OS grid reference SU845995 Country England Post town PRINCES RISBOROUGH Shire county Buckinghamshire Dialling code 01494 UK parliament constituency Buckingham | Region South East Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district HP27 District Wycombe District Civil parish Princes Risborough | |
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Speen is a village in the parish of Princes Risborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Lacey Green. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about three miles south east of the main town.
Map of Speen, Princes Risborough, UK
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 - which closed its doors on New Years Day 2016, 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 was then a restaurant until March 2015 when it closed. 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.