Haslemere facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Haslemere
Town and civil parish
The High Street
Haslemere
Area	23.27 km2 (8.98 sq mi) Civil Parish
Population	17,279 (2021 Census)
• Density	743/km2 (1,920/sq mi)
OS grid reference	SU9032
• London	62 km (38 mi) north east
Civil parish	Haslemere
District	Waverley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Haslemere
Postcode district	GU27
Dialling code	01428
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Farnham and Bordon
List of places UK England Surrey 51°05′24″N 0°42′43″W / 51.090°N 0.712°W / 51.090; -0.712

The town of Haslemere (/ˈheɪzəlmɪər/) and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around 38 mi (62 km) south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere in the Borough of Waverley. The tripoint between the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is at the west end of Shottermill.

Much of the civil parish is in the catchment area of the south branch of the River Wey, which rises on Blackdown in West Sussex. The urban areas of Haslemere and Shottermill are concentrated along the valleys of the young river and its tributaries, and many of the local roads are narrow and steep. The National Trust is a major landowner in the civil parish and its properties include Swan Barn Farm. The Surrey Hills National Landscape is to the north of the town and the South Downs National Park is to the south.

Haslemere is thought to have originated as a planned town in the 12th century and was awarded a market charter in 1221. By the early 16th century, it had become a Parliamentary borough and was represented by two MPs in the House of Commons until 1832. The town began to grow in the second half of the 19th century, following the opening of the London to Portsmouth railway line in 1859. In late-Victorian times, it became a centre for the Arts and Crafts movement and the International Dolmetsch Early Music Festival was founded in 1925. Haslemere became an Urban District in 1913, but under the Local Government Act 1972, its status was reduced to a civil parish with a town council.

Shottermill grew up as a hamlet near to one of the watermills on the River Wey in the 16th century. The settlement began to expand in the 1880s and joined the Haslemere Urban District in 1933. Until the end of the 19th century, Grayswood was a small farming community, but became an ecclesiastical parish in 1901.

Toponymy

The first indication of a settlement at Haslemere is from 1180, when there is a record of a "Chapel of Piperham", belonging to the church at Chiddingfold. The town is recorded as Heselmere in 1221 and 1255, Haselmere in 1255 and 1441, Hasulmere in 1310, Hesselmere in 1612 and Hasselmere in 1654. The "mere" element of the name is thought to refer to a lake or pond on the west side of the High Street, which was visible until at least 1859. The "hasle" element of the name may refer to the common hazel tree or to the Heysulle family from Chiddingfold, who are known to have owned land in the area until the 14th century.

Grayswood appears as Grasewode in 1479 and 1518, Grasewood in 1537 and 1577, Grace Wood in 1568 and Greyes Wood in 1583. The "gray" element may derive from the Old French personal name "Gerard" and there may be an association with Gerardswoded, recorded in the 14th and 15th centuries near Witley, also in south west Surrey.

Shottermill is first recorded as Shottover in 1537 and Schoutouermyll in 1607. The modern spelling is first used in 1583 and references a watermill owned by the Shotter family.

Geography

Haslemere is a town in the borough of Waverley, Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex and is the most southerly town in Surrey. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3 lies to the west and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is 11.9 miles (19.2 km) southwest-by-south of Guildford. surrounded by hills, with Blackdown at 920 feet (280 m) to the south and Gibbet Hill at 894 feet (272 m) to the north. The latter was the site of state executions from at least medieval times until the late 18th century. Many of those executed were highwaymen, because the roads around Haslemere, particularly alongside the nearby Devil's Punch Bowl, were notoriously dangerous. Today, much of the heathland and woodland is owned and protected by the National Trust and has become a popular attraction for walkers.

Walks

Haslemere marks the western end of the Greensand Way footpath which extends for 110 miles (180 km) to Hamstreet in Kent via the high Greensand Ridge, and is one end of the short Serpent Trail which connects to the Sussex Border Path.

