Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey) Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Beacon Hill
Static Image:Beacon Hill Road, Beacon Hill, Surrey..jpg
Static Image Caption:The village centre
Map Type:Surrey
Coordinates:51.1222°N -0.7529°W
Os Grid Reference:SU883366
Civil Parish:Haslemere
Shire District:Waverley
Shire County:Surrey
Region:South East England
Constituency Westminster:South West Surrey
Post Town:Hindhead
Postcode District:GU26
Postcode Area:GU
Dial Code:01428

Beacon Hill, while ecumenically and administratively part of Hindhead, Surrey, is a discrete settlement with its own history, amenities and character. It lies in the southwest corner of Surrey on the A287 road between the towns of Haslemere and Farnham. The village began to be developed in the 19th century.

There are three churches, a primary school, a shopping area and a range of sporting facilities and activities in Beacon Hill.

Geography

Beacon Hill lies principally between two main roads to the north-west of Hindhead: the A287 Haslemere to Farnham road and the Tilford Road, an alternative and more rural route from Hindhead to Farnham via the village of Tilford. The nearest village to the north-west is Churt.

History

Beacon Hill is so-named because it was originally one of many beacon sites across England. The area began to be settled in the 19th century when people who could afford it built houses there to take advantage of the clean environment. John Tyndall declared the air to be as pure as that in the Swiss alps.[1]

The Woodcock Inn served as Beacon Hill's only public house from the early 20th century[2] until it closed in about 2008 and was subsequently demolished for housing.

Amenities

Worship

Education

Beacon Hill Community Primary School is a secular school occupying two sites in the village with 208 pupils aged 4 to 11 in 2013.[8] [9]

Scouting

Hindhead Scouts[10] and Guides for many years met in a hut in Cricket Close built in about 1923. In 2013 efforts were begun to raise funds for a new building with an estimated cost of £50,000.[11]

Royal British Legion Club

Hindhead Royal British Legion Club has stood in Beacon Hill Road since the early 20th century, hosts numerous events throughout the year and has sport and leisure facilities including a floodlit tennis court, bowls, darts and snooker.[12]

Marchants Hill

Marchants Hill camp, built in 1939 by the National Camps Corporation, was used in World War 2 to accommodate child evacuees from East Ham in London.[13] [14] The camp continued as a holiday and adventure venue for city children after the war[15] and in 2015 is run by the activity holiday company PGL Ltd, on the 45acres site.[16]

Sport

The playing fields at Marchants Hill are home to Hindhead Athletic Football Club, Beacon Hill Junior Football Club[17] and Hindhead Cricket Club.[18] The cricket ground hosted two international women's cricket matches in the 1950s: Molly Hide's XI against Australia Women in 1951[19] and South Women Second XI against New Zealand Women in 1954.[20]

Hindhead Golf Course and Club was established in 1904. One of its founders and first president was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who lived at Hindhead at the time. Numerous notable people have been members over the years, including Peter Alliss who lived nearby.

Hindhead Tennis Club's home is at the Royal British Legion Club; the courts have floodlighting.[21]

Shops and events

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Haslemere Design Statement). 16 January 2014.
  2. Web site: Woodcock Inn, 1922 (Frith: photos and memories). 23 February 2014.
  3. Web site: St Alban's, Hindhead. 16 January 2014.
  4. Book: Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus. The Buildings of England: Surrey. 1982. Penguin Books. Harmondsworth.
  5. Web site: St Anselm's. 16 January 2014.
  6. Web site: St Anselm's History. 16 January 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140116183802/http://www.stanselmshindhead.co.uk/Page2_history.html. 16 January 2014. dmy-all.
  7. Web site: Beacon Hill United Reformed Church . 28 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130418220036/http://beaconhillurc.co.uk . 18 April 2013 . dmy .
  8. Web site: Beacon Hill Community Primary: Ofsted report 2013. 24 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140131110645/http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=124978. 31 January 2014. dead.
  9. Web site: Ofsted: Beacon Hill Community Primary School. 24 February 2014.
  10. Web site: 1st Hindhead Scouts. 22 March 2021.
  11. Web site: Fun day to help build a new Scout Hut. 28 January 2014. 2 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202231908/http://www.messenger-online.co.uk/news.cfm?id=22089&headline=Fun%20day%20to%20help%20build%20a%20new%20Scout%20hut. dead.
  12. Web site: Hindhead Royal British Legion. 7 April 2018.
  13. Web site: BBC WW2 People's War. 28 January 2014.
  14. Web site: Imperial War Museum: School for evacuees...Marchants Hill. 28 January 2014.
  15. Web site: Francis Frith: Marchants Hill Camp circa 1955. 28 January 2014.
  16. Web site: PGL: Centres and locations. 28 January 2014.
  17. Web site: Beacon Hill Junior Football Club. 22 March 2021.
  18. Web site: Hindhead Cricket Club. 28 January 2014.
  19. Web site: ME Hide's XI v Australia Women. 27 September 2014.
  20. Web site: South Women XI v New Zealand Women. 27 September 2014.
  21. Web site: Waverley Borough Council: Hindhead Tennis Club. 23 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140226055217/http://www.waverley.gov.uk/directory_record/3035/hindhead_tennis_club. 26 February 2014. dead.
  22. Web site: Beacon Hill Beer Festival. 7 February 2014.
  23. Michael T. . Thornhill . 10.1093/ref:odnb/31773 . Trevelyan, Humphrey, Baron Trevelyan.

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