The Fernhurst Society

Dates for 2026:

Talk by Nina Williams, Lord Cowdray's Head Forester - 'The Woodlands of the Cowdray Estate' (how the Cowdray Estate's wooded landscape combines Nature conservation with public recreation and timber production). Fernhurst Village Hall - doors open 7.30 pm for coffee/tea and talk starts at 8 pm.

A competition for homemade drinks when fruits etc have been added to alcohol. This is being held in the Fernhurst Hub on Saturday 28th February in the afternoon.

Saturday 28th February :
Please bring 50 ml of each entry down to the Hub between 12.30 pm and 2 pm. 2 pm to 4 pm tea and cakes will be available while judging is progressing. At 4 pm prize giving. All entries must be in a clearly named container as to what they are and to whom they belong.

CLASSES

1. Sloe gin made this season
2. Sloe gin made any previous season
3. Any Whisky / whiskey flavour
4. Any Vodka flavour
5. Any Brandy flavour
6. Any Port flavour
7. Any other homemade wine, spirit or cordial, eg Rosehip Syrup

You to choose a few hours, any time during these dates

THE GREAT PARISH SPRING CLEAN. Pick up litter in and around the village, cut back hedges, polish signs, general tidy up. Clear roads, footpaths, fields, hedges, etc. To borrow equipment, email Judith Turner at chairman@fernhurstsociety.org.uk.
To join the competition for the most unusual piece of litter collected, email a photo of the piece of litter to chairman@fernhurstsociety.org.uk.

Bluebell walk, led by Bob Smalley. Meet Crossfield Car Park 1.30 pm. Walkers to register with Judith Turner as numbers need to be limited, email chairman@fernhurstsociety.org.uk

Talk by Dr Steven Payne, winner of the British Eccentrics - 'Over the Alps on a Space Hopper, etc'. Fernhurst Village Hall, doors open 7.30 pm for coffee/tea and talk starts at 8 pm.

Visit the Fernhurst Society and Fernhurst Archive stand and display (organised by the Fernhurst Archive team) at the Revels. Worth a visit as always. Revels festivities begin 12.30 pm, Fernhurst Recreation Ground. Details www.fernhurstrevels.net.

Talk by Dr Ian Goodall - 'The Story of Vaccines - Jenner to the mRNA Covid Vaccines'. Fernhurst Village Hall - doors open 7.30 pm for coffee/tea and talk starts at 8 pm.

Open 10.30 am to 5 pm each day over the weekend

Organised by the Fernhurst Furnace Preservation Group. Step back in time to an age when Fernhurst was home to important iron works which manufactured cannons - the Fernhurst Furnace. The iron industry flourished here from the 1500s to the late 1700s, using local ore, charcoal and water power. Free entry. Free parking. All donations are welcome - all proceeds go towards the conservation of Fernhurst Furnace. Dog owners - beware of musket and cannon fire! Details www.fernhurstfurnace.co.uk. (The Open-Weekend is held as part of the UK Heritage Open Days scheme.)

Autumn walk - further details later.

The Autumn Parish clean-up - further details later.

Talk by Iain Kennedy - 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. Fernhurst Village Hall - doors open 7.30 pm for coffee/tea and talk starts at 8 pm.

The AGM at 8 pm, followed by a talk by Chris Harrison - 'When the Railway came to Haslemere'. At the AGM, there is an opportunity for you to have your say on the Fernhurst Society. Fernhurst Village Hall - doors open 7.30 pm (join us for a glass of wine before the AGM). AGM at 8 pm followed immediately by talk.

2025

• Talk by Dr Ian Goodall: 'The Story of DNA Fingerprinting'
• The Great Parish Spring Clean
• Talk 'Sussex Showcase: 2,000 years of Great Art from Bignor to Brighton' by Peter Beckingham
• Annual Bluebell Walk, led by Bob Smalley
• Fernhurst Society and Fernhurst Archive stand and display at the Revels
• Talk by Iain Kennedy: 'Subterfuge, Espionage and Deception'
• Land of the Lod Walk led by Bob Smalley
• Early autumn parish clean-up.
• Talk by Alan Perry on 'Winners and Losers in the Bird World'.
• Fernhurst Society AGM and then Talk by Ian Russell on 'The Shulbrede Priory'.

