Speen, Buckinghamshire

Speen

Speen village sign depicting local trades
Speen
 Speen shown within Buckinghamshire
OS grid referenceSU845995
Civil parishPrinces Risborough
DistrictWycombe
Shire countyBuckinghamshire
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town PRINCES RISBOROUGH
Postcode district HP27
Dialling code 01494
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentBuckingham
List of places
UK
England
Buckinghamshire

Coordinates: 51°41′16″N 0°46′44″W / 51.687908°N 0.779024°W

Speen is a village in the parish of Princes Risborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about three miles south east of the main town.

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "wood chips". This refers to the location of the hamlet in the Chiltern Forest where trees are likely to be felled fairly regularly.

The Horse Trust, based at Speen, provides a home of rest for horses, and is the place where some horses in royal or military service are retired to when they get too old or become injured. Many of the horses that were injured when the IRA bombed the Royal Horse Guards in the early 1980s were brought here (Sefton being the most famous), and the stables have become a popular tourist attraction for animal lovers.

With a population of around 600, Speen has a pub, the King William IV, and a small shop and Post Office named Speen Stores. A former pub, The Old Plow, was for many years run by Ishbel MacDonald daughter of the 20th century Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald; it is now a restaurant. Speen is a short distance from Chequers, the Prime Minister of the day's country residence.

In 1928 the artist Eric Gill moved to Pigotts at Speen, where he set up a printing press, and lettering workshop and alternative community.[1][2]

References

External links

Media related to Speen, Buckinghamshire at Wikimedia Commons