Fernhurst brings together the rolling landscape of the South Downs National Park and traces of a long local history. The village lies in a densely wooded, clay-soil valley, on the edge of the once-wooded Weald and surrounded by hills. Historical traces include finds from the Stone Age and Roman period, as well as a Norman church and ironworking sites.
Landscape between the Weald and heathland
The River Lod, a tributary of the western Rother, drains the area around Fernhurst. Black Down, a National Trust property, lies within the civil parish of Fernhurst. Its heathland is managed for its international importance. Black Down is also on the Serpent Trail. The 65-mile (106-kilometre) walking route is intended to highlight the landscape, wildlife and history of the Greensand Hills. Thus, a specific area of heathland sits alongside a trail with a broader thematic focus.
Local history and St Margaret’s
Fernhurst developed around a crossroads known as The Prayer Cross and the surviving village green. The older finds from the Stone Age and Roman period are also part of the village’s history. The present building of St Margaret’s Fernhurst has Norman origins and was built within fifty years of the Norman Conquest of England.
The original church’s font, some ceiling beams and most of the north wall have survived. The wall contains two lancet windows: one in the chancel and one in the nave. These features offer different clues to the church’s construction—from its furnishings and beams to the way the windows divide the wall.
North Park Furnace and ironworking
Fernhurst was a centre of ironworking in the 17th and 18th centuries. Using local iron deposits, streams and charcoal from the surrounding woods, skilled workers made cast-iron cannons as well as agricultural and household implements. North Park Furnace dates from 1614 and is one of the earliest and best-preserved iron industry sites in the western Weald. The site is considered nationally important for its type and date, and is also a Scheduled Monument.
The monument includes a dam, a blast furnace with its associated wheel pit, water channels and a casting pit. Compared with St Margaret’s, it represents a different focus in the village’s history: the church preserves features of an early church building, while North Park Furnace connects ironworking facilities with the goods they produced.
Plan a walking route and village festival
The Haslemere to Fernhurst circular walk follows marked paths and passes the Red Lion pub in Fernhurst. If you plan to walk the route, check the route details before setting out.
The Fernhurst Revels, a village festival held each year in May or June, provide another seasonal highlight. The tradition dates back about 80 years. The programme includes a May Queen procession, a performance of the legend of St George slaying the dragon, maypole dancing and a fancy-dress competition. As programme details may vary, check dates and programme information with the organisers. For the circular walk, the marked route is the practical point of reference; for the Revels, it is the event date and the programme items for that year.
Discover more destinations: Lindfield, Billingshurst, Haywards Heath, Plaistow, Arundel, Findon, Bognor Regis, Trotton.
For the broader travel overview: West Sussex.
