Mystery
Two in the Coffin
One stone coffin, two skeletons, and a hole in her skull.
Check opening times
- What's there
- Village church with medieval stone coffin inside
- Legend from
- Discovered 1901
- Tone
- Chilling
In Turville's church, builders in 1901 opened a hidden stone coffin. Inside were two skeletons, and one had a hole through her skull.
During restoration work at St Mary's, Turville, in 1901, builders found a stone coffin hidden beneath the pulpit. It may be over 700 years old, and a stone coffin meant a wealthy or important burial. But when it was opened it held two skeletons, not one. The later of the two, thought to date from the 16th century, was a woman, and her skull had a hole driven right through it. People concluded she had been murdered and her body slipped into an old grave where nobody would look. Her name and story are unknown. The coffin now stands in front of the north aisle.