Traffic calming on Ewhurst Green
There has been increasing concern over recent years at the speed of cars crossing the Green. Surrey County Council have now taken the decision, discussed with the Parish Council and our County Councillor, to create a build out at the village gateways. See the CAD drawing of this proposal and letter to local residents.
The grassed build out will be on both sides of the road, with no priority signs. It is intended that the work will start at the end of this month, and should take one week to complete.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows Waverley Borough Council to raise funds for the Parish, from some forms of new development, to help fund the infrastructure needed to mitigate the impacts of new development. See the dedicated page for making suggestions to the Parish Council.
Forestry Commission - Invasive Spruce Bark Beetle Awareness
The Forestry Commission is encouraging everyone in the Proactive Spruce Removal Area to be vigilant for windblown, snapped, damaged and stressed spruce trees, and to submit a TreeAlert report for anything of concern or email ips.t@forestrycommission.gov.uk. This could be landowners, those directly involved with managing spruce (e.g. foresters, tree surgeons, Christmas tree growers), or members of the public who use spruce woodlands recreationally (e.g. dog walkers, ramblers).
Click on the poster for more information.
Explore Surrey Countryside Visitor Survey
Surrey County Council are always looking to listen and learn from their visitors about how they enjoy their countryside spaces, including what they value most about their visits and how Surrey County Council can improve their overall experience. By sharing your thoughts with them through this short Visitor Survey, you can help them to tailor their future approach to management and guide them in how they can best use their limited resources across the vast countryside estate.
The survey is open until 30th May 2025. It should take around 10 minutes to complete. The survey is open until 30th May 2025. It should take around 10 minutes to complete.
Public EV car charging at the Bull's Head
Ewhurst now has a public Electric Vehicle Charging Point at the back of the Bull's Head. It’s on the BP Pulse charging network and is also listed on Zapmap where you can also find other public EVCPs. For more information contact stuart.godfree@ov20.com.
Ewhurst Charity
There is updated information about The Ewhurst Charity on the Schools, clubs and societies page. If you would like to update or add to the page please leave a reply using the form on the page.
Parish Council finances
2023-2024 Audit of the Parish Council finances is now on the PC Finance page, including the public rights notice.
Other Parish news
The Parish Bulletin has updates on local and parish council events, please browse to the latest edition or join the mailing list.
The Parish booklet has more information about the villages than the website, but the latest notices are found in the menus above. Click here to download the file.
The Parish Council Facebook page, has local news and events.
A community Facebook page, is run entirely by and for locals. (Note that it is independent and not affiliated with the council.)
Where is Ewhurst?
Ewhurst can be found at the foot of Pitch Hill, between the North and South Downs in the Surrey Weald.
The soil is a very heavy clay; when William Cobbett visited the village in 1823 and stated that Ewhurst was 'A very pretty village' in ' The real Weald where the clay is bottomless', he also greatly admired the scores of now vanished oak woods.
Until the advent of tar macadam, Ewhurst and other Surrey Wealden villages were isolated areas by the very nature of this soil, and in earlier times, were harbours to 'lawless vagabonds and sturdy knaves' - some things don't change!
The environment determined their industry; this included charcoal- burning, broom-making and smuggling. This latter occupation can explain the double or 'Smugglers Roof', that exists in some older properties in the village, and it is just a one-night stage from the coast.
Pitch, Hurtwood ('hurt' or 'whort' are the old words for bilberries), and Holmbury Hills are all part of the ridge of Greensand Hills, so named because of the green hue of the sandy soil lying beneath the peat-surfaced heath. This, combined with charcoal from the prolific oak woods, produced the necessary products for the foundation of the glass industry from Roman times until the 17th century.
The Wealden clay was used for the local manufacture of bricks and tiles over the last thousand years.
Numerous springs occur in these hills, which helped in these industries, and today you can still hear them bubbling on the hillside fields. One of the streams that run off these hills is Coneyhurst Gill, which eventually joins the Wey at Shalford on its journey through Guildford to the Thames at Weybridge.
Two habitats predominate in Ewhurst.
The mixed heath and scrubland on top of Pitch Hill with pine, birch, heather and gorse, and the oak and beech deciduous woodlands at the bottom of the hill. Dog's mercury, wood anemones, bluebells and foxgloves each take their turn in decorating the woodland floor.
While the banks of the lanes are covered in celandines, primroses, dog violets, and cow parsley. On some more secluded banks wild strawberry plants and bilberries can still be found.
The remnants of the oak woods reverberate to the drilling of woodpeckers in the Spring. Summer comes not just with the cuckoo, but the song of the chiffchaff in these woods, whilst warblers and sometimes nightjars can be heard on the hills.
Like a growing number of English villages in the last 30 years, Ewhurst has seen an increase in traffic.
H.M. Alderman, in his book published in 1929, 'The Charm of Old Surrey', remarked that it was 'Away from the din of the motor traffic', not so true today.
Every year the preservation of the quality of our environment becomes increasingly difficult, we must learn to cherish what remains.
This piece kindly written by Julia Burley
Where is Ellens Green?
Ellens Green is a small, picturesque hamlet just 4 miles from Cranleigh and 2 miles from Rudgwick.
The land borders the scenic Surrey/Sussex border path with amazing views to both the South Downs and the Surrey Hills. There is a vast network of public footpaths and bridleways on our doorstep.
Ellens Green is also on the route of the Surrey/Sussex cycle path which joins up with the Downs Link cycle path just one mile away. This gives access to a wonderful 25 mile off road scenic route for cyclists, riders and walkers.
Notable buildings:
Ellens Green Memorial Hall, Furzen Lane, was built in 1951 in memory of the dead of World War I and World War II. There is a commemorative plaque in the hall.
Ellens Green Mission Hall, Furzen Lane, was built in 1887 and converted into a dwelling in 1979, now called ‘The House on the Green’.
Ellens Green School House/The Old School House, a former Victorian school and School House was built in 1870 and closed in 1956, when it was converted into two dwellings.
Useful links listed below
The Woodland Trust
Council for the Protection of Rural England
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Surrey Wildlife Trust
Waverley Borough Council
Surrey County Council
The National Trust
Surrey Interactive map