Elevations and soil

Elevations range between, in fully developed roads, 205m AOD to 97m and 112m AOD alongside respectively the east and west streams which forms an east-west steep valley through the parish almost meeting in the town centre. This lowest point is specifically in the north east, where one headwater gently curves north following the line of the railway past the north of Grayswood, however rapidly descends another 40m in the space of a few miles. This east stream is the longest headwater of the River Arun then passing the north of Chiddingfold and turning south close to in the village centre of Dunsfold. By contrast the west stream, the River Wey south branch flows around Headley and past Frensham Common, joins the north branch in the centre of Tilford and heads towards Guildford before reaching the River Thames. However across the north and the south, the wooded hillsides reach 272m at Gibbet Hill in the north and 204m, AOD 211m on Marley Common south of Camelsdale and 280 on Black Down rising gradually across the county line in West Sussex.

The soil is particularly unusual, though common in southwest Surrey, the Bordon area of Hampshire and bottom of the upper vale of Midhurst, being "freely draining very acid sandy and loamy soil" that forms 1% of English soil, of low fertility; its natural vegetation includes acid grasses, pines and coniferous trees; further examples include Blackheath, Surrey and Blackheath, London.; to the east of Haslemere is the more naturally fertile "slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soil" that here forms the western start of the Low Weald soil that continues as far as Maidstone, Kent.

History

The earliest record of Haslemere was in 1221 as a Godalming tithing. The name describes hazel trees standing beside a mere (lake). The lake does not exist today, but there is a natural spring in West Street which could have provided its source. High Street is a watershed with water from the west going to the North Sea via the Wey whilst water from the eastern side goes to the English Channel via the River Arun. In the 14th century Haste Hill, also called East Hill, was the main settlement at Haslemere and there may have been a church as there were references on the site to "Churchliten field" and the "Old church-yard" of Haslemere Haslemere was granted a charter by Richard II in 1394. This right was confirmed by a new charter issued by Elizabeth I in 1596. Today, this special status is celebrated with the Charter fair, held once every two years in the High Street. There is a bust of Elizabeth I in the newly developed Charter Walk, linking West Street with the car park alongside Waitrose.

One of the rotten boroughs, returning two Members of Parliament until the reform Act of 1832, one being Carew Raleigh the son of Sir Walter Raleigh. Haslemere's borough expanded into the surrounding Haslemere parish and recovered with the construction of the Portsmouth Direct Line, which connected Haslemere with London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour railway stations. In Victorian Britain Haslemere became a fashionable place to live and continues to be a commuter town for London, and to a lesser extent Portsmouth, served by Haslemere railway station.

During the building of the railway, the first of the two murders of Surrey Police Officers occurred in Haslemere High Street, on the night of 28/29 July 1855, when Inspector William Donaldson was killed by navvies, which brought the darkest hour in the history of Haslemere. The only other murder of a Surrey Police officer was in Caterham some 120 years later.

St Bartholomew's Church was originally a chapel of ease for Chiddingfold, and probably dates from no earlier than the 16th century. It was rebuilt in 1871. The bell tower is the only remaining part of the original building. The church contains memorials to many of the most prominent local residents, including Alfred Lord Tennyson, who lived south of Haslemere at Aldworth House and is commemorated in one of the stained glass windows, featuring Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail.

Demography and housing

2011 Census Key Statistics

Output area	Area	Population	Households	Homes owned outright	Homes owned with a loan
Haslemere East and Grayswood	9.94 km2 (3.84 sq mi)	6,553	2,766	39.7%	34.4%
Haslemere Critchmere and Shottermill	6.50 km2 (2.51 sq mi)	5,981	2,445	29.6%	40.7%
Hindhead and Beacon Hill	6.82 km2 (2.63 sq mi)	4,292	1,688	38.6%	38.5%
Total for Haslemere Civil Parish	23.27 km2 (8.98 sq mi)	16,826	6,899	35.8%	37.6%
Regional average				35.1%	32.5%

