St Bartholomew's Parish Church
This mellow stone building in an early English style was mostly built in 1871 on the site of an earlier church. The tower is probably 13th century with a Gothic-style top added at a later date under a pyramidal roof. Features include a Tennyson memorial window designed by Burne-Jones; another commemorating Gerald Manley Hopkins; a tapestry in front of the organ - a product of the Morris workshop - and an illuminated manuscript commemorating the memory of Sir Norman Angell, whose inspiration led to the formation of the League of Nations.
Shepherds' Hill Cottages
This row of picturesque cottages on Shepherds' Hill, going towards Midhurst, date from the 16th century.
Aldworth - Tennyson's House
Built in 1867, this now privately owned house was the country retreat of Alfred Lord Tennyson, where he lived until his death in 1892. Tennyson was known to walk from Aldworth to Grayswood, where a small stream is said to be "The Brook" of his poem. It is still worth the walk on the eastern slopes of Black Down, to glimpse the property.
Swan Barn Walk
Well Lane, just off the High Street, leads to a public open space and the views and circular walk across Swan Barn. The area overlooks Black Down, in the care of The National Trust.
Haslemere Hall
The building was built in 1913 by Lewis Barclay Day and designed by Annesley Brownrigg.
Day gave the building to the town and to this day it is owned by the people of Haslemere.
It is used as the local cinema, an events and meeting place, as a 'theatre' for local music and dramatic societies and it forms a large part of Haslemere's social life. For years it was the home of the annual Festival of Early Music, initiated by the Dolmetsch family of musicians and instrument makers, who live and have their workshops in Haslemere.
Details of walks around historic Haslemere and copies of the Haslemere Society's Town Trail are available from Haslemere Museum.
This area lies to the north of Haslemere and has grown up along the A3 London/Portsmouth road and its crossing with the A287 Farnham/Midhurst road. For those travelling two centuries ago, Hindhead was the haunt of highwaymen who found rich pickings in those travelling by stage coach between London and Portsmouth. Today the area is a major attraction for walkers and sightseers who can wander in peace over heath and woodland.
Beacon Hill has a small shopping area and the Parish Church of St. Alban's, completed in 1906 to designs by Coleridge.
Gibbett Hill enjoys magnificent views across West Surrey and southwards towards Hampshire and West Sussex. The Devil's Punchbowl is a large heather-filled basin formed naturally by the action of many springs where the Hythe Beds of Greensand meet Atherfield Clay. Farming continues on this National Trust land. Different breeds of cattle adaptable to this countryside have recently been introduced. Amid the heather, explorers will come across the foundations of the cottages once occupied by the "Broomsquires" who made brooms from the local heather, many for use at Windsor Castle and Hampton Court.
In 1884 Professor J. Tyndall pioneered a movement that brought many well-known writers and academics to Hindhead in search of health and well-being from the high altitude fresh air. George Bernard Shaw wrote Caesar and Cleopatra whilst living at Blencartha (now St Edmund's preparatory School) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived at Undershaw on the southern side of the A3. Dr. Marie Stopes, a celbrated botanist and advocate of Family Planning,
lived at Tower Road in Heatherbank, an Art Nouveau house in the late 19th century.
To the south east of Haslemere, Black Down, a five hundred acre common owned by the National Trust, rises 917 feet above sea level. Black Down stretches as far as Petworth and the beautiful views are renowned. Woods and meadows border Tennyson's Lane, Chase Valley and Boarden Door Bottom leading to the common. Black Down House, built in 1607 with panelled rooms and mullioned windows, was used by Oliver Cromwell as his headquarters during the Civil War. Alfred Lord Tennyson lived at Aldworth, built in 1867 and now privately owned.
This attractive village situated on the A286 has a village green surrounded by many old and beautiful properties and the Crown Inn, which claims to be the oldest licensed inn in Surrey, dating from 1285. Chiddingfold was once famous throughout Europe for the glass made during the 13th to 17th centuries, which adorned the windows of Westminster Abbey and St. George's, Windsor.
The village of Grayswood lies a mile or so north-east of Haslemere on the A286, a former turnpike road. An active village community enjoys a large village green used frequently for cricket and other local events. The village hall was recently rebuilt and financed by voluntary effort and national lottery funding, the first to receive such funding from the Millennium Commission. All Saints Church overlooking the green was designed by Axel Haig, a Swedish architect. The Wheatsheaf Inn offers accommodation and an excellent restaurant in an attractive setting.
Just south west of Hindhead alongside the A3, London to Portsmouth Road, the village of Grayshott lies in the county of Hampshire. As well as housing several specialist shops and restaurants, Grayshott has seen the development of Grayshott Pottery, one of the finest and most attended potteries and gift shops in the south of England, and a vital part of a thriving village community. Visitors can watch the art of making pottery and the name Grayshott is famous worldwide for its stoneware and porcelain.
The area was an old settlement along the valley of the River Wey which rises in Black Down. It includes some interesting old buildings, including Shotter Mill, from which it takes its name. Rose Cottage, a former tannery, and Shottermill Ponds are a delight to the eye. The National Trust own much of the land covering Nutcombe Valley and Polecat, and including the Shottermill Ponds. Lion Green is an attractive common ground at the bottom of Weyhill, the main shopping and restaurant centre for this area. Only a short distance away across the West Sussex border are the communities of Hammer and Camelsdale.
