrote the tales of “Little Grey Rabbit”, is buried here, as is Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson who, with Dr Flora Murray set up a hospital on the Champs Elysees, the first hospital for male patients to be staffed and run by women. A darker fame touches two other ‘residents’ of the churchyard; the ashes of Donald Maclean, the Russian spy who defected in 1951, were scattered here on his parents’ grave,  and David Blakeley, murdered by Ruth Ellis in 1955. Ellis was to be the last woman hanged in England. Apparently Penn has another resident too… a ghostly farm worker who rides through the village laughing…

Without even getting through the door of the church, Penn was proving interesting, from its origins to its more modern history. In recent years, the village has been home to Midsomer Murders and the set of Nanny McPhee, as well as being the home of authors and stars of stage and screen. It is also still the home of the descendants of Sybil Penn who was the Tudor royal nurse, and the churchyard contains many relics offered by Earl Howe and the Curzon family. I was to learn more of them once I made it through the doors…

The doors themselves, though, were worth a look. Once beyond the old timber, there are modern, etched glass doors showing the founders of the Penn dynasty.

After the exterior, it was a bit of a blow to find modern doors. Their design might be superb, resembling the funerary brasses that mark so many passings. The dedication above the door to William Penn might well express sentiments I could not argue against.

But if the eight hundred year old church had been modernised, I wondered what horrors might have been perpetrated within in the name of progress.

And yet, in spite of the modern woodwork, the Roll of Honour still hangs beside the doors, commemorating the villagers who lost their lives in the WWI.

And, with a touch of real, simple beauty, the window embrasure of the porch holds a gift ‘for wayfarers’. Maybe it would not have been too badly modernised. Maybe there would be something worth seeing inside the church after all. What I found was far more than I bargained for. No, this would not be a ten minute raid…

About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent was a Yorkshire born writer, esoteric teacher and a Director of The Silent Eye. She was immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintained a popular blog and is co-author of The Mystical Hexagram with Dr G.M.Vasey. Sue lived in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She had a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. Sue  passed into spirit at the end of March 2021.
This entry was posted in Ancient sites, Art, Churches, England, History, Photography and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

62 Responses to Keeping a promise… a visit to Penn

  1. Alli Templeton says:
    March 9, 2019 at 07:57

    That’s another church to visit then, Sue. I love the history and the people linked to these ancient buildings, and this one is another great example. The early history is fascinating, and I’ve learned a lot from reading your post, despite the fact that I know the area because many years ago I lived in Wendover and worked in Amersham. We even had a meeting at Jordans once, so I have been there and it’s a lovely place. I remember at work having conversations about Ruth Ellis – wasn’t she linked with Amersham? I hadn’t realised David Blakely’s final resting place was Penn. And it’s always great to hear a ghost story. So it seems your journey was more than worthwhile in the end, and you got some lovely photos. Thanks for sharing, Sue.

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  2. Ennle Madresan says:
    March 9, 2019 at 08:42

    You get the best photos, Sue. I’m wondering if you often get a palpable “sense” of the spirit of some of these very old places.

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  3. robertawrites235681907 says:
    March 9, 2019 at 09:24

    What a great place to visit, Sue. I am jealous but I need to stay focused … we are going to Scotland this year.

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  4. jenanita01 says:
    March 9, 2019 at 09:29

    A lovely visit, Sue… and I presume the car ran perfectly?

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  5. joylennick says:
    March 9, 2019 at 11:39

    All most interesting, Sue. Thank you.

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  6. Chatter Master says:
    March 9, 2019 at 12:46

    What a great exploration. Thank you for taking us. I could live a life exploring.

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  7. Mary Smith says:
    March 9, 2019 at 13:21

    Another fascinating church, Sue. I assume Nick realised you couldn’t ‘do’ a church in ten minutes and had something to read/listen to while he waited? 🙂

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  8. H.R.R. Gorman says:
    March 9, 2019 at 13:28

    I hadn’t realized that William Penn returned to England before he died! Interesting article!

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  9. Bette A. Stevens says:
    March 9, 2019 at 20:45

    Fascinating, Sue…

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  10. Widdershins says:
    March 9, 2019 at 23:50

    When you mentioned the church built on a stone Circle, I had a momentary frisson of, ‘how dare they build their piece of modern crap on one of our Circles’ 🙂 … but that’s what history is, isn’t it? A collection of layers that occasionally have pentimento moments where we can see what came before.

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    • Sue Vincent says:
      March 10, 2019 at 00:19

      I can’t say I was best pleased about it either… and yet, that was the official directive… take over the ancient places and carch the worshippers by default. And that is one of the reasons these olde churches are so interesting… they really are built on sacred earth 😉

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  12. Marilyn Armstrong says:
    March 10, 2019 at 02:53

    I love looking at these old buildings and seeing where there were arches and now there’s a different window and a door … and you can see where the height of the land has changed. It’s fascinating.

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  13. Jennie says:
    March 10, 2019 at 18:18

    And we are left hanging for what you found next. Wonderful story and photos, Sue. I must say though, I hate the modern doors.

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  14. willowdot21 says:
    March 10, 2019 at 19:26

    Thank you so much for this lightening raid 😜💜

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  15. noelleg44 says:
    March 16, 2019 at 14:42

    Thank you for this, Sue. I didn’t know the Mayflower Barn was closed to the public. Drat. But the church tour more than made up for it – it’s history and beauty brought tears to my eyes! And such a great tie to the US. Three churches and the Holy Trinity – how perfect.

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    • Sue Vincent says:
      June 2, 2019 at 08:53

      I was glad to finally get there for you, Noelle… I promised I would a long time ago. A shame the Barn is now closed… but you can see it from the road. Just nowhere to park without a walk.

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