Departures of note

Henry Trigg, a prosperous grocer in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, arranged in his will for his body to be placed in a coffin in the rafters of his barn, about ten feet above the ground. He specified that his remains should remain there for at least thirty years, 'nothing doubting but that at the general Resurrection, I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God.' According to a 1751 account in the Gentleman's Magazine, he also ordered that the barn be locked with the key placed inside his coffin so he could let himself out after that period. The will was likely prompted by an incident in which Trigg and two friends witnessed grave robbers at a local cemetery and vowed to avoid a similar fate.

Trigg died on 6 October 1724 in Letchworth, before renovations to his barn could be completed. He never married, and his brother, the Reverend Thomas Trigg, served as executor and heir, with provisions for other relatives if he refused. His remains were placed in a lead-lined oak and pine coffin and hoisted into the barn's rafters, where they remained for centuries. The coffin became a tourist attraction, and copies of the eccentric will were sold. In 1774, the house was converted into the Old Castle Inn, which used the coffin to draw visitors. The barn survived several fires, including the Great Fire of 1807, and in 1831 a landlord opened the coffin and reported that the hair on the skull was 'in a perfect state of preservation.'

Over time, the coffin deteriorated and was replaced with a new one bound with iron bands. In 1906, the East Herts Archaeological Society reported finding 'about two thirds of a male skeleton.' During World War I, soldiers billeted in Stevenage reportedly stole the bones, and a letter to a local newspaper claimed that horse bones had been found in the coffin. A nearby horse-riding school allegedly explained that copies of the will were still being sold and that word of the empty coffin could hurt revenue. In 1964, a man claimed to have seen a figure in period clothing disappear through a wall near the barn, and a television crew visited in 1975 but failed to capture any ghostly activity.

The coffin was temporarily removed in 1999 during refurbishment, and the owners, National Westminster Bank, demanded that any bones be removed. Some reports say the coffin was found empty, while others state that the undertakers who restored it buried any remains. Trigg's plan ultimately failed. The barn and his former home, now 37 High Street, Stevenage, are both Grade II listed buildings. The bank closed in 2015, and the property was sold at auction in 2016 to a dental practice, which received planning permission for alterations.