2011 Census Homes

Output area	Detached	Semi-detached	Terraced	Flats and apartments	Caravans, temporary and mobile homes
Haslemere East and Grayswood	1,202	637	454	613	1
Haslemere Critchmere and Shottermill	849	611	398	694	1
Hindhead and Beacon Hill	858	289	121	495	0
Total for Haslemere Civil Parish	2,909	1,537	973	1,802	2
Regional average	28%	27.6%	22.4%	21.2%	0.7%

Public services

Utilities

Before the start of the 16th century, local residents obtained drinking water either from springs or from the River Wey. Haslemere Town Well was dug c. 1500 and there was also a second well, known as Pilewell, in Lower Street. Water would be delivered to homes by a water carrier, the last of whom, Hannah Oakford, died in 1898. The piped water supply to Haslemere began in the 1880s, when a series of pumping stations was installed to deliver water to standpipes in the town from springs on the lower slopes of Blackdown. The Wey Valley Water Company was formed in 1898 and its mains were extended to Shottermill in 1900. In 1907, a public water works was opened close to Chase Farm to serve both settlements. The supply of drinking water to Grayswood began in 1920.

Until the late 19th century, the sewage produced by the town was dumped in cesspits and there are several recorded instances of diphtheria and typhoid outbreaks. The first sewage treatment works in Haslemere was established in Foundry Road in 1898 and a second works followed to the west of Shottermill off Critchmore Lane in 1911. The Shottermill works was enlarged in 1911 and in 1933 became responsible for treating all sewage from the Haslemere UDC area.

The first gas supply to Haslemere began in 1868-69 and was used for street lighting. The gas mains reached Shottermill in 1903. Electric street lighting with sodium lamps was installed between 1952 and 1955.

The Hindhead and District Electric Light Company was formed in 1901 and opened an electricity generating station in Hindhead village in the same year. The first mains electricity cables were laid from Hindhead to Haslemere and Shottermill in 1910.

Emergency services

The first known parish constable in the area was serving in Haslemere in 1672, when a staff of office was commissioned. Policing became the responsibility of the Surrey Constabulary on its creation in 1851. The first police officer to be stationed in Grayswood was appointed in 1904. Haslemere Police Station, in West Street, closed in 2012. In 2021, policing in the town is the responsibility of Surrey Police and the nearest police station run by the force is at Guildford.

Construction of the railway line through Haslemere began in 1853 and, by the summer of 1855, around 200 navvies were lodging in the town. On the night of 29 July of that year, a group of workmen was hanging out at the Kings Arms pub, when Police Inspector William Donaldson and a junior colleague arrived to enforce the midnight closing time. A fight broke out soon after the navvies left the building, during which Donaldson received a fatal injury. He died at the police station around three hours later. Five men were subsequently arrested, of whom four were convicted of manslaughter at the subsequent trial. Thomas Wood, who is thought to have dealt the fatal blow, was transported to Fremantle, Western Australia after serving a one-year prison sentence in London. Inspector Donaldson was buried in St Bartholomew's churchyard in Haslemere. His death is commemorated by a blue plaque on the wall of the Town Hall.

The Haslemere fire brigade was formed in 1877 and, until 1907, was equipped with a horse-drawn fire pump. From 1906, Shottermill was served by the Hindhead and Grayshott brigade, but assistance was given by the Haslemere brigade when necessary. In 2021, the local fire authority is Surrey County Council and the statutory fire service is Surrey Fire and Rescue Service. Haslemere Ambulance Station, in Church Lane, is run by the South East Coast Ambulance Service.

Healthcare

The first recorded medical healer in Haslemere was Robert Shotter (1553–1639), of whom the vicar at the time wrote: "An expert chirugeon [surgeon] and cured in his life multitudes of impotent poor people of foul and dangerous sorances [diseases], at his own charge…" In 2021, the GP surgery serving the town is at Haslemere Health Centre, in Church Lane.

