The Fernhurst Society
The Fernhurst Society was formed in 1998 and has 250 members.
It is a registered UK charity (no. 1074564).
The Fernhurst Society's aims
-
To enrich the enjoyment of Fernhurst village and its surrounding countryside in West Sussex, England
-
To promote interest in local history, local life, traditions and customs
-
To advance and disseminate knowledge of the archaeology, geography, natural history, buildings and architecture of the local district
-
To seek the protection and improvement of the amenities and appearance of Fernhurst village and its environs
News
- Plans for oil and gas well near to village centre
Celtique Energie recently held a public consultation on plans for a temporary exploration well one mile west of Fernhurst, in Nine Acre Copse, subject to planning approval. Details (12MB PDF file). See also the discussion on Fernchat - Neighbourhood Plan for Fernhurst: As this project will influence future planning decisions, we encourage all members to make their views known. The first draft of the plan is now available from https://sites.google.com/site/fernhurstparishcouncil/neighbourhood-plan-draft-policies. Submit your comments by 21 July 2013. For background reading: http://www.fernhurstpc.co.uk/ and the 1999 Fernhurst Village Design Statement.
- South Downs National Park Authority agrees to controversial plans to build new homes at the King Edward VII Hospital site. See the proposals on the developer's website.
- Ex Syngenta site development plans: See an architect's sketch (370 KB), published in Jan 2011, showing one idea for developing the site.
- Researching your family history? We have unique transcripts of 1841-1911 censuses, 1840s tithe records of Fernhurst and neighbouring parishes, wills and probate records, and other data. Now with a complete names index - a rich resource for genealogy! New! 1871, 1881 Fernhurst censuses added.
- Finally - don't forget to check our upcoming events list and recent newsletter
What you can find on this website:
-
membership of the Fernhurst Society including recent members' newsletters
-
our programme of walks, talks, exhibitions and other events, including those organised for our Junior Section.
-
village local history: the Fernhurst Archives, with information about the May Revels celebrations, the Verdley estate, and historical maps; the recent history of shops, roads, and railways in and around Fernhurst village; schooling and social life in Edwardian times; and our oral history recording project
-
the history of Fernhurst Parish including parish boundary walks and the 17-18th century local iron industry; a survey of homes and families during the 1841-1911 censuses and land rents from 1840s tithe records
-
Fernhurst Society publications, including the book Voices of Fernhurst, booklets and a millennium map
-
our biodiversity monitoring project
-
links to local organisations and information sources, including family history and genealogy.
You can follow changes to this website via Twitter or with our RSS feed 
The Society arose out of the work undertaken by villagers to produce the Fernhurst Village Design Statement. Adopted by Chichester District Council in 2000, the Statement provides guidelines for future building developments in the area.
About Fernhurst village and parish
Fernhurst is a rural English village located in the Sussex weald in southern Britain, overlooked by Blackdown Hill (920 ft) and other hills including Telegraph Hill (676 ft), Marley Heights (700 ft), Bexley Hill (600 ft) and Fridays Hill (675 ft). The village lies in the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the north-west of the county of West Sussex close to the borders of Surrey and Hampshire counties.
In 2009 the South Downs National Park, England's ninth national park, was declared, covering 627 square miles of rural Sussex and Hampshire. The Park which stretches for 100 miles from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east incorporates the Western Weald including Fernhurst. The South Downs National Park was officially designated on 31st March 2010.
Fernhurst village has won several awards over the years:
2008 winner, Communications category, South England region, Calor Village of the Year award
2007 winner, West Sussex Village of the Year
1994 runner-up, Best Kept Village West Sussex
1993 winner, Best Kept Village West Sussex
1990 winner, Best Kept Village West Sussex
1988 merit award, Best Kept Village West Sussex
The towns of Haslemere and Midhurst lie to the north and south respectively. Fernhurst Parish has a population of 2,765 (2001 census) and includes the settlements of Fernhurst village, Henley Common, Kingsley Green, Bell Vale and part of Camelsdale.
The parish was formerly named Farnhurst. Other alternative spellings of Fernhurst in historical documents include Farnherst, Farnehurst, Fernehurst, Farnest, Fernest, Fernnist, ffarneste, ffarnehurst.
Fernhurst village sign
For more information about Fernhurst village and parish:
- read about the history of the village and parish
- see transcripts of the 1841-1911 censuses and tithe records from Fernhurst and adjoining parishes of Easebourne, Woolavington, Woolbeding and North Ambersham
- view photos including our photo album
- view an interactive map
- view a millennium parish map
- visit our links pages, The Fernhurst Portal listing local organisations and other British villages in West Sussex.