The parish of Lynchmere includes the village of Hammer and half of Camelsdale. It is reached along the Liphook road having left Haslemere through Camelsdale and Shottermill. It is the most northern parish in the District of Chichester, bordered on the north by the River Wey (dividing West Sussex and Surrey), by Bramshott, Hampshire in the west, and by Fernhurst in the east. Lynchmere began as a Saxon settlement with evidence of these origins in the church of St. Peter. During the reign of King John, an Augustinian monastery was founded at Shulbrede. Shulbrede Priory is now a private house, but can be visited during late May and August Bank holidays when it opens to the public. Hammer played an important role in the early iron smelting industry and takes its name from the "hammer" pond. It developed as a community around the brickworks in the 19th century. Camelsdale, which also developed at this time has half its community in the neighbouring parish of Fernhurst.
The village of Liphook lies off the A3 at the heart of the parish of Bramshott in Hampshire where five roads meet. The sprawling area of the Woolmer Forest flanks the edge of its western boundary, with Bramshott Common lying to the east.
Liphook grew from a small hamlet in the Middle Ages to an important stop off point for the Stage Post travelling between London and Portsmouth, where royalty, including George III and William IV, enjoyed the hospitality of the Anchor Inn. In 1916 Flora Thompson moved to Liphook where she wrote the Peverel Papers based on her observations of the area and was later famous as author of "Lark Rise to Candleford". Liphook celebrates its hundreth annual carnival in October 2002, and enjoys a millennium hall and a health farm at Forest Mere, attended by celebrities from home and abroad.
The picturesque village of Tilford lies on the River Wey, between the A287 and B3001, and has a long and interesting history. It has been an agricultural community since at least Anglo-Saxon times, its prosperity being greatly affected by the nearby great Cistercian Abbey of Waverley, founded in 1128. Two mediaeval bridges span the branches of the river and are listed as ancient monuments. A number of substantial farmhouses date from the 16th century. Tilford House was built in 1727 and its Chapel in 1776. Further substantial buildings developed in the 19th century, including All Saints School in 1857 and All Saints Church in 1865. At the heart is the Village Green with its long association with cricket. The Tilford Institute built in 1894 to Sir Edwin Lutyens' design, is still a focus for social and sports activities. Much of the village became a Conservation Area in 1973. Today it is home to the Tilford Bach Society, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, seven nurseries, three pubs and the Rural Life Centre.
This village on the A287 grew up in the late 19th century after St John the Evangelist church was built in 1868, although records of land transfers go back as far as 688 AD. Many big houses were built, followed by St John's School in 1871 and the village hall in 1928. In 1921 Lloyd George bought the land from many farms and had a large house built where he lived and farmed in retirement until his death in 1945. Surrounded by good agricultural land on a narrow belt of fertile soil within the poorer greensand, today the parish is home to prize cattle, pedigree sheep, a rhododendron nursery and a stud farm. Throughout its history Churt has been associated with famous people - a tradition that still continues.
This area of nearly 1000 acres of attractive countryside lies to the north west of Haslemere on either side of the A287 and is of both historic and ecological interest. The Common comprises a large area of heathland, together with some coniferous and mixed woodland, and two large ponds, known as Frensham Great and Little ponds, which were built in the Middle Ages to provide fish for the Bishop of Winchester's estate. There are four Bronze Age burial mounds on top of the ridge between the two ponds, left by early farming communities who cleared the original forest. Owned by the National Trust and managed by Waverley Borough Council and the National Trust, today the site is valued for recreation and nature conservation. There are miles of footpaths and bridleways, with a number of marked walks and cycle trails, sailing and angling for club members and, at the Great Pond, safe sandy beaches and disabled facilities. The site supports a wealth of wildlife on both the ponds and heathland, including many birds and all six native British reptiles. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in recognition of its value as an internationally important heathland habitat.
Fernhurst lies in the northwest corner of West Sussex just a few minutes' drive from Haslemere, and close to the border of Hampshire. The A286 runs through its centre dividing the village into west and east. The idyllic village green on the eastern side is surrounded by old and beautiful buildings, many of them listed, and Fernhurst is an ideal area for walking and exploring the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The town of Midhurst lies about eight miles to the south of Haslemere on the A286, with good bus links, and the Cathedral City of Chichester is less than 15 miles beyond. The small market town has many interesting features, including the Midhurst Walk, a fascinating collection of little shops, antiques, arts and crafts. One of the oldest pubs in Sussex, the Swan Inn, stands in the Market Square. By far the most outstanding features of Midhurst are the ruins of Cowdray House and the world famous polo lawns. Beautiful rural countryside and wooded hills surround the town, much enjoyed by the nineteenth century political writer, Richard Cobden, who was a lifelong resident of Midhurst.
The old market town of Petworth is an ideal place to stroll through narrow streets and alleyways, pretty cobbled squares and fine shops and restaurants. There are two antique centres and individual antique shops selling a wide variety of art and antiquities.
Petworth is home to the National Trust owned Petworth House and the fabulous grounds of Petworth Park. Visitors can view the magnificent art collection which includes the works of Turner, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Bosch, Reynolds and William Blake. The seven hundred acre park was landscaped by "Capability Brown" and is open to the public all year round. The house is currently home to Lord and Lady Egremont.