The first hospital to be built in Haslemere was a cottage hospital on Shepherd's Hill. It opened in 1898 with four beds and its construction was funded by a donation from the Penfold Family. By the early 1920s, it was clear that a new facility was required and a new hospital was opened in 1923 on Church Lane. In 2021, the hospital functions as a community hospital, with a minor injuries unit and two inpatient wards. It also offers a range of outpatient services.

Holy Cross Hospital, to the north of Shottermill, was opened in 1917 as a tuberculosis sanatorium by the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross of Liège. In the 1950s it became a small general hospital and later a specialist facility for oral and facial surgery. Since 1991 it has specialised in the treatment of patients with severe and complex neurological conditions. In 2021, it provides inpatient services for people with severe disabilities and long-term medical conditions. It also offers physiotherapy services to outpatients.

There were two auxiliary hospitals in the Haslemere area during the First World War. Both were affiliates of the Frensham Hill Military Hospital and were named after the country houses in which they were established. High Rough Hospital had 40 beds and was opened on Farnham Lane in May 1915. Church Hill Hospital was opened in April 1917 with 38 beds.

The first dedicated support centre for Haslemere residents with dementia was opened in 1994 at The Marjorie Gray Hall on Grayswood Road, to the north of the town centre. Initially run by the Alzheimer's Society, responsibility for the centre passed to a dedicated local charity in 2017. The centre provides respite day care four days a week for people with dementia.

The nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department is the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.

Transport

Roads

Many of the roads in the area originated as medieval tracks and owing to the local topography, are narrow, twisting and steep. The principal route through Haslemere is the A286, which connects the town with Godalming and Grayswood (to the north) and with Midhurst (to the south). The A287 runs south from Hindhead and passes through the west end of Shottermill, before joining the A286 close to Camelsdale. The main east–west road is the B2131, which links Haslemere to Chiddingfold and Petworth to the east, and to Liphook to the west.

Buses

Haslemere is linked by a number of bus routes to surrounding towns and villages in south west Surrey, West Sussex and east Hampshire. Operators serving the town include Stagecoach and Waverley Hoppa.

Trains

Haslemere railway station is to the west of the town centre. It is managed by South Western Railway, which operates all services. Trains run to London Waterloo via Guildford and to Portsmouth Harbour via Havant.

Cycling

The Haslemere Link is a spur of the Surrey Cycleway. It runs north east from the town to join the main circular route to the east of Chiddingfold.

Long-distance footpaths

Haslemere is the western terminus of the Greensand Way, a long-distance footpath that runs for 108 miles (174 km) along the Greensand Ridge to Hamstreet in Kent. The 64-mile (103 km) Serpent Trail links Haslemere to Petersfield via Blackdown and Petworth. The Sussex Border Path runs to the south of Haslemere and Shottermill.

Education

Maintained schools

St Bartholomew's Primary School was founded as a National school c. 1813. In 1869 a school board was established in Haslemere, which commissioned the construction of a new building adjacent to the parish church. The school moved to its current site on Derby Road in 1986.

Shottermill Infant School and Shottermill Junior School trace their origins to a Church of England school that was opened in the village c. 1846. Initially there were 40 pupils and only one teacher, but as numbers increased, the school moved to new premises to the north east of Shottermill Church. The building was extended in 1885 and again in 1896–98. In the early 1900s, the infants department became a separate school in its own right and moved to Church Road. In 1927, the county council took over the running of the two schools and constructed new premises for each on Lion Lane.

Grayswood Primary School was founded as a National school in 1862. It moved to its current site, as an infants' school, in January 1905 with 100 pupils. It was expanded in 2015 to become a primary school, educating up to 210 children between the ages of 4 and 11.

Woolmer Hill School is a secondary school to the north west of Shottermill. It was constructed in 1950 on a 10 ha (25-acre) site, under the provisions of the Education Act 1944. It became a member of the Weydon Multi-Academy Trust in 2017. In 2021, it educates around 800 students between the ages of 11 and 16.

Independent schools

St Ives School, to the north east of Haslemere town centre, is a coeducational prep school for children aged 2–11. It was founded in College Hill in 1911 and moved to its current location in Three Gates Lane in 1966. The school became part of United Learning in September 2013.

