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The Fernhurst SocietyThe Fernhurst Archives
The Fernhurst Archives operate under the auspices of the Fernhurst Society. The Archives hold documents and other objects of interest relating to Fernhurst (and formerly 'Farnhurst'), Kingsley Green, Henley and Verdley, in West Sussex, southern England. Items are catalogued, stored and conserved for posterity and study. The holdings include old maps, manuscripts and diaries, contemporary photographs, old photographs press cuttings and audio tapes of oral testimonies about the people, events, local clubs and other organisations in the locality. These are useful for those interested in local and regional British history and heritage, local traditions and customs, and West Sussex family history and genealogy. Other relevant records are held in the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester. Items from the Archives have been used in village talks and as source materiail for preparing a range of publications. The Society's Oral History group keeps recorded interviews and their transcripts in the Archives. The Archives in the village hall are open on Tuesday afternoons, 2.30-5.00 p.m. Offers of new material to add to the collection are always welcome. Enquiries to the Archive's Director, Christine Maynard, can be sent via or by post to: The Fernhurst Archives, Fernhurst Village Hall, Glebe Rd, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 3EH. Examples of documents from the Archives are described via the links below. Click on any image on this page to view a larger version (note: the larger images may take a minute to download over slow internet connections). |
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The Fernhurst RevelsThe tradition of the Revels, the village fete held each May or June, goes back about 80 years. The May Queen is elected by the children of the village and she in turn selects four attendants. She goes in procession to the recreation ground by the village green followed by a number of floats and accompanied by a brass band. After she is crowned by the outgoing May Queen and blessed by the vicar, the Revels begin with a re-enactment of St George slaying the dragon, a display of maypole dancing, and a fancy dress competition. There are also many stalls and side shows and events in the arena. The Revels are always very well attended by villagers past and present.
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Historical mapsThe Archives has a collection of copies of around 60 local maps. A good reference work is: D. Kingsley (1982) Printed Maps of Sussex, 1575-1900. Published by the Sussex Record Society. Both maps shown here clearly indicate the boundary of a parish enclave, isolated from its parent county, the tithings of North Ambersham and South Ambersham: narrow strips of land running north-south into what is now West Sussex next to the eastern border of Fernhurst, these formerly belonged to the parish of Steep in the county of Hampshire. Under the "County Boundaries Act" of 1844, North Ambersham became annexed to Fernhurst Parish, while South Ambersham became part of Easebourne Parish, although the formal unions of the ecclesiastical parishes did not take place until much later, in 1913. John Speed's map also shows the position of ancient enclosed deer parks. |
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Ordnance Survey images produced from Get-a-map service and reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
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The Verdley Estate and Verdley CastleThe large Victorian house on the Verdley estate, today known as Verdley Place, was designed by Anthony Salvin (1800-1881), who lived nearby in Fernhurst at Hawksfold House. It was built between 1873-1875 for Charles Saville Roundell MP, who lived there until 1889. Roundell had bought the plot of land in 1873 from Lord Selbourne and it included 67 acres and Osborne Farm, later to be called Home Farm. For the first few years, Roundell's home was known as Oeborne; only later did it become known as Verdley Place.
Just to the south of the estate, in ‘Fordly Coppice’, is the site of Verdley Castle, dating from the 13th century. Some claim that this is the location where the last wild bear in England was killed; its ghost apparently haunts the site. |
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Verdley castle, transcribed from Francis Grose's "Antiquities of England and Wales", 1786:
ICI Plant Protection Ltd bought the estate in 1945 as a technical research centre and for demonstrating commercial horticulture. Fernhurst Research Station rapidly became a national centre of fruit growing expertise, and Fernhurst villagers enjoyed the orchard and glasshouse produce in ‘pick-your-own’ sales. From 1959 to 1975 it was ICI’s headquarters. ICI Agrochemicals grew into an international business, and in 1986 the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opened a new international conference centre and suite of offices just south-west of Verdley Place. At one time more than 500 employees worked on this site. ICI Agrochemicals became Zeneca Agrochemicals in 1994. Five years later it merged with a Swiss agrochemical company to form Syngenta. The company officially left the site in December 2001, having sold Verdley Place for residential housing. |
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Fernhurst History |
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