2024

• Talk by Michael Blencowe (Naturalist, Author and Wildlife Guide) on 'The Wonderful Wildlife of Fernhurst'
• Polish up the Parish - Spring
• Talk by Tony Cross on 'The Romance of Letter Boxes'
• Annual Bluebells Walk, led by Bob Smalley
• Fernhurst Society and Fernhurst Archive stand and display at the Revels
• 'Walk the Line' (from West Dean to Lavant, part of the former Chichester to Midhurst branch line), led by Bob Smalley
• Polish up the Parish - Autumn
• Talk by Clementine de la Poer Beresford (Curator of the Goodwood Collection) on 'The Goodwood Estate - its Heritage, Collections and Events'
• AGM and then a Talk by Sharon Edwards (Head of Animal Import Authority)

2023

• Talk by Paul Gallivan on 'The Woolbeding Estate and Gardens'
• Polish up the Parish - Spring
• Talk by Christian Ashdown on 'Tales of a Town Crier'
• Annual bluebells walk, led by Bob Smalley
• Fernhurst celebrates the Coronation of King Charles III with a Picnic Lunch
• Fernhurst Society and Fernhurst Archive stand and display at the Revels
• Local guided walk and history talk, from the Cross Roads and up Friday's Hill to Copyhold, led by Judith Turner and Robin Ellks
• Polish up the Parish - Autumn
• Talk by Jennifer Goldsmith on 'The London to Portsmouth Road and its History'
• AGM and then a talk by George Anelay, Archaeologist

2022

• Talk by Jonathan Russell on the Cowdray Estate
• Polish up the Parish - spring
• Walk led by Bob Smalley to Fernhurst Furnace
• Talk on Arundel, by John Barkshire
• Annual bluebells walk, led by Bob Smalley
• Guided Walk of Arundel Town
• Walk in the Shimmings Valley, Petworth, led by Bob Smalley
• Polish up the Parish - autumn
• Talk: "ICI in Fernhurst", by those in the know.
• AGM and then a talk by Simon Vigar, Channel 5's Royal Correspondent.

2021

• Talk by Dr Janet Pennington: 'Sussex Inn Signs and their History'
• Polish up the Parish - Spring
• Talk by Philip Carr-Gomm: 'Sacred Sites of Sussex'
• Polish up the Parish - Autumn
• Walk: Woolbeding Common led by Dave Gibbon
• Talk by Doug Jones 'The South Downs National Park Authority'
• AGM & then Talk by metal detectorist Bob Fly: 'Found in Fernhurst'

2020

• Note: several events were cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-related restrictions
• Talk by Tim Winter - 'Woodland Crafts and Industries'
• Polish up the Parish - Spring
• Polish up the Parish - Autumn
• AGM (via Zoom)

2019

• Talk by Lord Egremont: "Life and times in Petworth House"
• Polish up the Parish
• Talk by Lesley Chamberlain: Within these Walls - Stories of Sussex houses, their history and their residents
• Walk: Bob's Bluebell Bimble!
• Walk: Historic Petersfield
• Walk - The [Devil's] Punch Bowl - without the Punch!
• Talk: The history of Midhurst, by Dave Rudwick
• AGM & talk by Jeremy Musson on special buildings in West Sussex

2018

• Talk by Hugh Turrall-Clarke: The History of Haslemere from its Buildings
• Talk by Susan Howe: ‘All Things British’
• Guided walk to see spring Bluebells, led by Bob Smalley
• Guided walk led by Bob Smalley - a stroll around Fernhurst
• Talk by Peter Gosney: Petersfield - From Normans to Tsars and Kings
  
• AGM; and talk by Admiral Sir Ian Garnett: The story of the Commonwealth War Graves

2017

• Talk by Mark Seaman: "Secrets of the High Woods"
• Walk lead by Mark Seaman:
• Talk by Susan Howe: "History minus the Boring Bits"
• A meander over Witley and Milford Commons, lead by Bob Smalley
• Guided walk of Petworth Park led by Henry Wakeford
• Talk by Robin Ellks: "Kingsley Green Discovered"
• Blackdown Air Disaster, 50th anniversary exhibition and memorial service
• AGM and talk by Tim Winter: "Haslemere People and Places".
  