The Royal School is a coeducational day and boarding school to the north of Shottermill. It was founded in 1840 as the Royal Naval School and was intended to educate the sisters and daughters of naval and marine officers. It merged in 1995 with The Grove School, also a girls-only school, to create The Royal School. In 2011 the school became co-educational and in 2019 it became part of United Learning.

Former schools

Stoatley Rough School was founded in 1934 by Dr Hilde Lion to educate the children of Jewish refugees, who had fled from Nazi Germany. As war approached, the boarding school accepted many children rescued under the Kindertransport scheme. After the end of the war it began to focus on educating disadvantaged British pupils. It closed in 1960, following the retirement of its founder.

Wispers School was an independent girls' boarding school originally founded in 1947. It moved to Oak Hall in 1969 and closed in 2008.

Religious institute

The UK campus of the Islamic university, Jamia Ahmadiyya, was founded in Colliers Wood in 2005 and relocated to Haslemere in 2012. It offers a seven-year course to train missionaries from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and educates over 130 students at any one time. The Haslemere campus is a Grade II*-listed former country house, built in 1901, which was the International Education Centre for Olivetti in the early 1970s. Design work for the conversion to an education centre was undertaken by the architects Ted Cullinan and James Stirling and involved the addition of a new classroom wing built from glass-reinforced plastic. In 1997 it became a conference centre, run by the De Vere hotel group, and was acquired by Jamia Ahmadiyya UK in 2012.

Places of worship

St Bartholomew's Church

St Bartholomew's Church is thought to have been founded as a chapel in the 13th century, and the square tower at the west end is thought to date from this period. The remainder of the building dates from a reconstruction by John Penfold in 1871. The west window of the north aisle is thought to incorporate 17th-century Flemish glass panels and the Holy Grail is illustrated in the Tennyson memorial window, designed by Edward Burne-Jones. The polychromatic marble font dates to 1870 and the organ case incorporates a c. 1900 Morris & Co. tapestry. The wooden pulpit, which features linenfold panelling, dates from the late 19th or early 20th century.

St Stephen's Church, Shottermill

St Stephen's Church was originally built in 1841 as a chapel in the parish of Frensham. The tower was completed in 1846 and the building was consecrated the same year. The chancel was designed by John Penfold c. 1875 and the Lady chapel was added in 1909–10. As part of a renovation undertaken in 2005–06, underfloor heating and a baptismal pool were installed.

All Saints' Church, Grayswood

The ecclesiastical parish of Grayswood was formed in 1901 from parts of the parishes of Witley, Chiddingfold, Haslemere and Thursley. Alfred Hugh Harman, a local resident, agreed to finance the construction of a church on condition that a new parish was created. All Saints' Church was designed by the Swedish architect, Axel Haig, in a 13th-century style, influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. The building was completed in 1902 and is constructed of Bargate stone rubble with freestone dressings. The tower has a timber-framed belfry and is topped by a shingled spire. The interior includes an embroidery of the Annunciation, thought to be original, and paintings of Moses and David on linen, attributed to Carl Almquist. In the churchyard is a granite memorial stone to Axel Haig, carved in the shape of a Viking sail, which bears a relief of a longship.

St Christopher's Church

St Christopher's Church was constructed between 1902 and 1904 in the Free Late-Gothic style. It is built from coursed Bargate stone rubble with ironstone galleting. The square tower at the south west corner is topped with a chequerboard decoration, which is also featured on the west gable end. The east window was designed in 1928 in the style of Christopher Whall and the north chapel added in 1935. Between the chancel and nave is a hanging icon of the crucifixion, installed in 1950 in memory of the curate, Christopher Tanner.

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Catholic congregation in Haslemere traces its origins to 1908, when Franciscans from Chilworth Friary began to hold regular Masses at Oaklands Hotel. In 1923, the services relocated to the High Street and a year later, the new church was completed. Our Lady of Lourdes was consecrated in 1932 and stained glass windows, designed by Geoffrey Fuller Webb, were installed between 1935 and 1937.

