St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham
Furneux Pelham is one of three villages all ending in Pelham. They were all owned by the Furneux family in the 13th century. The name derives from “Peola’s Homestead”.
The church of St Mary the Virgin has a medieval carved wooden roof which was restored and elaborately painted in the 1960s by the artist John Norbury. The spire has the motto Time Flies, Mind your Business on the clock. Be sure to look inside the church and look up at the ceiling.
In recent years, the village was brought to national headlines by the murder of retired Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Riley Workman on 7 January 2004. The culprit was caught and finally sentenced, to a minimum of 32 years, in November 2012.
The village is known for its ford (Violet's Lane), which is over 1 kilometre (1,100 yd) long.
There is a story about a ghostly sighting in the church: In the 1890’s a hawker named Tab visited the church at Furneux Pelham. Whilst there he felt as if he was being watched but when he looked round there was nobody there. After he had been in the church about 10 minutes he heard the main door slam shut and the sound of footsteps going down the aisle; but he could see no-one. As Tab turned to leave he saw the figure of a man sitting in the front pew. The man had not passed Tab to get to the front pew and there was no other way into the church.
Tab left the church and saw a man outside cutting the grass. He asked the man whether he had seen anyone enter the church and was told that he must have seen the ghost of Mr Arnott who had died some years previously, and who liked to sit quietly in the church sometimes.
Tab paid a visit to the church unusual character, a hawker by trade who would travel from village to village selling his wares but unlike most he could read and write. He was very interested in the traditions and superstitions of the county and would keep notes about what he found
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