2016

• Talk by Dr Caroline Adams: “Domestic Bliss in Tudor West Sussex”
• Talk by Julian Bell of the Weald & Downland Open-Air Museum concentrating on how they find the properties, dismantling and re-erecting historic buildings
• Walk: stROLL ALONG THE ROTHER A walk through the Rother Valley led by Bob Smalley
• Walk – Bramshott Common led by Pamela Lee (Haslemere Natural History Society)
• Walk - A Stroll in the Sussex Countryside - Tillington to Lodsworth walk led by Bob Smalley
• Talk on Loseley Park by Jennifer Nicholas
• AGM and talk "Women in the First World War" by Lynne Taylor Gooby

2015

• Talk by John Roberts (Weald & Downland Open Air Museum) “Billet-wood & Bavins” – A Brief History of Coppicing
• Walk in search of the Bluebells - Greenhill and beyond; led by Bob Smalley
• Talk by Dave Elliott (NT) “History of Blackdown - from Stone Age to Seismograph”
• Walk – Walking tour of The Heath at Petersfield and its Archaeology, led by Peter Price.
• Walk around Petworth led by Peter Jerrome (Petworth Society)
• Talk and display by The Fernhurst Archive “Fernhurst in the Forties”
• Talk by Admiral Sir Ian Garnett "Chatham’s Historic Dockyard - The World’s Best Dockyard in the age of sail"

2014

• John Owen Smith to talk on "Flora Thompson- Life after Oxfordshire"
• Talk by Tess Burrows: 'Granny on Ice' - a local pensioner walks to the South Pole
• Bluebells walk near Flexham park, Petworth
• Fernhurst Archives exhibition, with afternoon tea: Miss Margaret Shaw and the first World War
• Walk: Celebrating Sussex and the South Downs: a walk to Midhurst on the opening day of the new South Downs National Park HQ
• Walk in Kingley Vale nature reserve led by renowned local naturalist and author Richard Williamson
• Talk by ‘A Short Biography of the English Channel’ by Iain Kennedy
• AGM then a talk by Peter Jerrome on the history, buildings and people of Petworth

2013

• Bridget Howard (Midhurst Society): talk "Queen Elizabeth comes to Cowdray"
• Petworth Wild daffodils walk led by Mike South
• talk by Tania Pons: The lost Cowdray airfield
• walk on Heyshott Downs for orchids, led by Mike Edwards from the Murray Downland Trust
• Walk along North Ambersham Boundary Part 2 led by Elaine Ireland
• Fungal Foray on Older Hill, Redford, led by mycologist Sara Shepley
• Talk: 'The Crusades in History' by Dr Thomas Asbridge
• AGM; then talk by Marion Dell : "Little Switzerland", the area around Hindhead in the late 19th century

2012

• Talk by John Burrow: How organized crime attacks our personal wealth – a behind-the-scenes view
• Walk: Daffodils of West Dean, led by Iain Brown
• Talk by local historian Mark Perry-Nash on Daily Life in a Medieval Sussex Village
• Walk: Valewood Park near Fernhurst
• Exhibition by Fernhurst Archives: Jubilees and Jubilations. Exhibition poster
• Queen's Diamond Jubilee event, with picnic on village green & live jazz band (organised by the Parish Council)
• Fernhurst Furnace Open Weekend (organised by Fernhurst Furnace Preservation Group)
• Walk: Hankley Common and how its fortifications were used for practising D-Day landings. Leader: Peter Northwood
• Talk and exhibits by Tony Creasey on an insider's view of The Antiques Trade. Bring interesting portable antiques for valuation
• AGM; then talk by Laura Ponsonby: A Taste of India

2011

• talk on the new Hindhead Tunnel by Jeremy Bayne-Powell (Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering)
• talk by Phil Beldon (South Downs National Park Authority) on South Downs natural history & geology
• Bluebells walk: led by Robin Barnes around Greenhill, Fernhurst
• Hindhead Tunnel Community Walk (Pedestrian open day organised by Hindhead Together)
• River Wey Walk, Standford to Bramshott, led by Adrian Bird from the River Wey Trust
• walk: Iping Common led by Bruce Middleton (South Downs National Park Authority)
• Talk by David King (Wey and Arun Canal Trust) on the history & restoration of the Wey and Arun Canal
• AGM then illustrated talk by Peter Monger: Hong Kong to West Sussex: an 80’s Train Journey

2010

• talk by Adrian Bird: The River Wey
• guided daffodil walk to Titty Hill. led by Iain Brown
• talk on Garden birds by Mike Toms (British Trust for Ornithology)
• guided walk to The Mens ancient woodland led by Mark Monk-Terry (Sussex Wildlife Trust).
• The community and the Company - Fernhurst Archives exhibition on history of I.C.I. in Fernhurst, 1945 - 2000
• AGM and talk by Laura Ponsonby and Ian Russell: The History of Shulbrede Priory