Culture

Art

Several artists have painted landscapes of the Haslemere area, including George Shalders (c. 1826-1873), Alexander Fraser (1827–1899), George Vicat Cole (1833–1893) and Cecil Gordon Lawson (1849–1882). The Haslemere Educational Museum holds several artworks, including a bust of Alfred, Lord Tennyson by Thomas Woolner (1825–1892), portraits by Frank Dicksee (1853–1928) and Vera Cummings (1891–1940), as well as several carved wooden figures from the Yoruba School of Nigeria.

Among the works of public art in the town, is a bust of Elizabeth I by Malcolm Stathers, which commemorates the charter issued to Haslemere by the queen. In 2019, a series of four sculptures was commissioned from the artist, Andrew Brighty. The works are inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and are intended to form part of an arts trail around the town. The first two works, in the High Street and at Clements Corner, were installed in 2020 and are entitled Progress and Mimesis respectively. The third sculpture, Serenade to the Sky, celebrates the area's musical connections and was unveiled near Lion Green in March 2021.

Music

The musician and instrument maker, Arnold Dolmetsch, was born in France in 1858 and moved with his son, Carl Dolmetsch to Haslemere in 1919. The family repopularised the recorder and began the revival of other early musical instruments. In 1925, they launched the Haslemere Festival, which later became the annual International Dolmetsch Early Music Festival. From 1997 to 2018, the director of the festival was Carl Dolmetsch's daughter, Jeanne-Marie Dolmetsch.

Founded as the Haslemere Orchestral Society in 1923, the Haslemere Musical Society acquired its current name in 1939. Among its former conductors are Anthony Bernard, the founder of the London Chamber Orchestra, the composer John Gardner and John Lubbock, founder of the Orchestra of St John's Smith Square. In 2007, the society commissioned the choral work Lord of All Creation by outgoing conductor, Darrell Davison. The current conductor is James Ross. The society gives regular concerts in the local area and holds an annual "come and sing" event.

Haslemere Town Band was officially founded in 1837 following the amalgamation of two small bands which had started in 1834.

Haslemere Players

The Haslemere Players is an amateur dramatics society and musical theatre group, based in the town. It was officially founded in 1905, but a group had been staging regular performances since the 1890s.

Haslemere Charter Fair

Permission to hold an annual fair in the town was first granted by Richard II in 1397 and was confirmed by Elizabeth I in the charter of 1596. The fair was revived in 1984 and is held on the early May bank holiday every two years. The event takes place on the High Street and on West Street, which are closed to traffic for the day. A competition for town criers is held as part of the fair and the winner is awarded the Tennyson Trophy.

Sport

Leisure centres

Haslemere Leisure Centre, on the King's Road, was opened in 1998–99. The construction was funded by the sale of Shottermill Recreation Ground, which had been owned by Waverley Borough Council since 1974. The centre underwent a £3.8M refurbishment 2014–15, which included the upgrade of the fitness gym facilities and the addition of dance and cycling studios. The centre is managed by Places Leisure, on behalf of the borough council.

The Edge Leisure Centre is on Woolmer Hill Road. The centre has an indoor dance studio and fitness suite, outdoor pitches for sports including football and rugby, as well as an athletics track. A new artificial hockey pitch was installed at the centre in 2018.

Association Football

Shottermill & Haslemere Football Club was founded in 2001 as an amalgamation of two existing clubs. The club plays its home games at Woolmer Hill Sports Ground and has been a member of the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) since 2006.

Cricket

Haslemere Cricket Club was founded in 1827 and originally played its home games at a field near the High Street. The club moved to Haste Hill in 1850 and then to Lythe Hill in 1868. Since 1922, the club has played at the recreation ground on Scotland Lane.

Cricket has been played on the village green at Grayswood since the early 20th century and there have been at least three incarnations of the local club. The current Grayswood Cricket Club was reformed in 1989 and has been a member of the I'Anson League since the 1997 season. In 2017, the club were league champions for the third time, having previously won the title in 2012 and 2013.

