The Fernhurst Society

Dates for 2026:

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

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'
• 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 Talk

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)