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returned to his homeland of Nevis, but when he died, John
Frederick Pinney refused to pay for such an expensive burial and instead had the body interred in the grounds of St. Stephen's Church cemetery. After the burial, ill fortune plagued the village for many months and screams and crying were heard coming from the cemetery. Other disturbances were reported from the manor house, such as windows rattling and doors slamming of their own accord. The villagers went to the manor to seek advice. The body of the servant was exhumed and the body taken to the manor house. In the process of time the skeleton has long since vanished, except for the skull.
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estates and returned to the family home of
Bettiscombe Manor in 1830, accompanied by one of the family's black slaves. While in his master's service, the servant was taken seriously ill with suspected tuberculosis. As he lay dying, the servant swore that he would never rest unless his body was
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stories are also associated with the manor. The legend maintains that the skull is that of a
Jamaican slave belonging to John Frederick Pinney.
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and possibly one in the west tower dating from about 1400, although the rest of the structure was rebuilt by John Hicks in 1862.
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stated that the skull was not that of a black man but that of a
European female aged between twenty-five and thirty.
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Bettiscombe viewed from the north (church visible in middle distance, on left)
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The parish church, dedicated to St
Stephen, has two windows in the
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In 1963 a professor of human and comparative anatomy at the
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402:. Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015
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501:The Legend of the Screaming Skull
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302:four miles (6.4 km) west of
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476:. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 111.
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506:St Stephen's Church Bettiscombe
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534:. You can help Knowledge by
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35:Parish church of St Stephen
18:Human settlement in England
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400:"Parish Population Data"
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428:. University of London
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191:Postcode district
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430:. Retrieved
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404:. Retrieved
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406:24 February
332:manor house
288:Bettiscombe
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211:West Dorset
60:Bettiscombe
24:Bettiscombe
575:Categories
383:References
304:Beaminster
250:50°47′46″N
147:South West
78:Population
253:2°51′18″W
181:Post town
361:See also
294:in west
185:Bridport
94:ST395005
81:50
320:chancel
314:History
234:England
163:England
157:Country
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239:Dorset
139:Region
129:Dorset
111:Dorset
68:Dorset
526:This
347:Nevis
340:ghost
532:stub
478:ISBN
453:ISBN
434:2015
408:2015
196:DT6
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229:UK
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