Hockey

Haslemere Hockey Club was founded in 1946 and plays its home games at Woolmer Hill Sports Ground, which has two AstroTurf pitches.

Rugby

Haslemere Community Rugby Club was founded in 1950 and was initially sponsored by Harlequins. At first, it played its home games at the recreation ground on Scotland Lane, but later moved to its current base at the Woolmer Hill Sports Ground.

Notable buildings and landmarks

Community centres

Grayswood Village Club was founded in 1905 as a reading room and social space for local residents. The building dates from 1862, when it was constructed as a National school. It was also used as a place of worship from 1884 until the opening of All Saints' Church in 1902. By 1905, the school had outgrown the premises and moved to a new site. The vacated building was purchased by Frederick Albert Robers and was placed in trust for the village community.

The Haslewey Centre, on Lion Green, has been run as a local community centre by an independent charity since 2003. The centre has been a distribution point for the Meals on Wheels service, run by Waverley Borough Council, since January 2017 and has housed the town post office since January 2018.

The Haslemere Youth Hub, on St Christopher's Road, was relaunched in 2019 by Waverley Borough Council. Previously known as the Wey Centre, it had been managed by Surrey County Council. The hub provides a safe space for young people to meet, six days a week, and offers a wide range of activities. The hub houses a counselling service for children as well as a café.

High Lane Community Centre is on Weycombe Road, to the north of the town centre.

Haslemere Hall

Haslemere Hall, on Bridge Road, is a theatre, cinema and music venue. It opened in January 1914 and its design, by the architect Annesley Brownrigg, was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. During the First World War, it was used as a drill hall.

Haslemere Educational Museum

Haslemere Educational Museum was founded in 1888 by the surgeon, Jonathan Hutchinson, who was an amateur collector of biological, geological and anthropological specimens. Initially the museum was located at Hutchinson's Haslemere home, Inval, but moved to its current location on the High Street in 1926. In the same year, it acquired a collection of European Folk Art from the Peasant Arts Museum, which had been located in the town.

Replica Penfold pillar box

A replica Victorian pillar box was installed outside the Georgian Hotel on the High Street in July 1992. It is an exact copy of a "Penfold box" which was the standard design used by the Post Office from 1866 to 1879. It honours the local architect, John Penfold, who was responsible for its design.

Town Hall

Haslemere Town Hall, at the south end of the High Street, was constructed in 1814. Originally a market house, it replaced an older wooden building, that had stood immediately to the north. It was transferred to the Parish Council in 1897 and the upper floor was used as the debating chamber until 1926, when the UDC moved to the former museum building.

War memorials

The limestone war memorial in Haslemere High Street, was designed by Inigo Triggs in 1920–21. It takes the form of a gabled stone cross, supported on an octagonal column, which in turn rests on a stepped stone base. It commemorates 62 local residents who died in WWI, whose names are inscribed on the plinth. The surnames of 47 people who died in the WWII are listed on bronze plaques. A restoration project, undertaken in 2018, included the repair and replacement of damaged stonework and was partly funded by the War Memorials Trust.

The Grayswood war memorial is to the south of the village, on the west side of the A286. It takes the form of a freestanding stone cross and the base is inscribed with the words "Peace to those who died that we might live". It commemorates 19 local residents who died in WWI and three residents who died in WWII.

Parks and open spaces

Grayswood

The National Trust owns a 4.17 ha (10.3-acre) area of mature oak and yew woodland between Grayswood village and Haslemere.

Grayswood Common, St George's Wood

Grayswood Common and St George's Wood are located between Grayswood village and Haslemere and have a combined area of 16.43 ha (40.6 acres). They were acquired by the Urban District Council (UDC) in 1953 and are now owned by Waverley Borough Council.

