The area of the parish is 5,772 acres (2,336 ha). In the 2001 census there were 1,158 households with a total population of 2,765 of whom 1,244 were economically active.[1] The population had increased to 2,942 at the 2011 Census.[2]
Fernhurst lies in the valley of the River Lod whose feeder streams, known as ghyls, rise in the surrounding hills, that include Telegraph Hill at 676 feet (206 m), Marley Heights at 700 feet (210 m), Bexley Hill at 600 feet (180 m), Fridays Hill at 675 feet (206 m) and the highest hill in Sussex, Blackdown at 919 feet (280 m), which rises to the northeast. The valley soil is predominantly clay with greensand outcrops on Blackdown summit. There are dense wooded areas punctuated by miles of footpaths, the path to the summit of Blackdown commencing at the Red Lion pub.[3]
The village, on the Weald, originally developed around crossroads (The Cross) and the village green, and ancient remains (Stone Age and Roman) have been found here. Iron working took place in the 17th/18th centuries;[4][5] and a turnpike ran through the village. The church, dedicated to St Margaret, (c. 1100) and Red Lion pub are on the green, where several old houses still remain. With the coming of the railway to Haslemere, the village developed around and beyond The Cross, and since the 1960s the village has expanded further westwards. The village houses a commuter population, attracted by the proximity of Haslemere railway station.
In November 2006 the Fernhurst Society published a book, "Voices of Fernhurst", comprising edited extracts of oral history interviews with local villagers.
Every May the traditional "Revels" fete is held on the green, raising funds for village societies and some local charities. The event includes various local May-time celebrations, such as maypole dancing, and the May queen is elected from the local area. In May 2006 a film of the village for the Meridian ITV programme "Village voices" was filmed involving the revels and local craftsmen.[8] It was screened on 15 August 2006.
About a mile south east of the village lies the Verdley estate. Verdley Castle, probably a 14th-century fortified manor house, or hunting tower, now demolished, lay in present-day Henley Wood. Its concealed wooded location in a hollow afforded protection for smugglers bringing goods from the south coast.[9]
Closer to the village, Verdley Place was built by architect Anthony Salvin in 1873–5, as a country house for Charles Savile Roundell.[10]Baron Davey was living here with his wife, three daughters and a son in the 1891 census. This Grade II listed building and the surrounding estate was the home of ICI's Plant Protection Division and its predecessors from 1945 at the Fernhurst Research Station and subsequently a Zeneca research and development centre.[11] It has since been sold and converted to a residential development.[12]
According to the Fernhurst Society,[15] "proof was found" that Joachim von Ribbentrop expressed his intention to live in Fernhurst "when Germany won the war".
Anthony Salvin, a notable English architect, built and lived at Hawksfold and is buried in the village.[20]
Margaret Shaw, a diarist remembered for "A Countrywomans Journal: the sketchbook of a passionate naturalist" lived and recorded her diary in Fernurst in 1926–27.[21]
Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), evangelist and prominent member of the Women's suffrage movement moved to Fernhurst in 1888, wife of Robert Pearsall Smith.[17]