2009

• Rogues, Rascals and Rebels of Kent and Sussex. Talk by Chris McCooey
• Walk in North West quadrant of Fernhurst parish for Bluebells – led by Robin Barnes
• Walk and picnic on South Downs led by ranger Bruce Middleton
• North Ambersham boundary exploration, walking from Bell Lane to Bexley Hill, led by Iain Brown and David Coward
• Fernhurst Furnace Open Days
• Walk in the South West quadrant of Fernhurst parish – led by Dave Gibbon
• Talk by Dr Ian Friel: Medieval Sussex- from Settlement to Dissolution
• AGM and Talk: The South Downs National Park by Huw Davies from the South Downs National Park Establishment Team

2008

• Gosport Living History Group enactment of life in 1642
• "A Day in the Life of a Bodger" talk by woodsman, pole lathe turner and charcoal burner Mark Allery about craft uses of English native trees
• Woodland Walk for bluebells in north-east of parish led by Iain Brown
• Fernhurst Society stall at the Fernhurst Revels
• Ebernoe woodland walk, guided by Alf Simpson
• "Cost-effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint " presentation and discussion led by Sandy Polak. Further information
• Verdley Wood walk - including searching for the ruins of Verdley castle
• AGM, and talk by David Coward: "North Ambersham in a nutshell"- a mysterious part of the modern day Fernhurst parish

2007

2006

• Half-term talk: John Self, a local expert on rabbits and national rabbit judge
• Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds VII: Poison Copse to Lower Lodge.
• Talk: Maureen Duke: Memories are Made of This - growing up in Fernhurst in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s
• Walk: Chithurst & monastery woodlands, led by Jenny Lynch of the South Downs Joint Committee
• Walk: Highfield/Verdley and Verdley Place, the farms, and the ICI / Zeneca / Syngenta story.
• Walk:Beating the Parish Bounds VIII: Lower Lodge to Highbuilding, led by Judith Turner. The final leg in our series of popular Boundary walks.
• Summer BBQ at Vannlands on Van Common with music by the Super Swing jazz quartet.
• Film by Adam Koronka on the Dornier plane shot down over Fernhurst in 1943.
• Talk: Return to Everest by George Band.

2005

2004

2003

• Talk by Michael Tibbs: The Lynchmere Society and Lynchmere Common
• Talk by Norman Hodgson: Endurance to the Antarctic
• Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds I
• Village walk looking at historic houses, led by Helen Ouin
• Butterfly walk at Henley, led by Arnold Madgwick
• Guided walk at Furnace Pond, North Park, led by Robin and Carla Barnes
• Guided visit to Tilford Rural Life Museum
• Talk by John Magilton on Fernhurst archaeology
• Fernhurst Wildlife Exhibition
• Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds II: Bell Vale Lane to Valewood
• AGM, and talks by Julie Wilkinson: Waste Recycling & by Linda Glynn: Renewable Energy from a local perspective

2002

• Talk by Ian Elliott: Villages- thinking about the future
• Talk by Bruce Middleton: A Year in the Life of a Sussex Downs Ranger
• Evening field trip: nightjar watch on Iping Common, led by A. Madgwick
• Field trip to Burton Mill Pond, led by Bruce Middleton
• Field trip to Levin Down, led by Arnold Madgwick
• Guided walk on Stanley Common led by Hilary Adair of the Lynchmere Society
• Community Orchard meeting
• Talk by Helen Ouin, Iain Brown & Charlotte Wilson-Pepper: People, Places and Tales of Fernhurst
• AGM, followed by presentations: Revelations from the biodiversity surveys

2001

• Talk by Laura Ponsonby: The Story of Shulbrede Priory
• Talk by Mrs A McCann (Assistant County Archivist): West Sussex Record Office
• Talk by Commander Keith Evans: HMS Hood
• Talk by Julian Gray The work of the Sussex Downs Conservation Board

2000

• Talk by George Lockie: The Verdley Estate
• Talk by Laura Ponsonby: Wild Flowers of the Weald and their Uses
• Talk by Richard Ranft: The Mystery of bird song
• Talk by Dr John Godfrey: The Future for the South Downs
• Talk by Ben law: Sustainable Woodland Management
• Talk by Martin Love: An evening of bats
• Nightjar watch on Iping Common, led by A. Madgwick
• Birds and butterflies on Harting Down, led by A. Madgwick

1999

• Talk by Alf Simpson: Ebernoe Common, Its Woods, Flora and Wildlife
• Talk by Kim Leslie: A Parish Map for Fernhurst
• Talk by Richard Muir: Admiralty Signalling Systems
• Talk by Mark Taylor: Archaeology of the western weald and recent discoveries in West Sussex
• Visit to Ebernoe Common
• Fernhurst spring walk

1998

• Talk by Dr Annabel Hughes: Timber-framed Buildings and Their Development
• Old Iron Works at North Park (walk)