Thursley lies 2-3 miles north of Hindhead to the west of the main road (A3). A church has existed here since 1030, the original building being largely Saxon, and in 1927 two small windows of this period complete with timber frames were uncovered. A large 15th century timber cage of posts, ties and braces within the main structure of the church supports the bell housing and turret. The Sailor's Stone in the churchyard commemorates a man murdered in 1786 by three villains who were subsequently hanged, on the nearby Gibbet Hill, in chains made at Thursley forge. You can read more about the crime here.
The village is in two parts with the older southern section around the church, and a later, mostly Victorian, portion to the north around a small triangular green. At the south-west side of the green stands the large house where Sir Edwin Lutyens, architect, spent his early youth, and from where he rode out by bicycle to explore the old cottages and farmhouses of West Surrey.
Back Lane is a secluded cul-de-sac with several listed buildings, and in this northern part are many other properties that are complementary to the village scene. However, it is in the older, southern portion in particular that the church and other buildings of interest, with their walls and well-kept gardens and roadside verges, all combine to make this one of the most attractive villages in Surrey.
Thursley, the Red Lion Inn, 1907
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection
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