Haste Hill

Haste Hill is a 12.25 ha (30-acre) woodland to the south east of the town, owned by Waverley Borough Council. There was a tenement on the hill in the 14th century and it may have been the site of the original settlement of Haslemere. In the early 18th century, an optical telegraph station, part of the Admiralty Semaphore line between London and Portsmouth was constructed on Haste Hill. It operated from 1822 until 1847, when it was superseded by an electrical telegraph line between the two cities.

Lion Green

Lion Green was designated a recreation ground and open space in the Inclosure Act of 1845. The green is used for several community events including the annual Haslemere Classic Car Festival and the biennial Haslemere Fringe Festival.

Recreation ground

The 3.44 ha (8.5-acre) recreation ground adjoins Scotland Lane and Old Haslemere Road. The land was purchased in 1921 by the War Memorial Committee, using surplus funds donated for the construction of the memorial in the High Street. It was presented to the UDC in the same year, in memory of those who had died in the First World War. In 2015, the recreation ground was legally protected by the charity, Fields in Trust, and was designated a Queen Elizabeth II field.

Swan Barn Farm

Swan Barn Farm, owned by the National Trust, is an area of grassland and ancient woodland to the east of Haslemere High Street. The 28 ha (69-acre) property includes two orchards and is run as a smallholding. Areas of pasture are mown for haymaking and are also grazed by Belted Galloway cattle. The Hunter Base Camp, which provides accommodation for long-term volunteers working on Blackdown, is part of the farm.

Notable people

• John Boxall (d. 1571) – Secretary of State to Mary I, owned Burgage House (now the Haslemere Educational Museum)
• James Oglethorpe (1696–1785) – founded the Colony of Georgia, was MP for Haslemere (1722–1754) and lived at Town House on the High Street
• Josiah Wood Whymper (1813–1903) – artist, lived at Town House, High Street, Haslemere from 1859 until his death
• George Bowdler Buckton (1818–1905) – chemist and entomologist, designed his own house on Weycombe Road, where he lived from 1865
• George Eliot (1819–1880) – novelist and poet, wrote much of Middlemarch while living in Shottermill in the summer of 1871
• Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), polymath, died in Haslemere
• George MacDonald (1824–1905), Scottish writer, lived in St George's Wood, Haslemere, from 1900 until his death.
• Anne Gilchrist (1828–1885) – writer, lived in Shottermill from 1861 to 1871
• Jonathan Hutchinson (1828–1913) – surgeon, founded Haslemere Educational Museum
• John Penfold (1828–1909) – surveyor, architect and designer of a Post Office standard pillar box, lived at what was then called Courts Hill House
• Archibald Geikie (1834–1924) – geologist, retired to Haslemere in 1913
• Axel Haig (1835–1921) – artist, illustrator and architect, designed his own house on Highercombe Road, where he lived from 1865
• Robert Hunter (1844–1913) – co-founder of the National Trust, Chairman of the Haslemere Parish Council, lived at Meadfields Hanger
• William Cecil Marshall (1849–1921) – sportsman, designed his own house on Hindhead Road, where he lived from 1887
• Arnold Dolmetsch (1854–1940) and his son Carl Dolmetsch (1911–1997) – musicians and musical instrument makers, lived in Grayswood Road
• Walter Tyndale (1855–1943) – artist, lived in Haslemere from c. 1890. He commissioned the construction of Broad Dene, Hill Road, in 1900 and lived there until his death.
• Cyril Edward Gourley (1893–1982) – Victoria Cross recipient, lived in Grayswood from 1952 until his death
• Margaret Hutchinson (1904–1997) – teacher, writer and naturalist; lived and worked in Haslemere
• Robert Lochner (1904–1956) – inventor of the Bombardon Breakwater, used at Mulberry harbour, Normandy, on D-Day. He lived at Shottermill from 1939 until his death.
• W. H. C. Frend (1916–2005) – ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest, was born at Shottermill Vicarage and lived in the village as a child
• Robin Phillips (1940–2015) – actor and director, was born in Haslemere
• Rachel Portman (b. 1960) – composer, was born in Haslemere

See also

In Spanish: Haslemere para niños