Fernhurst Society events

Meetings, talks and exhibitions

The Society primarily organises a programme of evening and afternoon talks and discussion meetings on matters of local interest, most of which are held in the village hall; and a variety of summertime guided walks and explorations of the parish and surroundings. Audio recordings of some of the talks are preserved in the Fernhurst Archives.

Non-members may attend indoor talks for a small fee, and are welcome to join outdoor events. Accompanied children are welcome at all talks and walks.

The Society and its Archives have organised several very successful exhibitions: in July 2000, a 'millennium' exhibition including a photographic competition; in 2003 a Fernhurst Wildlife Exhibition, with local arts and crafts; in 2007 an exhibition on oral histories and the launch of our Voices of Fernhurst book; in 2010 an exhibition on the history of ICI/Zeneca company in the village; in 2012 the Archives celebrated the Queen's Jubilee with a show of memorabilia, in 2014 on WWI; in 2015 on the 1940s; and in 2017 a major exhibition commemoratimg the Blackdown air crash..

The Society's social events have included Christmas parties and summertime barbecues.

Current programme:

Dates for 2023:

Thursday, February 23rd

Talk
Paul Gallivan, Gardens & Outdoors Manager, Woolbeding Gardens, will present a brief history and tour of this local garden at Woolbeding, sharing stories about its development, including the Thomas Heatherwick Glasshouse. (This is due to be Paul's last talk in his current role, before he moves to a regional role within the National Trust.) Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

Saturday, 11 March & Sunday, 12 March

'Polish up the Parish'
The GREAT FERNHURST LITTER PICK and clean-up of the Parish over the weekend, but please don't feel that is the only weekend litter can be picked up! It is dropped all the time. If you want to know where to go, so the same stretch does not get cleared several times, and would like a bag and a litter picking stick, contact Judith Turner.
Win a prize for the most unusual piece of litter collected that weekend. To enter, email a photo of the unusual piece of litter to Judith.

Thursday, 27 April

Talk
Christian Ashdown, Haslemere Town Crier, will entertain us with his talk on 'Tales of a Town Crier'. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

Monday, 1 May (Bank Holiday)

Walk
Annual popular Bluebell walk led by Bob Smalley. Meet Crossfield Car Park, Fernhurst, at 1.20 pm (departure 1.30 pm). Wear appropriate footwear, it may be muddy! Well-behaved dogs are welcome, but be aware there are some stiles to be negotiated.

Monday, 8 May

Fernhurst Celebrates the Coronation
Bring your own picnic lunch and come wearing your crown (prizes for the best decorated crown) to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. Competition for best home-made Coronation Chicken (make it and have it with your picnic lunch but put a few tablespoonsful in a bowl to be judged). Music, children's games, dog races/show. Fernhurst Recreation Ground at 12 noon. Further details from Judith Turner.

Sunday, 21 May

Fernhurst Revels
Our usual Fernhurst Society stand and display organised by the Archive team at the Revels. Worth a visit as always. Festivities begin 12.30 pm, Fernhurst Recreation Ground. www.fernhurst.net/revels/

Saturday, 3 June

Arundel Tours
Two simultaneous guided tours around Arundel - one around key sites in the old town and the other around the historical port area. Booking will open in April. Further details later.
(POSTPONED FOR THIS YEAR.)

Sunday, 24 September

Walk
Join Judith Turner and Robin Ellks for a friendly, guided, local walk and talk - with local history and fun anecdotes. Meet Crossfield Car Park, Fernhurst, at 1.20 pm for 1.30 pm start. Walk will take 2-2.5 hours and includes heading up Friday's Hill. Further details from Judith Turner

Saturday, 30 Sept & Sunday, 1 October

'Polish up the Parish'
The Autumn litter pick and clean-up of the Parish over the weekend, but please don't feel that is the only weekend litter can be picked up! If you want to know where to go, so the same stretch does not get cleared several times, and would like a bag and a litter picking stick, contact Judith Turner.
Win a prize for the most unusual piece of litter collected that weekend. To enter, email a photo of the unusual piece of litter to Judith Turner.

Thursday, 26 October

Talk
Talk by Jennifer Goldsmith on 'The London to Portsmouth Road' and its history. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

Thursday, 30 November

Fernhurst Society AGM and Talk
The AGM at 7.30 pm, followed by talk by local archaeologist George Anelay, who has worked on Fernhurst Furnace and the People of the Heath Project in Petersfield. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7 pm for 7.30 pm (note earlier start time; join us for a glass of wine).

Previous events:

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

Half-term talk: Care and Training of Dogs by Canine Partners
Talk by John Clement: Global Warming: political hype or reality? download a PowerPoint version of the presentation
Chapel Common walk led by Rob Free (South Downs Joint Committee ranger)
Nature walk: butterflies of Verdley Wood
Walk: Cowdray ruins in Midhurst
Blackdown fungal foray led by Rob Tyler from Winkworth Arboretum.
talk by Maureen Duke about the celebrated Fernhurst artist Francis Hurst Eastwood (1855-1944)
'Voices of Fernhurst' exhibition. For details, see our Oral History page.

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

Talk by Graham Cornick of the Hydestile Wildlife Hospital
Talk by the Fernhurst Archives team: A glimpse of Edwardian Fernhurst
Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds V: Scotland’s Farm to Elmers Marsh.
Walk at Burton Mill Pond, led by Graham West (South Downs Conservation Board)
Walk: birdsong on Thursley Common, led by Richard Ranft
Village history walk: discover Vann Road and Van Common; led by Helen Ouin and Robin & Carla Barnes
Walk: Blackdown ramble, led by a National Trust warden.
Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds VI: Elmers Marsh to Lower Lodge Farm.
Talk and tasting with James Lane: Wine and Cheese evening
Talk: Sustainable Woodland Living by Ben Law, author of The Woodland Way and The Woodland House

2004

Nikki Hamburger: An afternoon with a hawk
Talk by Julia Tanner: Recent Developments at the Haslemere Educational Museum
Talk by Alan Redman (West Sussex Record Office): Sussex at War
Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds III: Wadesmarsh Farm to Bexley Hill
Village history stroll, led by Helen Ouin and Iain Brown
Evening nightjar watch on Iping Common, led by Richard Ranft
Junior Fernhurst Society event: Martin Love (Sussex Bat Group) talk about bats
Lynchmere & Stanley Commons walk, led by Hilary Adair of the Lynchmere Society
Walk: Beating the Parish Bounds IV: Bexley Hill to Scotland Farm
Talk by Liz Wilson (Portable Antiquities Scheme): Identifying historical objects
Guided walk around Lower House Farm and estate
AGM & presentations by the Oral History Group: Fernhurst in Living Memory

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)

The Fernhurst Society