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The Fernhurst Society

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 2024:

   
Thursday, 29 February   Talk
Talk by Michael Blencowe, Naturalist, Author and Wildlife Guide - 'Wildlife in your Garden'. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

Saturday, 9 March to Sunday, 17 March

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

  'Polish up the Parish'
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.

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, 25 April

  Talk
Talk by Tony Cross - 'The Romance of Letter Boxes'. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

(Letter boxes were originally designed by a local man. A Victorian letter box is in the village - who knows where it is?)

Sunday, 28 April

  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! No stiles. Well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Sunday, 19 May

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

Saturday, 14 September & Sunday, 15 September

  Fernhurst Furnace Open-Weekend
10.30 to 5 pm each day. 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.)

September

  Walk
Bob Smalley to lead a walk along the Centurion Way from West Dean. Further details later.

Saturday, 28 September to Sunday, 6 October

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

  'Polish up the Parish'
THE AUTUMN PARISH CLEAN-UP. 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.

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, 31 October

  Talk
A Talk (organised by the Duke of Richmond) by Clementine de la Poer Beresford, Curator of the Goodwood Collection, on 'The Goodwood Estate - its Events, Heritage and Collections'. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7.30 pm for 8 pm.

Thursday, 28 November

  Fernhurst Society AGM and Talk
The AGM at 7.30 pm, followed by talk by Sharon Edwards, Head of Animal Import Authority. At the AGM, there is an opportunity for you to have your say on the Fernhurst Society. Fernhurst Village Hall, 7 pm for 7.30 pm (note earlier start time; join us for a glass of wine before the AGM).

 

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Previous events:

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

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

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)

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